Syllabus
Cognitive and Social Neuroscience is an emerging scientific discipline that attempts to integrate the theories, methods, and insights of social cognition and cognitive neuroscience. Having complementary focuses, Cognitive Neuroscience moves „downwards“into the brain, with the aim to relate particular mental abilities (such as working memory, motor abilities, attention) to the structure and function of the nervous system.
In contrast, Social Neuroscience moves from the information-processing mechanisms ‘upward” into the phenomenology of the person, exploring social and affective forces that trigger particular behaviours. Using a combination of behavioral testing, advanced brain imaging, and theoretical modeling, the cognitive neuroscience research endeavors taking place within the department seek to elucidate how high-level cognitive and social functions, such as language and visual object recognition, social cognitive skills are related to specific neural substructures in the brain.
Brain Imaging technologies are crucial for understanding the relationships between specific areas of the brain and their function, helping to locate the areas of the brain that are affected by neurological or psychiatric disorders and build new strategies to treat them.
Annotation
Course outline:
(1) current understanding of the neural mechanisms of cognitive and social cognitive processes in the brain: how the basic cognitive functions (perception, motor/action processing, memory, attention, executive functioning), social cognitve skills, emotions are formed and structured?; how cognitive processing can be altered in various neurological and psychiatric conditions?
(2) it will provide a comprehensive overview of the tools (magnetic resonance imaging, encephalography) that are used to study the brain structure and function:
Outcome of the course: As a result of the course, the students will gain an up-to-date knowledge of neural bases of the cognitive processes