Canli et al.

(Brain Scans)

Research Method : Laboratory Experiment

Experimental Design: Repeated Measures

S:Using repeated measures eliminates any effect of participant variables as all participants take part in all conditions,
therefore they are controlled.
W:Since all participants take part in all conditions there is a chance of demand characteristics affecting the study -
participants might work out the aim of the study and behave in a way to fulfill that rather than showing their true
behavior.
-Order effects can affect the findings of a study and reduce validity
-Practice effects- participants get better at a task when they complete a similar one or the same one more than once.
-Fatigue Effect- the more tasks participants do the more tired they might become
-Boredom effect- repeating similar tasks can bore participants

VARIABLES
- Independent variable:
 The intensity rating of each stimulus (image) on the 4-point scale from 0-3, 0 = not emotionally intense to 3 =
extremely emotionally intense
- Dependent variable:
 The self-reported percentages of forgotten, familiar and remembered with certainty images
 This was measured by the participants ability to recognise the images when asked 3 weeks later

- Controls:
 All participants were female, healthy and right-handed
 The order of the images was randomised
 Each image was presented for 2.88 seconds with 12.96 seconds in between each when participants were shown
a fixation cross

PROCEDURE
Behavioural Procedure:
-During scanning, participants viewed a series of 96 scenes that were presented via an overhead projector and mirror to
allow them to see the images while in the fMRI scanner. 
-All participant gave informed consent and were aware of the nature of the experiment. 
-The order of scenes was randomised for each participant. 
-Scenes were presented for 2-3 seconds (participants told to view each picture for the entire time) and in between each
image, a fixation cross was shown for 12-13 seconds. -During the time when the fixation cross was presented,
participants were instructed to indicated their emotional arousal by pressing a button with their right hand. Participants
could choose from 4 buttons on a scale of 0-3 (0 = ‘not emotionally intense at all’ to 3 = ‘extremely emotionally
intense’). 
-3 weeks later, participants were tested with an unexpected recognition test in the laboratory. 
-During this task, they viewed the 96 images along with 48 foils. The foils matched the valance and arousal ratings of the
original scenes. 
-Participants were asked to indicate to what extent they recalled seeing the images. The responses were coded as
follows: 1 = not remembered/ forgotten, 2 = familiar, 3 = remembered with certainty.

MRI: 
-Data was acquired in a 1.5 T General Electric Signa MR imager, which was used to measure BOLD contrast.
-For structural images, eight slices perpendicular to the axial plane of the hippocampus were obtained.
-The anterior slice was positioned 7 mm anterior to the amygdala.
-Functional images were obtained using a two-dimensional spin echo sequence with two interleaves.
-A whole-head coil was used for all participants.
-Head movement was minimised by a bite bar using which was formed with each participant’s dental imprints.
-During functional scanning, 11 frames were captured.
-Individual frames in each trial were assigned to either the baseline fixation period (frames 1, 2, 10 and 11) or the
activation period (frames 5-8).
-A correlational map was created to correlate brain activity with participants’ arousal ratings and memory scores.
Results
-Individual’s experience of emotional intensity in the present study correlated well with normative rating on emotional
valance and arousal.
-The average correlations coefficients between participants’ intensity ratings and normative ratings were -0.66 and 0.68.
-Amygdala activation was significantly, bilaterally correlated with higher ratings of individually experienced emotional
intensity.
-Memory recall was significantly better for those scenes rated as emotionally intense. Scenes rated 0-2 had similar
distributions of percentage forgotten, familiar or remembered. However, those rated 3 were rated familiar or
remembered with a higher frequency.
-For scenes rated highly emotional, the degree of left amygdala activation predicted whether an individual stimulus
would be forgotten, familiar or remembered in a later memory test. Little activation to a scene that was rated as being
highly emotional was associated with forgetting that scene; intermediate activation indicated that the scene was
familiar; high activation was associated by the scene being remembered.
-When the left amygdala was analysed further, there was a significant correlation between emotional intensity and the
amygdala’s activation.

Data Collection
Quantitative data:
Strengths
-collected from fMRI, good for statistics and analysis on how active the amygdala was. (could help with correlational
analysis on amygdala activation and memory of the scene)
-fMRI scanner produced an objective measure of brain activity 
-no way for Ps to respond to demand characteristics as they knew the true of aim of the study and there was no way to
alter their behaviour
Weaknesses
-need to use caution when making connections/drawing conclusions from fMRI results as there are still many unknowns
about brain activity and what it's responsible for.
-questions the validity across the individuals - each person might have a different baseline of amygdala activity 
-each P's interpretation of emotional intensity could differ