Question

What can human brain damage tell us about brain function?  What are the limitations of this technique? What is a lesion study, and what are its advantages? (minimum 150 words)

Answer 1

Answer.

Studies which use damaged brains help us to understand the role of different areas of the brain in different aspects of cognition. However, a problem with this technique is that the findings are not easy to obtain for a large and easily available sample as th eteserachers ave to rely on a limited sample of only individuals who have incurred a brain damage due to accidents.

Lesion studies are based on the assumption that a locally damaged brain functions identically to a normal brain in its "undamaged" parts. So, the damaged areas of a brain can help understand the function performed by a specific brain area based on an analysis of the functional abnormality(ies) in the damaged brain. It can thus help to localise the areas of the brain in terms of the cognitive functions performed.

Lesion studies are informative about the effects of lesions on different brain regions. Electrophysiological recording may be used in animals to directly measure brain activity. Measures of electrical activity in the brain, such as electroencephalography (EEG), are used to assess brain-wave patterns and activity.