Fall 2008

PSB 4342 (section 1356) and PSB 7249 (section 9057)

W 9-11, NEB 202

Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience

Instructor -- Linda Hermer-Vazquez, Ph.D.

lindahv@ufl.edu, 392-0601, x335 and x377

Office=Psych Building Rm. 322

Office hours: Tues. 2 – 4 p.m. or by appointment

Head TA – Sridhar Srinivasan

ssri1983@ufl.edu, office number and hours TBA

Assistant TA – Taylor Kuhn

taylork6@ufl.edu, office number and hours TBA

COURSE WEBSITE: http://www.psych.ufl.edu/~lhermer-vazquez/ (click on the course name at the bottom of page)

COURSE STRUCTURE: Wed. 4:05 pm - ~ 6:45pm with one break

MIDTERM #1: 30% of final grade

MIDTERM #2: 30% of final grade

FINAL EXAM: 40% of final grade

EXTRA CREDIT: up to an additional 10% based on classroom participation and presentations

COURSE READINGS

(1) Scientific articles and book chapters will be available to you as .pdfs on the course website

(2) Background material: Brain and Behavior, 2^nd ed., by Bob Garrett (required)

Week #1 (Aug. 27th, 2007): Introduction to Modern Cognitive Neuroscience

A brief history of the field of cognitive neuroscience, with two examples of current questions in the field (to give you some knowledge of what the rest of the course will be like):

(1) How do we come to know that others have separate minds from our own

(called “theory of mind”), and what is the biological basis for this ability?

(2) The amazing cognitive abilities of “savants” (in some cases called “idiot savants”) – what do they reveal about normal neurocognitive function?

Readings for Week #1: Scientific American article on savant Kim Peek, Dec. 2005

(posted on website)

Further reading about the cognitive neuroscience of extraordinary mental abilities: Special Scientific American articles

Week #1 slides: in Powerpoint format

Week #2 (Sept. 3rd, 2007): Structure and function of the CNS at all levels including single neurons, local circuits of neurons, and brain-wide networks

Background Reading: Garrett, Chapters 2 & 3

Week #2 slides in Powerpoint format

Week #3 (Sept. 10^th): Techniques to study the brain/mind

(1) Genomics Intracellular recordings, biophysics

(2) Mesoscale: Multiple single-unit recordings

(3) Mesoscale: Optical imaging and local field potentials

(4) Cognitive psychology

(5) Large-scale neuroimaging – fMRI, EEG, MEG

Reading for Week #3:If neuroimaging is the answer, what is the question? By renowned cognitive neuroscientist Stephen Kosslyn

Week #3 slides in PDF format and Powerpoint format

Week #4 (Sept. 17^th): The cognitive neuroscience of evolutionarily ancient creatures, e.g.

(1) “vision” in prokaryotes

(2) dead reckoning and cognitive mapping in octopus, spiders and bees

(3) associative learning and multiple memory systems in drosophila

In addition, strikingly sophisticated cognitive abilities in more recent ancestors:

(4) signs of altruism in monkeys and even rats!

Readings for Week #4: Swanson, Chapter 2, plus two brief articles on possible animal altruism

Swanson, part 1

Swanson, part 2

Swanson, part 3

Animal altruism articles: for rats: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070703173345.htm

For chimpanzees: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070625085134.htm

Week #4 slides:

Week #5 (Sept. 24^th): MIDTERM #1

Week #6 (Oct. 1^st): (A) Intro to sensory and perceptual systems; (B) Motor control, and the intertwinement of perceptual and motor control

Background Reading: Garrett, Chapters 9 - 11

Week #7 (Oct. 8^th): Continuation of sensory and perceptual systems discussion, and beginning of executive system topic

Slides in PDF format

Required readings: Fiorillo et al., Science (2003). Also see the commentary piece in the same issue of Science.

Required readings: Miller and Cohen’s theory of prefrontal function, and Tanji and Hoshi, 2008

Week #8 (Oct. 15^th): Reward systems of the brain, and continuation of executive functioning

Required reading: Review paper on dopamine function

Background reading: Garrett, Chapter 5

Slides for Oct. 17^th in Powerpoint format

Week #9 (Oct. 22^nd): Finishing DA versus opioids, then moving on to attention and learning

Slides for Oct. 24^th in Powerpoint format

Required readings: Attention review by Singer and Engel

Lecture slides in Powerpoint format and pdf format

Week #10 (Oct. 29^th): Memory systems of the mammalian brain, including similarities and differences among humans and other species

Required readings: Squire and Eichenbaum & Fortin and Garrett, Ch. 12

Lecture slides in Powerpoint format

Week #11 (Nov. 5^th): Midterm #2; Study guide for MIDTERM #2

Week # 12 (Nov. 12^th): Space, Number and Time, plus intro to Language Processing

Lecture slides in Powerpoint format and .pdf format (also print out first 10 slides or so of the language lecture listed under Week #12)

Assigned readings: Buhusi & Meck, Kaan & Swaab, Dehaene et al., 1999

Lecture files: Space, time and number, and Language

Week #13 (Nov. 19^th): NO CLASS; professor and TA out of town at conference

Week #14 (Nov. 26^th): NO CLASS – Day before Thanksgiving

Week #15 (Dec. 1^st): The experience and study of emotions

Reading for Week #13: Garrett, Chapters 6 and 8

Lecture slides in .ppt format and .pdf format

Week #16 (Dec. 10^th): Other problems of consciousness, e.g. qualia and knowledge of the self and others

Readings for Week #14: Garrett, Ch. 15, pp. 484-500, and Ramachandran, Ch. 7

Lecture slides in Powerpoint format and .pdf format

Final Exam Date: XX

Final Exam Study Guide

Review session: XX

Rooms for review session and final to be announced