Pinel's Biopsychology, 5th Ed.

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 Provides a 3-dimensional view of structure
 The X-ray gun and the X-ray detector rotate
in apposition around the brain at one level
taking a series of measurements from which
an image of one section is constructed; this is
repeated at multiple levels
 The CT-scan image of the brain is not high
spatial resolution

Pinel's Biopsychology, 5th Ed. 2

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 It has highest spatial resolution
 The images are created from measurements
of the waves emitted by hydrogen atoms
when they are placed in a magnetic field
 Its clarity stems from the fact that neural
structures differ considerably in their density
of hydrogen atoms

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 A method of highlighting brain areas that
are active, rather than equally showing all
brain structures
 The patient is injected with radio-active 2-
deoxyglucose; because 2-DG is structurally
similar to glucose, it is taken up by neurons
as if it were glucose (This is somewhat
invasive, although not as invasive as lesion
surgery, etc.)

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 More active neurons need more energy and
take up more 2-DG; unlike glucose, 2-DG
cannot be metabolized by neurons and it
accumulates in them

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 The patient is injected with radio-active 2-
DG and then engages in the activity under
study (e.g., reading) while a PET scan of the
brain is being taken
 The PET scan reveals on a series of images
of horizontal sections where radio-activity
has accumulated, and thus it indicates what
areas were particularly active during the
test

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 Allows brain activity to be measured by
imaging the increase in oxygen (blood flow)
that occurs to brain areas that are active
 Surplus of blood occurs are active sites

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 It’s four advantages over PET include:
(1) nothing must be injected into the subject
(2) one image provides structural and
functional information
(3) the spatial resolution is better
(4) changes can be measured in real time
(although, the temporal resolution is
poor)

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 An EEG signal is measured through an array
of scalp electrodes
 EEG waves reflect the sum total of all the
electrical events in the head (action
potentials, eye movements, blood flow, etc.)
thus, the EEG reveals little about the nature of
the underlying neural activity

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 Its value lies in the fact that particular EEG
wave forms are associated with particular
states of consciousness; generally low-
amplitude, fast EEG activity is associated with
alert aroused state; and high-amplitude, slow
EEG activity (alpha waves) is associated with a
relaxed but awake state

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 EEG recording are a valuable diagnostic tool;
for example the presence of high-amplitude
spikes in the EEG (i.e., epileptic spikes) is the
primary criterion for diagnosing epilepsy

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 Muscle tension:
◦ An electromygram (EMG) is the changing
difference in the voltage between two large
electrodes placed on the skin above a large
muscle; the amplitude of EMG signals indicates
the combined level of tension in the underlying
muscle

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 Eye movement:
◦ in an electrooculogram (EOG) eye movements are
recorded by placing four electrodes around the
eye; the signals result from the fact that the front
of the eye is more positively charged than the
back
◦ The direction of movement can be inferred from
the relation between the activity recorded on two
channels: (1) above vs. below and (2) left vs. right

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 Skin conductance:
◦ Skin conductance level (SCL) is the general level of
skin conductance associated with a particular
situation
◦ A skin conductance response (SCR) is a rapid
change in skin conductance in response to a
particular event; one application is the lie detector
test

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 In most cases, laboratory animals serve as the
subjects when invasive procedures are
required to directly manipulate or measure
the brain

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 The first step in may invasive biopsychology
experiments is stereotaxic surgery; it allows
accurate placement of lesions, probes,
electrodes, and other devices into the brain

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 The method employs a stereotaxic atlas (3-D
map of brain) and a stereotaxic instrument
(head holder and electrode holder)
 The reference point is often bregma (the
point where two main plates of the rat skull
naturally fuse together)

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 The purpose of lesioning is to eliminate
functioning in a certain brain area to see how
behavior is affected (can cause-and-effect
relationship)

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 The aspiration method is often used to
remove cortical tissue through suction
 The radio-frequency electrolytic lesion is the
most common subcortical lesion; the tissue is
destroyed by the heat of the current

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 Sectioning (Small knife cuts) are often used
for severing tracts
 Cryogenic blockade is like a reversible lesion;
the tissue is temporarily cooled to the point
that all neural activity in the vicinity of the
probe stops; it produces little permanent
damage

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 Lesion studies must be interpreted with
caution; a lesion inevitably damages
structures other than the one that the
surgeon targeted, and lesions seldom
completely remove a structure that is
targeted

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 The effects of electrical stimulation are often
opposite to those of a lesion to the same
brain site
 Electrical stimulation research is done prior to
any lesioning

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 Intracellular unit recording
◦ Measures changes in the membrane potential of a
neuron over time; it requires a microelectrode
positioned inside a neuron
◦ It is next to impossible to record intracellularly in a
freely moving animal because it is difficult to keep
the microelectrode inside the neuron

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 Extracellular unit recording
◦ A microelectrode is positioned near a neuron
◦ The signal is a series of spikes; each spike indicates
an action potential from a nearby neuron; spikes of
the same amplitude are assumed to come from the
same neuron

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 In 1902 an inadequate lie detector test
was invented by a man named James
McKenzie.
 Later on in the 18th century, 1921, a medical
student named John Larson from the
University of California invented the
modern polygraph instrument, which was
much more accurate in its results than the
previous machine.

