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Year 10
AQA
Higher

Damage and disease in the human brain, including fMRI and electrical stimulation

I can describe some of the difficulties in studying and treating damage in the nervous system and brain.

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New
New
Year 10
AQA
Higher

Damage and disease in the human brain, including fMRI and electrical stimulation

I can describe some of the difficulties in studying and treating damage in the nervous system and brain.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The importance and difficulties of investigating brain function and damage, including safety and ethical considerations.
  2. Use of fMRI and electrical stimulation to study the brain.
  3. Difficulties in treating disease and damage in the nervous system and brain (e.g. lack of mitosis in neurones).
  4. Potential treatments for disease and damage in the nervous system and brain (e.g. stem cells).

Common misconception

Understanding the ethics of research practices is complex and often misunderstood. The details of various brain scanning techniques are complex and also confusing.

Ethical practices are discussed with examples and changes through history to give context. Brain scanning techniques are illustrated and explained, with follow up tasks.

Keywords

  • Ethical - relates to whether an action and its consequences are right or wrong

  • Informed consent - consent obtained from a patient where they fully understand the procedure and its implications

  • Mitosis - a type of cell division that produces genetically identical cells

  • Stem cell - a cell that can differentiate into specialised cells

When discussing ethics and informed consent, consider this from a student's perspective: would it be right to use their social media post for my benefit without their informed consent? Be careful this doesn't go off track though!
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What kinds of issues determine whether an action and its consequences are right or wrong?
Correct Answer: ethical, ethics
Q2.
What types of cells primarily make up brain tissue?
fat
Correct answer: nerve
grey
glandular
muscle
Q3.
What is the process of ordinary cell division called?
Correct Answer: Mitosis
Q4.
What are stem cells?
cells found in the stem of any plant
cells found in the stem of a flowering plant
Correct answer: cells that can differentiate into other types of cell
cells found in the stem of the brain
Q5.
fMRI imaging uses radiation to visualise brain activity.
Correct Answer: electromagnetic
Q6.
Match the disease to its symptoms.
Correct Answer:Parkinson's disease,parts of the brain become damaged, affects muscles, e.g. slow movement

parts of the brain become damaged, affects muscles, e.g. slow movement

Correct Answer:Dementia,associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning, e.g. memory

associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning, e.g. memory

Correct Answer:Epilepsy,causes frequent seizures

causes frequent seizures

Correct Answer:Depression,involves having a low mood that affects day-to-day living

involves having a low mood that affects day-to-day living

Correct Answer:Stroke,when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off

when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
When embarking on research into the human brain, what should we consider?
effectiveness of the treatment
Correct answer: safety
Correct answer: ethical issues
Q2.
Which of these statements is not an ethical issue involved in studying patients with brain damage caused by Parkinson's?
The patient may not be able to consent to the research.
The patient may not benefit from the research.
Correct answer: Patient brain function may be severely limited.
The patient may be harmed by the research.
Q3.
True or false? Stimulation of the brain involves an electrical current being applied.
Correct answer: true
false
Q4.
Which of the following are true about deep brain stimulation (DBS)?
Correct answer: requires an operation
used to treat long-term conditions such as dementia
Correct answer: involves an implant being placed in the brain
involves a net of electrodes being placed over the head
Correct answer: used to treat long-term conditions such as Parkinson’s and epilepsy
Q5.
Which of the following is true about Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans?
the patient must be sedated
Correct answer: detects changes in blood flow
electrical impulses are sent to the brain
cause oxygen molecules to oscillate and vibrate
Correct answer: magnetic material cannot go in the scanner
Q6.
Neurones are very complex cells and cannot undergo to create new copies of themselves.
Correct Answer: mitosis