SCI 135 Introduction to Cognitive Science

Content

Cognitive science is a relatively new scientific field that deals with the study of higher-order human brain functions. This field combines techniques and concepts from many disciplines, especially from Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology, but also from Physics, Computer Science, Anthropology and Medicine. During the last two decades, this integrated approach has gained a central position within the scientific realm due to dramatic new insights about human cognition and the development of new research technologies. This course will familiarize students to fact and concepts of Cognitive Sciences. It will provide a good working knowledge of the basics of Neuroscience, including neural communication and brain anatomy. Students will be introduced to the various (imaging) techniques as a tool to study brain function and complex behaviours. Moreover, a selected number of key topics within the field of Cognitive Science will be discussed. While discussing these topics, the focus will be on explaining the neural basis for behaviour.

Instructor

Dr. Gerda Andringa

Track

Cognitive Science

Period

Fall / 2012

Course Material

• Cognitive Neuroscience, International student edition by Micheal S. Gazzaniga

Required for

This course is required in order to take the following course:

• SCI 335 Advanced Cognitive Science
• SCI 235 Psycholinguistics