Cognitive Psychology Seminar Autumn/Fall 2014 Course description: Cognitive psychology studies how the human mind works and cognitive neuroscience aims to elucidate the links between the mind and the brain. This course introduces fundamental topics in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience and additionally aims to stimulate critical thinking on these topics. Through weekly lectures and discussions led by different faculty members with in their areas of research expertise, students should acquire advanced knowledge about recent empirical findings on the topics of perception, attention, language, memory, and other higher cognitive functions. The lectures and discussions will cover important theoretical issues from behavioral and neuroimaging experiments that shed light on the cognitive processes in the brain. There will be lectures, inclass presentations, and paper discussion and additionally assigned readings for each topic. Students are also required to actively participate in class, take a midterm and a final exam, and turn in a term paper. Textbook: Purves D, Brannon EM, Cabeza R, Huettel SA, LaBar KS, Platt ML, & Woldorff MG (Eds.). (2008) Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience. Sunderland, MA, USA: Sinauer Associates, Inc. Plus selected readings (assigned during the semester). Course goals: 1. Provide an overview of the contemporary topics in the field of cognitive psychology, including but not limited to perception, attention, memory, symbolic processing, and executive functions. 2. Gain an understanding of the experimental methods employed in the field of cognitive psychology to test relevant theories. 3. Develop the ability to present, summarize, and criticize research findings that are reported in academic journals in both oral and written formats. 4. Enhance and refine the skills involved in critical thinking. Course requirements: The specific requirements of students taking this course are listed below: 1. Class participation: Students are required to read assigned materials before each class, and to actively participate in the class. 2. In-class presentation: Students are required to take turns to present and to lead discussion of textbook or additionally assigned papers on each topic. 3. Midterm and final exams: Students are required to take the midterm exam on Nov. 10, and to take the final exam on Jan. 12. The exams will require students a) to explain key concepts and important findings of cognitive psychology, b) to demonstrate the ability of critical thinking, and c) to integrate the acquired knowledge and skills to solve problems. 4. Term paper: Students are required to turn in a term paper about one specific research topic of cognitive psychology. The report is due at 9am of Jan. 20. Turning in the assignment in time is imperative – five points will be deducted from the grade for a delay of every 24 hours. Evaluation: Class participation and discussion In-class presentation Midterm exam (Nov. 10) Final exam (Jan. 12) Term paper (due: 9am of Jan. 19) 25% 15% 15% 25% 20% Course schedule Date Sep. 15 Topics Instructor(s) Course orientation & Neil Muggleton introduction to the brain Methods: Cognitive Sep. 22 neuropsychology & TMS/tDCS Chap. 3 Erik Chang Shih-kuen Cheng Chap. 3 Methods: MRI, ERPs/MEG Oct. 6 Computational Neuroscience and Wei-Kuang advanced/adaptive data Liang processing Oct. 13 Vision Chi-Hung Juan Oct. 20 Attention I Neil Muggleton Oct. 27 Attention II Neil Muggleton Working memory, cognitive control & emotion Nov. 10 Midterm exam Chap. 1 Denise Wu Neil Muggleton Sep. 29 Nov. 3 Textbook readings Chi-Hung Juan Neil Muggleton Chap. n/a Chap. 5 Chap. 10-12 Paper presenters Nov. 17 Action I Erik Chang Nov. 24 Action II Erik Chang Dec. 1 Learning & Memory I Shih-kuen Cheng Dec. 8 Learning & Memory II Shih-kuen Cheng Chap. 8-9 Dec. 15 Speech and language I Denise Wu Chap. 20 Dec. 22 Speech and language II Denise Wu Chap. 21 Dec. 29 Executive control Nissen Kuo Chap. 23 Jan. 5 Shih-Wei Wu Chap. 24 Decision making Jan. 12 Final exam Chap. 14-16 Neil Muggleton Additional reading Attention Awh, E., Armstrong, K. M., & Moore, T. (2006). Visual and oculomotor selection: links, causes and implications for spatial attention. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 10(3), 124-130. Chambers, C. D., & Mattingley, J. B. (2005). Neurodisruption of selective attention: insights and implications. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 9(11), 542-550. Corbetta, M., & Shulman, G. L. (2011). Spatial Neglect and Attention Networks. Annual review of neuroscience, 34(1), 569-599. Green, A. E., Munafò, M. R., DeYoung, C. G., Fossella, J. A., Fan, J., & Gray, J. R. (2008). Using genetic data in cognitive neuroscience: from growing pains to genuine insights. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9(9), 710-720. Kravitz, D. J., Saleem, K. S., Baker, C. I., & Mishkin, M. (2011). A new neural framework for visuospatial processing. Nature Review Neuroscience, 12(217), 1-14. Learning & Memory McCabe, D. P., & Balota, D. A. (2007). Context effects on remembering and knowing: the expectancy heuristic. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn, 33(3), 536-549. Migo, Ellen M., Mayes, Andrew R., & Montaldi, Daniela. (2012). Measuring recollection and familiarity: Improving the remember/know procedure. Consciousness and Cognition, 21(3), 1435-1455. Rugg, M. D., Vilberg, K. L., Mattson, J. T., Yu, S. S., Johnson, J. D., & Suzuki, M. (2012). Item memory, context memory and the hippocampus: fMRI evidence. Neuropsychologia, 50(13), 30703079. Wais, P. E., Squire, L. R., & Wixted, J. T. (2010). In search of recollection and familiarity signals in the hippocampus. J Cogn Neurosci, 22(1), 109-123. Action Graydon, F. X., Friston, K. J., Thomas, C. G., Brooks, V. B., & Menon, R. S. (2005). Learning-related fMRI activation associated with a rotational visuo-motor transformation. Brain research. Cognitive brain research, 22(3), 373–83. Milner, A. D., & Goodale, M. A. (2008). Two visual systems re-viewed. Neuropsychologia, 46(3), 774-785. Rosenbaum, D. A. (2010). Core Problems. Human motor control (pp. 11–41). Speech and language Caramazza, A., & Mahon, B. Z. (2003). The organization of conceptual knowledge: the evidence from category-specific semantic deficits. Trends Cogn Sci, 7(8), 354-361. Kuhl, P., & Rivera-Gaxiola, M. (2008). Neural substrates of language acquisition. Annual review of neuroscience, 31, 511-34. Kutas, M., & Federmeier, K. D. (2000). Electrophysiology reveals semantic memory use in language comprehension. Trends in cognitive sciences, 4(12), 463-470. Executive control & Decision making Fuster, J. M. (2001). The prefrontal cortex - An update: time is of the essence. Neuron, 30(2), 319333. Miller, E. K., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annual review of neuroscience, 24, 167-202.
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