Jody Culham
Brain and Mind Institute
Department of Psychology
Western University
http://www.fmri4newbies.com/
Psychology 9223
Neuroimaging of Cognition
Last Update: September 8, 2014
Last Course: Psychology 9223, F2014, Western University
Course Description
Brain imaging, particularly functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI), has become a common tool to study specialized human
brain regions involved in cognitive functions. The course will be
comprised of a combination of lectures and hands-on tutorials
using Brain Voyager software. The lectures will cover brain imaging
technology, current techniques for basic and advanced
experimental design and analysis, and a discussion of the merits
and limitations of neuroimaging as a tool for cognitive
neuroscientists. The tutorials will cover fMRI data structure,
preprocessing, and analysis. The course will emphasize the
development of skills that are important for a career in academia:
grant-writing, distilling core ideas from complex fields, and critical
thinking. By the end of the class, students should be able to read,
understand, and critique papers in brain imaging.
Objectives
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To provide students with a critical overview of how brain imaging
research can contribute to cognitive neuroscience research.
To provide students with sufficient understanding of neuroimaging
design and methods that they can read and critique articles on the topic
and can propose a well-designed neuroimaging experiment.
To give students a conceptual understanding of the technical details of
fMRI (like MR physics, the BOLD response, and preprocessing steps)
without requiring a strong background in physics, biology, or
mathematics.
To give students a hands-on understanding of brain imaging analysis,
with an emphasis not on “which buttons to push” but rather on why one
might make certain decisions about design and analysis.
To have students think about how fMRI might be used to address their
own research questions.
To give students experience with several key skills of academia: grantwriting, distilling core ideas from complex fields, and critical thinking.
Tutorials
TA
• Scott Macdonald, smacd49@uwo.ca
Goals:
• to get a feel for working with fMRI data and reinforce core concepts
from lectures (e.g., preprocessing, smoothing, contrasts)
• although tutorials will use Brain Voyager, the goal will NOT be
learning how to use the software per se but rather to understand
core concepts that generalize across software packages
Course Sessions
Lecture Only Days
– 9:30 am – 12:00 noonish
– SSC 7405/9 (unless we find a bigger room)
Lecture + Tutorial
• Lecture
– 9:30 am – 11:00 am
– SSC 7405/9 (unless we find a bigger room)
• Tutorial
– 11:15 am – 12:20 pm
– SSC 1032 (unless we find a bigger room)
– only open to credit students
Course Schedule
Evaluation
• Written Grant-Style Research Proposal (65%)
– max: 16 double-spaced pages + figures
– brief literature review
– new question
• can’t be part of student’s thesis
– experimental design and analysis
– features of grant (hypotheses, consideration of pitfalls,
budget)
– goal: convert concepts from class into a project
• Hands-on fMRI Analysis: Short Assignments (35%)
– 7 assignments worth 5% each
No Plagiarism
Grading Rubric
How to be a Grad Student
• Determine your goals
– To learn the material for your purposes
• to understand fMRI papers?
• to do fMRI projects
– To gather the skills and understanding to write a good
proposal
• Learn how to learn
– There’s no multiple choice in real life
– Know how to find things, who to ask
• Learn how to read
80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle)
Textbook (Recommended)
3rd edition hot off the presses
Western bookstore
• $116
• taking orders
Amazon.ca
• $112
• available for pre-order (date
unspecified)
Coursemart eBook
• $46 for 180 days
• $88 for unlimited access