• What is it?

  • It's like the fMRI but with a fancy radioactive twist!
  • Measures brain activity through blood flow.

• How does it work?

  • You get a radioactive tracer that loves the glucose in your brain.
  • Tracer gets into your blood and starts to decay (it doesn't last long!)
  • More brain activity = More blood supply = More tracer in that part!

• Pros of PET

  • Spatial Superstar: It can spot differences up to about 4 mm in the brain.
  • Great for finding bad guys like tumours or understanding dementias.
  • Tiny Tech: PETs can be as small as a hat for a rat! (RatCAP 🐭🎩)

• Cons of PET

  • Temporal Trouble: Can't catch quick brain processes (30-40 seconds delay).
  • Radios in the Brain: Involves radioactive stuff, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
  • fMRI Flex: With fMRI around, PET's popularity is going down.

• Real-world example: Imagine a nightclub (your brain). The radioactive tracer is like glow-in-the-dark stickers. People dancing more (active brain parts) need more stickers!

• What is it?

  • Measures brain's electric jams 🎶.
  • Neurons = Band members. When they play together (synchronously), you can hear it outside the club (your skull).

• How does it work?

  • Tiny electrodes, like little headphones, listen to your brain’s jams from the scalp.
  • These jams become the electroencephalogram!

• Pros of EEG

  • Temporal Rockstar: It catches the beats instantly.
  • Budget Buddy: Won’t empty your pockets.
  • Mobility Magic: Unlike the 1 ton fMRI beast, EEG is the lightweight champ.
  • Silent Singer: No noise, great for studying responses to sound. (fMRI is that loud guitarist everyone complains about.)
  • Safety First: Completely non-invasive.

• Cons of EEG

  • Spatial Struggle: It's like hearing a concert from a mile away.
  • Deep Dive Dilemma: Not great for listening to the deep songs (subcortical areas).
  • Noise Nuisances: Random sounds (heartbeats, blinks, bad connections) can crash the concert.

• Real-world example: EEG is like having a radio that can instantly catch and play all the latest hits, but sometimes, there's a bit of static interference.

🌟 Final Tip! Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of these methods helps you understand when researchers would choose one over the other. Always think of the purpose and the trade-offs!

Happy Studying! 🌈📚🧠🎉