Guía docente de Neurociencia Cognitiva (M30/56/2/29)

The course begins with an introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience.

The treatment of research methods focuses on the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography, and techniques for disrupting / stimulating brain activity. Analysis strategies cover multivariate analysis, functional connectivity, and brain rhythms.

The themes of the research articles are chosen to represent different areas of study and techniques within Cognitive Neuroscience.

All classes and readings would take place in English.

Basic knowledge about cognitive processes and experimental design in Psychology and Neuroscience is required. 

The student will understand:

• The relation between cognitive functions and their underlying brain mechanisms.

The student will be able to:

• Read and understand articles from the main scientific journals in the field.

• Prepare a summary / reflection / questions of at least one article corresponding to each session of the course.

• Present at least one topic of the program in public and answer questions.

Introduction and organization of the course

Inferences, statistical approaches and replicability in Cognitive Neuroscience

Techniques for recording and stimulating brain activity and data analysis strategies

Structural and functional organization of the brain

Representation of information

Predictive coding

Emotion

Memory

Attentional selection

Cognitive control

Intelligence

Consciousness

Decision making and will

Neurofeedback

[This list could be partially altered depending on the new articles that appear in the discipline]

Reading and discussion of scientific articles. Scientific outreach activities. 

• Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of Mind (Fourth Edition). Gazzaniga, M.S, Ivry, R.B, and Mangun, G.M. New York: Norton & Company, 2014.

• The Cognitive Neurosciences (Sixth Edition). Poeppel, D., Mangun, G. M., and Gazzaniga, M.S. (Eds.) New York: MIT Press, 2020.

• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Third Edition). Huettel, S.A, Song, A.W, McCarthy, G., Sunderland, M.A. USA: Sinauer Associates, Inc. 2014.

• Rhythms of the Brain. Buzsäki, G.. New York: Oxford University Press. 2006.

• Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (2000) Toward mapping the evolved functional organization of mind and brain. En M. S. Gazzaniga (Ed.) The New Cognitive Neurosciences. Bradford Books, MIT Press. 1167-1178

• Tomasello, M., Carpenter, M., Call, J., Behne, T. And Moll, H. (2005) Understanding and sharing intentions: The origins of cultural cognition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 28, 675-735.

• Mesulam, M. (1998) From sensation to cognition. Brain, 121, 1023-1052.

• Principles of Frontal Lobe Function. (Second Edition). Stuss, D.T. and Knight, R.T. New York: Oxford University Press. 2013.

• http://www.med.harvard.edu/aanlib/home.html 

• https://bigbrain.loris.ca/main.php 

• http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org/ 

• http://practicalfmri.blogspot.com.es/

•https://www.ted.com/talks

Article 18 of the UGR Assessment Policy and Regulations establishes that the ordinary assessment session (convocatoria ordinaria) will preferably be based on the continuous assessment of students, except for those who have been granted the right to a single final assessment (evaluación única final), which is an assessment method that only takes a final exam into account.

• Written tests (open questions and critical essays) (45%)

• Oral presentations (25%)

• Contributions to class discussions and student attitude (20%)

• Elaboration of questions about the contents of the subject (10%)

Article 19 of the UGR Assessment Policy and Regulationsestablishes that students who have not passed a course in the ordinary assessment session (convocatoria ordinaria) will have access to an extraordinary assessment session (convocatoria extraordinaria). All students may take part in this extraordinary assessment session, regardless of whether or not they have followed continuous assessment activities. In this way, students who have not carried out continuous assessment activities will have the opportunity to obtain 100% of the grade with a written exam ((open questions and critical essays) covering the entire subject of the course. This exam will be done in person using paper and pencil and without the aid of electronic devices. 

Article 8 of the UGR Assessment Policy and Regulationsestablishes that students who are unable to follow continuous assessment methods due to justifiable reasons shall have recourse to a single final assessment (evaluación única final), which is an assessment method that only takes a final exam into account.

In order to opt for a single final assessment (evaluación única final), students must send a request, using the corresponding online procedure, to the coordinator of the master’s programme, in the first two weeks of the course or in the two weeks following their enrolment (if the enrolment has taken place after the classes have already begun). The coordinator will communicate this information to the relevant teaching staff members, citing and verifying the reasons why the student is unable to follow the continuous assessment system.

The evaluation will consist of a written exam (open questions and critical essays) covering the entire subject of the course. This exam will be done in person using paper and pencil and without the aid of electronic devices. 

Face-to-face classes (32 hours)

- Teacher presentations

- Critical analysis and discussion of articles in the class

- Oral presentations by students

In-person written exam: 4 hours

Autonomous work (64 hours)

- Bibliographic research on specific topics

- Critical reading of scientific articles

- Summary/reflection of at least one article for each session

- Preparation of oral presentations

GenIA Use

In this subject, the use of generative artificial intelligence (such as chatGPT and similar tools, referred to as GenIAG hereafter) is permitted for the following purposes: to assist learning and deepening the understanding of the content, to improve the writing of the texts, and to translate texts.

GenIA is NOT permitted for generating any of the in-class or requested class contents. Questions and/or reflections about the readings, and written essays, should be produced solely by students. Students are RESPONSIBLE for its use and must ensure that reliance on such resources does not lead to accepting false or incorrect information, or to plagiarism.

In any case, it is recommended to use tools contracted by UGR (such as Microsoft Copilot), which ensure that data remains within the organization and is not exposed to third parties. If you have used an IAGen tool in any assignment, you must acknowledge it by adding a specific section at the end of the text, like this:

This work utilized Microsoft Corporation. (2024). Microsoft Copilot [Software]. Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/copilot for the following tasks: [...]. The author accepts full responsibility for the final document.

Teachers adhere to the recommendations and regulations that UGR develops regarding the use of GenIA. For more information, please consult the following link.

Action Plan for Equality at UGR

In accordance with the II Action Plan for Equality at UGR, efforts will be made to highlight the role and contributions of women and other special groups to the scientific and technological development of the subject matter.

Students with specific needs (NEAE)

The teaching methodology and evaluation will be adapted to students with specific needs (NEAE), in accordance with Article 11 of the Regulations for the evaluation and qualification of students of the University of Granada. According to the UGR Action Plan for Equality, inclusive language will be used, while also trying to highlight the role and contributions of women and minority groups to the field of study of the subject.