Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience (PSY 30520 / 60520)
Fall 2015
Tue/Th 12:30-1:45, DeBartolo Hall 136
Professor Contact Information:
Jessica D. Payne, Ph.D.
Office: Haggar Hall, room 122-b
Office hours: After class, Monday afternoons, or by appointment (note that I am around most
evenings as I run a sleep lab!)
Phone (office): 574-631-1636
Email: jpayne7@nd.edu
Teaching Assistant Contact Information:
Caitlin Mills
Office: 250 Haggar Hall
Office Hours: Mondays 10:00am- 1:00pm, Thursdays 9:30am- 12:30pm, or by appointment
Email: cmills4@nd.edu
Phone: 901-487-1422
Text:
1. Cognitive Neuroscience, 4th Edition by Gazzaniga, Ivry & Mangun
Other readings/articles:
You can download all other readings from the Sakai website. Readings are organized
by due date and subject.
Prerequisites:
Some biology coursework or Introduction to Biopsychology strongly preferred but not
required.
Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience is an exciting new field that combines traditional Neuroscience (the
study of how the nervous system is organized and how it functions) and Cognitive
Psychology (the study of higher mental function in humans, such as thought, memory,
emotion, and perception). Its main goals are pretty formidable -- to understand how the brain
begets the mind, and to discover the biological foundations of mental phenomena. Cognitive
Neuroscience is growing at a rapid pace, and it is everywhere in the media. For example,
NPR is constantly featuring stories, such as “The Aging Brain is Less Quick, But More
Shrewd” http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124118077
The New York Times has given us such excellent articles as “Scientists Trace Memories of
Things That Never Happened” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/science/falsememory-planted-in-a-mouse-brain-study-shows.html?_r=0, and “To Keep Teenagers Alert,
Schools Let Them Sleep In” http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/13/to-keep-teenagersalert-schools-let-them-sleep-in/ (by yours truly!) Or, consider movies such as “Memento”
and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, and “Inception”, all of which have their origins
in Cognitive Neuroscience research.
Course Objectives
Cognitive Neuroscience is fascinating because it deals with fundamental questions about
human nature. What is the human mind? What is its relationship to the brain? Are they in
some sense the same thing, and if so, what does this mean?
College should serve a greater purpose than preparing you for a job or postgraduate
education. It should teach you how to analyze an issue, think deeply about it, come to an
informed decision and apply it usefully. Beyond these worthy goals, a college education
should also inspire you, kindle your intellectual curiosity and do nothing short of help you
develop a philosophy of life -- one that helps you organize your future thinking and
determine your values and priorities. It should teach you to question things on a
fundamental level, and help you develop a coherent belief system about the nature of the
universe, the nature of life, and the purpose of your own life.
The goal of this course is not only to introduce you to the mind/brain/behavior connection
and guide you through the many fascinating topics of cognitive neuroscience, but also to
encourage you to ponder the big questions. What are we? Why are we the way we are? Why
are we conscious? Another goal is to get you thinking critically – really critically – about
everything, even the principles I will be teaching you. Don’t simply memorize the textbook
and what I say in class. Evaluate it critically. Question the assumptions and the methods on
which Cognitive Neuroscience is based, and, where possible, think of ways they can be
interpreted differently or improved. Remember, what is considered “fact” today will change
tomorrow – this is true of virtually all science. So, by all means, be sure to master the
concepts introduced to you in class, the textbook and the articles, but in addition, remember
to constantly ask yourself what the limitations might be and what other research and/or
interpretations are possible.
Course Structure and Requirements:
Each week, we will read a chapter or two from Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of Mind,
and occasionally there will be original research papers to read on specific topics as well. You
are expected to read these papers critically, think about their strengths, weaknesses, and
implications, and express your opinions in three “thought papers”. These should be short
(roughly one page), but well reasoned. Thought papers will typically be assigned on
Thursdays, and the following Tuesday we will discuss the papers as a larger class.
Although this is a lecture course, it relies heavily on class participation. All students are
expected to ask questions and contribute in an intellectually substantial way to class
discussions.
You are responsible for mastering all of the materials covered in class, in the textbook (even
the bits I don’t lecture on), and in the articles/extra reading assignments. Tests will be based
on all three.
Grading:
Undergraduate Students
80% of the course grade reflects performance on three exams, which will be weighted
equally. The third exam emphasizes material from the final portion of the course, but draws
on material from the entire course (i.e. it’s cumulative). 5% of the grade is determined by
participation in class (see below). Thought papers determine the final 15% of the grade.
