This course provides students with an introduction to cognitive neuroscience through a series of lectures, activities, and team projects. Each day, students engage in classroom discussions and activities about brain structure and function, present and critique one another's work, and build toward a group final project. For many students, this course is their first introduction to the field, and it aims to show that the brain is a fascinating organ involved in controlling thought and behavior, one that neuroscientists are still working to fully understand.

By focusing on familiar senses and experiences, students learn about the structures that allow humans to process sensory information from the environment, and how these signals are transformed into electrical activity the brain can interpret. In the anatomy lab, students dissect sheep brain tissue, which closely resembles the structure of the human brain. In the technology lab, students use cutting edge tools to analyze the functional connectivity of real brain MRI data.

Finally, students learn how multiple systems in the brain coordinate activity to process information and transform thought into action. Through these activities and projects, students gain a deeper understanding of how their brains enable them to interact with the world, as well as the tools and methods neuroscientists use to study it.