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 People tell lies and deceive others for many
reasons. Most often, lying is a defense mechanism
used to avoid trouble with the law, bosses or
authority figures.
 Sometimes, you can tell when someone's lying, but
other times it may not be so easy. Polygraphs,
commonly called "lie detectors," are instruments
that monitor a person's physiological reactions.
These instruments do not, as their nickname
suggests, detect lies. They can only detect whether
deceptive behavior is being displayed.

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 A polygraph instrument is basically a combination of medical
devices that are used to monitor changes occurring in the
body. As a person is questioned about a certain event or
incident, the examiner looks to see how the person's
 heart rate,
 blood pressure,
 respiratory rate and
 electro-dermal activity (sweatiness, in this case of the fingers)
change in comparison to normal levels. Fluctuations may
indicate that person is being deceptive, but exam results are
open to interpretation by the examiner.

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 Polygraph exams are most often associated
with criminal investigations, but there are
other instances in which they are used. You
may one day be subject to a polygraph exam
before being hired for a job: Many
government entities, and some private-sector
employers, will require or ask you to undergo
a polygraph exam prior to employment.

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 When you sit down in the chair for a polygraph exam, several
tubes and wires are connected to your body in specific
locations to monitor your physiological activities. Deceptive
behavior is supposed to trigger certain physiological changes
that can be detected by a polygraph and a trained examiner,
who is sometimes called a forensic psychophysiologist (FP).
This examiner is looking for the amount of fluctuation in
physiological activities of the following areas
 The person's breathing rate
 The person's pulse
 The person's blood pressure
 The person's perspiration

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 There are only two people in the room during
a polygraph exam -- the person conducting
the exam and the subject being tested.
 Because polygraph examiners are alone in the
room with a test subject, his or her behavior
greatly influences the results of the exam.

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 The forensic psychophysiologist has several tasks in
performing a polygraph exam:
 Setting up the polygraph and preparing the subject being
tested
 Asking questions
 Profiling the test subject
 Analyzing and evaluating test data
 How the question is presented can greatly affect the results
of a polygraph exam. There are several variables that an FP
has to take into consideration, such as cultural and religious
beliefs. Some topics may, by their mere mention, cause a
specific reaction in the test subject that could be
misconstrued as deceptive behavior. The design of the
question affects the way the person processes the
information and how he or she responds.
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 A polygraph exam is a long process that can be divided up
into several stages. Here's how a typical exam might work:
 Pretest - This consists of an interview between the examiner
and examinee, where the two individuals get to learn about
each other. This may last about one hour. At this point, the
examiner gets the examinee's side of the story concerning
the events under investigation. While the subject is sitting
there answering questions, the examiner also profiles the
examinee. The examiner wants to see how the subject
responds to questions and processes information.
 Design questions - The examiner designs questions that are
specific to the issue under investigation and reviews these
questions with the subject.

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 In-test - The actual exam is given. The examiner asks 10 or 11
questions, only three of four of which are relevant to the issue or
crime being investigated. The other questions are control questions.
A control question is a very general question, such as "Have you ever
stolen anything in your life?" -- a type of question that is so broad
that almost no one can honestly respond with a "no." If the person
answers "no," the examiner can get an idea of the reaction that the
examinee demonstrates when being deceptive.
 Post-test - The examiner analyzes the data of physiological
responses and makes a determination regarding whether the person
has been deceptive. If there are significant fluctuations that show up
in the results, this may signal that the subject has been deceptive,
especially if the person displayed similar responses to a question
that was asked repeatedly.

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 There are times when a polygraph examiner misinterprets a person's
reaction to a particular question. The human factor of a polygraph
exam and the subjective nature of the test are two reasons why
polygraph exam results are seldom admissible in court. Here are the
two ways that a response can be misinterpreted:
 False positive - The response of a truthful person is determined to
be deceptive.
 False negative - The response of a deceptive person is determined
to be truthful.
 "If we look at laboratory-based studies, false-positive errors occur
somewhat more often than false-negative errors," Horvath said
Critics of polygraph exams say that even more false-positive errors
occur in real-world scenarios, which biases the system against the
truthful person. These errors are likely to occur if the examiner has
not prepared the examinee properly or if the examiner misreads the
data following an exam.

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 Countermeasures and Legalities
 Often, people who are being given a polygraph exam will employ certain
countermeasures in an attempt to beat the instrument. There are Web sites
and books that instruct you on how to fool the polygraph. Here are just a few
examples of how people try to trick the device:
 Sedatives
 Antiperspirant on fingertips
 Tacks placed in the shoe
 Biting tongue, lip or cheek
 The idea of countermeasures is to cause (or curtail) a certain reaction that
will skew the test's result. A subject may attempt to have the same reaction
to every question so that the examiner cannot pick out the deceptive
responses. For example, some people will place a tack in their shoe and
press their foot down on the tack after each question is asked. The idea is
that the physiological response to the tack may overpower the physiological
response to the question, causing the response to each question to seem
identical.

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