Cognitive Science Q301 - Brain & Cognition

Cognitive Science Q301 - Brain & Cognition
Syllabus

Class Time & Place
Instructor Information
Schedule
Instructional Format
Required Textbook
Additional Readings
Evaluation & Grading
Tips for Success

Class Time & Place

Time: 10:20-11:35 Monday-Friday
Place: Psychology 113

Instructor Information

	Instructor
	Dr. Tom Busey
Office:	P330
Office hours	9-10:30 Tuesday, often around other times
Office phone:	855-4261
e-mail address:	busey@indiana.edu

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Schedule

Dates of assignments will be given in class and via email.

note: all information may change if necessary

Date	Topic/Activity	Readings That Might Be Helpful
5/8	Principles of Neuroscience	Chapter 1
5/9	Epilepsy Patient
5/10		Chapter 2
5/11		Posner & Raichle paper
5/14		The ERP and Cognitive Psychology Instructions for Neurodule
5/15
5/16	Perception	Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
5/17		What is "Special" About Face Perception?
5/18		Electrophysiological Studies of Face Perception in Humans The N170 Occipito-Temporal Component is Delayed…
5/21		Does the Face-Specific N170 Component Reflect The Activity of a Specialized
5/22		fMRI of Human Visual cortex
5/23		Visual Object Recognition
5/24		Visual Imagery and Visual Representation
5/25	Human Memory	Chapter 7
5/29		Memory, Hippocampus and Brain Systems
5/30		Organization of Memory: Quo Vadis?
5/31		Event-related Potential Studies of Human Memory
6/1
6/4		Classical Conditioning Long-term potentiation

6/5		Why are there complementary learning systems
6/6	Jane Doe Consulatation Project: Language and Attention	Chapter 8 Chapter 11
6/7		Cortical Organization of Language Lesioning an Attractor Network
6/8
6/11		The Puzzle of Concious Experience
6/12		Precis of Origins of the Modern Mind
6/13
6/14		Final Exam

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Instructional Format

The structure of Q301 is based around problem-focused sections where students individually or in teams, solve problems that are authentic to the field of cognitive neuroscience and appropriate for an undergraduate classroom experience. Lecture, demonstration, and discussion are used when needed as a means for students to gather information that will be helpful in solving their problems.

Required Textbook

Gazzaniga, M. S., Ivry, R. B., & Mangun, G. R. (1998). Cognitive neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Online materials in PDF format.

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Evaluation & Grading

Grading will be based on the products you develop for each of the assigned problems as well as quizzes and participation on in-class activities. The authentic problems are an important way for you to demonstrate your knowledge of cognitive neuroscience in a practical way.

Grading criteria

Grading criteria

Assignment	% of final grade
Quiz	15
Application paper 1 (Casey) (individual)	10
Connectionism Assignment (individual)	10
Application paper 2 (EEG expt) (team with individual contributions)	20
Synaptic Plasticity Assignment (individual)	10
Application paper 3 (Jane Doe) (team or individual)	15
Final exam (individual)	15
Participation assignments	5

Final grade distribution (based on 40 points total, rounded. Eg. 36.4=36, 36.5=37)

A	38-40
A-	36-37
B+	35
B	33-34
B-	32
C+	30-31
C	29
C-	27-28
D+	25-26
D	23
D-	21-22
F	< 21

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Tips for Success

Based on talking with students from previous years, I can offer this advice if you want to do well in Q301:

Come to class. It makes understanding the readings much easier and is by far the most efficient use of time when it comes to figuring out what material is relevant.
Read the required materials, and select other materials that are relevant to the problem you are solving. The required reading is insufficient for solving the problems.
Spread out your studying. People learn most efficiently when the material is spread out over time. This gives your brain time to organize and incorporate new information.
Get into the material. Q301 is a course that has the potential to describe how you think about your brain and how to make it work better. If you get interested in the material you will enjoy it more and problem solving will be easier.
The EEG projects take time to plan and to analyze. Group projects can be time-consuming. Attend and contribute to every meeting.
Group members will have different strengths and weaknesses. Actively work to figure out which tasks group members are good at and assign tasks appropriately. Often a task will not be amenable to breaking into parts; if so, resign yourselves to working together on the project, even if it takes more time.

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