Cognitive Neuroscience Course Manual PDF

COURSE MANUAL BEHAVIOUR AND THE BRAIN PART II: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE Name: Cognitive Neuroscience Code: P_BBAC_2 Credits: 6EC Period: P6 Course Level: 200 Language: English Tuition Faculty: Fac. of Behavioural and...

COURSE MANUAL BEHAVIOUR AND THE BRAIN PART II: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE Name: Cognitive Neuroscience Code: P_BBAC_2 Credits: 6EC Period: P6 Course Level: 200 Language: English Tuition Faculty: Fac. of Behavioural and Movement Science Course Coordinator dr. J.J.Fahrenfort Examiner dr. J.J.Fahrenfort Teaching Staff dr. J.J.Fahrenfort Course information 1. Introduction 2. Design of the course 3. Learning objectives 4. Mandatory literature and other study materials 5. Overview of scheduled meetings and deadlines + detailed schedule 6. Tutorial meetings 7. Grades 8. Enrollment 1. Introduction In preminor Behavior and Brain 2 – Cognitive Neuroscience you will learn about mechanistic reasoning, brain anatomy, brain imaging, and the implementation of cognitive and mental processes in the central nerve system. The course provides a broad overview of the current state of affairs in cognitive neuroscience regarding neural plasticity, perception, memory, attention, consciousness and mental life and the research methods used in cognitive neuroscience. In addition, you will gain a basic understanding of the degree to which human behavior and mental life can be understood in terms of the architecture and computational principles of the brain. The course puts special emphasis on mechanistic understanding and computational principles and provides ample historical context. The workgroups are used to explore theoretical viewpoints and practical applications of cognitive neuroscience through discussions and presentations. 2. Design of the course The course is taught full-time in period 6 and consists of three lectures a week, in addition to self-study and tutorial meetings. The lectures take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the tutorial meetings are on Friday. 3. Learning objectives At the end of the course, you will have gained a basic understanding of some explanatory models in cognitive neuroscience (computational, mechanistic). In addition, you will have obtained a broad overview of the history of cognitive neuroscience, the most important discoveries that were crucial in developing the field, and the people who made them. You will have gained basic knowledge of the architecture of the brain and the evolutionary history of the nervous system. You will have gained basic knowledge of the methods and techniques used in cognitive neuroscience such as electrophysiology, EEG, fMRI, TMS and tDCS. You will know which neural mechanisms are involved in vision and perception. You will know some of the mechanisms involved in neural plasticity and memory, and finally, you will have obtained a bird’s eye view of some current neurobiological theories of consciousness and how they relate to attention. 4. Mandatory study materials Brain and Behavior: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective by David Eagleman and Jonathan Downar. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780190861650 (new edition) or 9780195377682 (old edition) In addition, the lectures are mandatory study material. Chapters 1-6 & 8-9 are mandatory reading/learning: 1. Introduction: explaining the brain (Chapter 1) (& Craver on Canvas facultative) 2. History, neurons and action potentials (Chapter 3) 3. Architecture of brain & nervous system (Chapter 2) 4. Methods to investigate the brain (Chapter 1) 5. Vision (Chapter 5 & 6) 6. Perceptual organization and binding (Chapter 5 & 6) 7. Neural plasticity and memory (Chapter 4 & 9) 8. Attention & consciousness (Chapter 8) 9. Q & A session 5. Overview of meetings & deadlines + detailed class schedule Overview Week Lectures Meetings Homework Deadlines: turn in 1 (23) Lecture 1, 2, 3 WG 1 Read chapter 1, 2 & 3 + search lumping /splitting articles 2 (24) Lecture 4, 5, 6 WG 2 Read chapter (1), 5 & 6 + think about review Qs + prepare presentation 3 (25) Lecture 7, 8 WG 3 Read chapter 4, 8 & 9 + find brain-upgrade + prepare presentation 4 (26) Q&A session Exam June 28 Summary report: June 30th … Resit July 18 Detailed class schedule What Date and time Location Lecture 1 Monday June 3, 13:30 Theater7-NU-4C11 Lecture 2 Tuesday June 4, 15:30 Theater7-NU-4C11 Lecture 3 Wednesday June 5, 11:00 HG-02A00 Work group 1 Friday June 7, see https://rooster.vu.nl Lecture 4 Monday June 10, 13:30 Theater7-NU-4C11 Lecture 5 Tuesday June 11, 15:30 Theater7-NU-4C11 Lecture 6 Wednesday June 12, 11:00 HG-02A00 Work group 2 Friday June 14, see https://rooster.vu.nl Lecture 7 Monday June 17, 13:30 Theater7-NU-4C11 Lecture 8 Tuesday June 18, 15:30 Theater7-NU-4C11 Work group 3 Friday June 21, see https://rooster.vu.nl Q&A session Wednesday June 26, 9:00 ONLINE Exam Friday June 28, 8:30 NU-1B05 NU-3B05 3B07 3B19 Re-sit Thursday July 18, 12:15 TenT block 3 Thursday are reserved for self-study and preparation. For the latest information regarding the location and time of lectures and exams go to https://rooster.vu.nl. When in doubt, this online schedule always takes precedence. 