Module PSYC41630: Current Issues in Cognitive Neuroscience

Department: Psychology

PSYC41630: Current Issues in Cognitive Neuroscience

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• This module aims to provide students with advanced in-depth knowledge of the current theoretical issues in the field of cognition and neuropsychology in order to provide students with advanced in-depth knowledge of historical and philosophical issues within the field of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Content

• The module uses seminars and class discussions to examine current research issues in a range of areas within the field of cognitive neuroscience. These current issues may include topics in the field of vision, auditory, memory, attention, emotion, and motor processing amongst others. Students will be presented with a choice of classic papers from the field and workshops will support students to carry out in-depth reviews of two of these papers and place them in the context of modern theory.

Learning Outcomes

• Detailed understanding of specific research questions in the field of cognitive neuroscience
• Acquisition of knowledge about the history, background and development of research within the field of cognitive neuroscience
• Detailed understanding of 'classic' experiments in cognitive neuroscience
• Understanding the relevance of 'classic' studies to modern research

• Developing the ability to:
• Present (poster and oral presentation) advanced topics
• Write peer review comments on peers' work
• Incorporate a response to peer review into written material

• Good written communication skills
• Developing the ability to learn independently within broad guidelines

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• This module is taught by way of ten weekly double seminars in Michaelmas and Epiphany term (from week 6 onwards) which will support in-depth learning about specific research questions in the field of cognitive neuroscience. Seminars will involve both small group teaching and student-led discussion, which will assist students to learn independently and develop their oral communication skills. The formative essay on material arising from the seminars will assess students' written communication skills as well as their in-depth knowledge of these research issues.
• Workshops in Michaelmas and Epiphany term will support the students' learning of classic studies in cognitive neuroscience and will support students' communication skills (oral and poster presentation). Students' understanding of classic experiments will be formatively assessed through a poster presentation of the work. There will be formatively assessed peer review of the posters. This peer review will be responded to in the summative assignment which will be a write-up of the literature review of the classic studies.
• The written exam will also assess students' written communication skills and their ability to learn independently.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

2000 words essay on seminars due at the end of term 1, poster presentation in term 2 and a peer review of others' posters (one peer reviews of 500 words).

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University