| CODE | CGS5091 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Cognitive Neuroscience | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Cognitive Science | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This unit will provide an introduction to the various methodologies that make up Cognitive Neuroscience - including patient studies, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG),. These methodologies will be described and contrasted, with discussion focused on important studies and current work. A number of psychological topics will be covered, although the emphasis will be on the area of visual cognition. This unit will also have a practical component where students will be given hands-on experience investigating anatomical MRI scans of damaged and diseased brains, and performing EEG and functional MRI analyses using pre-existing data sets. The unit will be run as a three week intensive module: Week 1: Reading; Week 2: Face-to-face lectures and practical workshops; Week 3: Assessment. Main topics will be: 1) Basics of brain structure and function; 2) Neuropychological case studies; 3) EEG; 4) MRI. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit aims to familiarise students with basic brain structure and function, and to enable them to identify and describe the key methodologies used within Cognitive Neuroscience. It also aims to provide the practical skills necessary to conduct simple analyses with EEG and functional MRI data. Each topic will be accompanied by recommended book chapter(s) or research article reading assignments. These readings will form the basis of in class discussions, so that critical thinking and oral presentation skills will also be reinforced. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - describe and contrast the experimental methodologies most frequently used in Cognitive Neuroscience research, with particular emphasis on EEG, MRI, and patient studies; - evaluate the relative suitability of these methodologies for tackling particular research questions; - describe the basic principles of neural representation, computation and learning, and the way in which these principles may relate to computational models. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - develop analytic and computer skills by performing analyses on pre-existing EEG and fMRI data sets; - identify and describe the gross anatomy of the brain and how different structures may relate to cognitive functions; - develop problem solving skills to make inferences about potential problems in cognitive functions based on anatomical scans of damaged and diseased brains; - critically evaluate ideas presented in research articles and to discuss these ideas in class, reinforcing presentation skills. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Ward, J. (2015). The Student’s Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience (3rd Ed). Psychology Press: Hove. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Tutorial | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Ian M Thornton |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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