2.1.3—Brain imaging
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2027
- Objective
- 2.1.3
- Level
- SL
Brain imaging shows patterns, not a direct cause
Brain-imaging methods measure structure or activity indirectly—for example, changes in volume, blood flow or metabolic signal—so researchers can compare patterns across tasks or groups.
Imaging can localise activity and track development, but resolution, reverse inference and correlational design limit what it proves. A region active during a task may support it without being the only cause.
If adolescents show different activation during inhibition, the result may indicate developmental change; it does not by itself show that maturation caused a later behaviour or that one region controls it alone.
A colourful scan is not a diagnosis or causal map. Identify the method, comparison, inference and uncertainty.