Grades for the course are calculated on the scale below:
Graduate Students
70% of the course grade reflects performance on three exams, which will be weighted
equally. The third exam emphasizes material from the final portion of the course, but draws
on material from the entire course. 15% of the grade is determined by the final paper, and
10% by the thought papers. 5% of the grade is determined by participation in class (see
below). Grades for the course are calculated on the scale below:
Grade Percent
A
94-100%
A90-93%
B+
88-89%
B
82-87%
B80-81%
C+
78-79%
Grade Percent
C
72-77%
C70-71%
D+
68-69%
D
62-67%
D60-61%
F
0-59%
Instructions for Completing Assignments:
Participation:
Class participation is defined as student commitment to asking questions and offering
comments in class, as well as engaging in discussions of the primary research articles. Note:
No question or comment will be considered stupid or silly! Participation is also defined as
respect for me and for your peers. This means no childish whispering in class, no checking
email or surfing the web, and no rude manners.
Thought Papers:
The purpose of the thought papers is to help develop your critical thinking skills. This
requires the development of several generalizable abilities, including critical reading, the
ability to pick out confounds in the research but also identify strengths, suggest ideas for
improvements on study design or problem conceptualization, and look for broader
implications of the research for science and society. To help you develop these skills, each
paper you write must answer the following questions: 1) What did the researchers do?
(Hypothesis), 2) How did they do it? (Methodology), 3) What did they find? (Results – note
that you do not have to fully describe or understand statistical analysis techniques), and 4)
What does it mean? (what the authors think it means, and what you think it means).
However, I would also like to see you go beyond this and broaden your thinking by
speculating about interesting connections that may have come to mind while reading the
papers, how they relate to other articles or chapters we have read, to phenomena you have
heard about, or to society in general. The sky is the limit in this second part – think creatively
and have fun!
*Thought papers should be turned in during class on the day we discuss them. Please print them and
bring them to class! No late papers will be accepted.
Review Sessions:
Prior to each exam, Caitlin will hold a review session (times TBA). If you can’t make one,
make sure to avail yourself of our office hours to get your questions answered.
Graduate students:
In addition to fulfilling the requirements listed above, you are expected to choose a topic that
interests you related to the class and write a 8-12 page research paper on this topic, drawing
on the primary literature. You will be expected to explore your topic in depth, appropriate
for a graduate level review paper. Your readings (and therefore your reference section)
should include a minimum of 10 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals (only
one of which can be a review). This paper will determine the bulk of the writing grade (15%).
Late papers will not be accepted. It is due on the day of the final exam so you are encouraged
to get started early. Please see me about your topic before proceeding.
A couple of good databases to use to search for articles:
1) PubMed – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/ or www.pubmed.com
*Full text of articles may only be available when searching through ND library
website.
2) PsycINFO – access via ND library website. (http://www.library.nd.edu/ , click on
“databases” tab and search for PsycINFO.)
Absence Policy
There is no formal absence policy. My hope is that you will want to attend class in order to
learn. However, if you care about your grade, it wouldn’t be wise to miss more than a class
or two.
Make-up Exam Policy
Do not miss an exam. With the exception of an authorized university absence, exams will
NOT be rescheduled.
Re-grading
If you have a question or concern that there was an error in grading any of your work, you
must submit your request in writing to have the work re-graded, no more than one week
after your work was returned in class. No requests will be considered beyond this date. If
you submit a request, your work will be re-graded in its entirety, and the final grade could be
higher or lower than your original grade.
Extra Credit
I will allow up to 6 points of extra credit for participation in Psychology Department
experiments listed on the Sona website (these must be relevant to cognition), and/or
attendance at relevant lectures (for which thought papers are also required). Grad students
are not eligible for extra credit.
Holidays and Special Needs:
Please let me know at the beginning of the semester if you will have to miss a class or
reschedule an assignment due to a religious holiday. The more notice I am given, the more
likely it is that I can accommodate your needs. Please also let me know at the beginning of
the semester if you have a disability or special needs in the classroom. I will work with the
University to find solutions for you.
Tentative Course Schedule:
I will try to keep you updated on the course schedule via email and Sakai. However, because
the Course Schedule is tentative and subject to change, the only way to know about
upcoming readings and assignments is to come to class. Note that the schedule is subject to
change. Please ask me if you plan to read far in advance.