SOW-DGCN01
Trends in Cognitive Neuroscience
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleSOW-DGCN01
Credits (ECTS)6
Category-
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Social Sciences; Cognitive Neuroscience;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
dr. L. Verhagen
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. L. Verhagen
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
dr. L. Verhagen
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
dr. L. Verhagen
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2021
Period
JAAR  (06/09/2021 to 15/07/2022)
Starting block
JAAR
Course mode
full-time
Remark
Please note: if you do not yet have a master's registration, you are not yet registered for the tests for this course.
Remarks-
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesNo
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims

This course aims to familiarize the student with key issues in cognitive neuroscience (as reported, e.g., in Trends in Neurosciences, Trends in Neurobiology, and Trends in Cognitive Science), in order to promote a critical reflection on current issues.

Content

A number of current, 'hot', research themes from the field of cognitive neuroscience will be addressed, both in the form of a general overview and through specific research papers. The themes will be diverse, each theme covered by a CNS-lecturer who is a specialist in the field. Whenever possible, opposite or complementary views on the topic will be presented.

Level

Presumed foreknowledge

Test information

Specifics

Assumed previous knowledge
NOTE: this course is for CNS students only

Required materials
Blackboard
The reading and writing assignments as well as the presentations of the lecturers will be made available on the internet course-site, via Blackboard, the digital learning environment of the Radboud University Nijmegen.

Recommended materials
Articles
Bar, M. (2007). The proactive brain: using analogies and associations to generate predictions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11 (7), 280-289.
Articles
Clark, A. (2013). Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36, 181-204.
Articles
Cools R., Nakamura K., Daw N.D. (2011). Serotonin and dopamine: unifying affective, activational, and decision functions. Neuropsychopharmacology. 36, 98-113.
Articles
Evans, N. & Levinson, S.C. (2009). The Myth of Language Universals: Language Diversity and Its Importance for Cognitive Science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32, 429–448.
Articles
Heatherton, T. F. & Wagner, D. D. (2011). Cognitive neuroscience of self-regulation failure. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(3), 132–9.
Articles
Homberg, J.R. (2012). The stress-coping (mis)match hypothesis for nature × nurture interactions. Brain Research, 1432, 114-121.
Articles
Medendorp, W.P. (2011). Spatial constancy mechanisms in motor control. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 366, 476–491.
Software

Instructional modes
Assignments
Attendance MandatoryYes

General
As for writing assignment the lecturer will hand out two empirical research papers illustrating the diversity of approaches and/or results and student input will be in the form of a reflective critical note on these papers (e.g., discussing possible explanations for differences or possibilities for integration). In addition, peer review will be employed whereby students are asked to comment on the critical notes of their peers.

Lecture
Attendance MandatoryYes

General
Per theme a researcher from the Donders Institute will present an introduction to the topic. For example, a starting point may be a review article from journals as Trends in Neurosciences, Trends in Cognitive Science, and Current Opinion in Neurobiology, which will also be assigned as suggested reading. This is then followed by an outlining of diverse research results, some of them possibly found by investigators from the Donders Institute.

Tests
Essays
Test weight1
Test typeEssay
OpportunitiesBlock JAAR

Remark
NOTE: enrollment for a course automatically registers you for its exam. For participating in the resit, register again.