Cognitive Neuroscience

This course will provide students with an introduction to the topic 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 work on their group final projects. For many students, this course is their first introduction to cognitive neuroscience. I hope to show students that the brain is a fascinating organ and is involved in controlling thought and behavior. Because these relationships are so complex, neuroscientists are still trying to understand how the brain does what it does. By focusing on familiar senses and experiences, students will learn about the structures that allow humans to process sensory information from the environment, as well as how these signals are transformed into electrical activity that the brain can process. In our anatomy lab students will dissect sheep brain tissue, which has a very similar structure to the human brain. In our technology lab students will use cutting edge technology to analyze functional connectivity of actual brain MRI data. Finally, students will learn how multiple systems in the brain coordinate activity to process this information and transform thought into action. Through activities and projects, students will not only gain a better understanding of how their brains enable them to interact with the world, but also about the tools and methods neuroscientists use to study the brain.