6. Tutorial meetings (summary, more information will be provided during the meetings and on Canvas) Deliverables tutorial meetings In the first half of tutorial 2 and 3, subgroups of students will give presentations about a topic from the study materials. After the third tutorial, each group submits a summary document of the presentation that they gave, in which they provide a more in-depth treatment of at least two questions that came up during or after their presentation. Both the presentations and the summary document will be graded by the tutors. Tutorial meeting 1 In this tutorial you will get a brief introduction to the course. You will learn about the structure of the meetings, preparation, and final assignments. You will learn about the details of the presentation assignment and when and with whom you will give a presentation. During the meeting you will make groups for the presentations and final assignment. This will be followed by a brief quiz, intended to reflect on what knowledge you already possess and perhaps need to refresh regarding the brain and nervous system. Lumping and splitting errors will be further explored during the meeting. What are examples of lumping and splitting errors, and why is this so important for our understanding of the brain? Preparation: Search for one or more articles that highlight or point to lumping errors and/or splitting errors. Read Chapter 1, 2 and 3 Tutorial meeting 2 In this tutorial the first round of presentations will take place. As audience members you will actively engage with the presentations by coming up with critical questions. Your tutor will explain the guidelines for the questions and what their purpose is. In the second half of the tutorial, you will discuss some review questions dealing with the chapters you have read in preparation for this tutorial. You will work on these questions in Google Jamboards in small groups. At the end you will discuss each groups’ findings and possible difficulties. Preparation: If it is your turn: prepare presentation about a topic (list of topics will be provided) Read Chapter 1, 5 and 6 Think ahead about the review questions Tutorial meeting 3 In this tutorial the last round of presentations will take place. Afterwards you will further discuss the ‘Upgrades of the brain’ that you have found in preparation for this tutorial. You will discuss how these devices would work in relation to brain mechanisms. You will also discuss the practical and ethical concerns in regard to these upgrades. At the end of the tutorial, you will fill out a brief tutor evaluation and have a last chance to ask questions regarding the final assignment. Preparation: If it is your turn: prepare presentation about a topic (list of topics will be provided) Read chapters 4, 8 and 9. Essential for a fruitful tutorial! Find a device/process that ‘Upgrades of the brain’ related to chapter 4, 8 and 9. You will spend time in the tutorial to figure out in more detail how it works. Tutorial attendance Tutorial attendance is mandatory. Under special circumstances (funeral, wedding, illness etc, but not ‘work’ or ‘holiday’), you are allowed to miss one tutorial at most. In case of such a circumstance beyond your control, communicate timely and professionally with your tutor and team members. A missed tutorial has to be compensated with a replacement assignment, which consists of recording a 15-20 presentation on a topic that will be assigned to you. If you miss more than one tutorial meeting, you will not be able to pass the course. 7. Grades The exam consists of 40 multiple choice questions about the lectures and the book. The final grade is composed of the written exam (75%) and work group evaluation (presentations and short reports, 25%). Both the written exam and the group evaluation must be sufficient to be able to pass the course (the course grade will default to the lowest grade if one of these is insufficient). Likewise, both the presentation and the report during the work groups need to be sufficient to obtain a sufficient grade for the work group evaluation (it will default to the lowest grade if one of these is insufficient). Sufficient partial grades for the written exam and for the work group evaluation (so the weighted mean for the presentations and short reports) carry over to the next year. 8. Enrollment For questions about enrollment, please contact [email protected]. For those who have passed the tutorial assignment in previous years, you do not have to enroll for the tutor groups again. If you already enrolled for the work groups again even though you have already passed the final assignment last year, just e-mail your tutor (see under People > Groups) and the student support e-mail above that you have already passed the research assignment, and that you can be removed from the tutor group that you have been assigned to and will not be taking part again.