MSc Neuroimaging for Clinical & Cognitive Neuroscience / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Cognitive and Social Neuroscience

Course unit fact file
Unit code PCHN62162
Credit rating 15
Unit level FHEQ level 7 – master's degree or fourth year of an integrated master's degree
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

This unit will describe a series of studies using functional neuroimaging techniques to explore questions in cognitive and social neuroscience. Examples of areas covered include language, memory, attention, face recognition, cross-modal processing, sleep, emotion and social cognition.

The course will explore and evaluate ways in which different acquisition and analysis techniques have been used to investigate contrasting questions, showing how in some cases they have provided convergent data. The course will evaluate the validity of analytic approaches incorporating personality measures.

The unit will also draw on human lesion work to illustrate how functional neuroimaging hypotheses have evolved and how data from functional neuroimaging informs human lesion models.

Aims

  • Provide students with a broad background to fMRI and EEG/ERP applications in cognitive and social neuroscience.
  • Using examples, illustrate a variety of ways in which these techniques can be used to explore the neural bases of cognition, emotion, social cognition and behaviour.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course unit, students will:

  • have a detailed understanding of how fMRI and EEG have been used to explore cognitive and social neuroscience;
  • understand how questions asked with functional neuroimaging can address issues raised by lesion studies;
  • be able to develop a theoretically relevant hypothesis and examine it using functional imaging;
  • be competent at evaluating research exploring cognitive and social theories using functional imaging.

Teaching and learning methods

This unit is delivered via 12 x two-hour lectures across six weeks, incorporating discussion sessions. Teaching will be complemented by the availability of notes, slides and recommended reading.

Assessment methods

  • Essay accounts worth 80% of the overall mark.
  • Experiment proposal worth 20% of the overall mark.

Feedback methods

No information available.

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 24
Independent study hours
Independent study 126

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Daniela Montaldi Unit coordinator

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