Cognitive Psychology Seminar Autumn/Fall 2014 Course description

Cognitive Psychology Seminar
Autumn/Fall 2014
Course description:
Cognitive psychology studies how the human mind works and cognitive
neuroscience aims to elucidate the links between the mind and the brain. This
course introduces fundamental topics in cognitive psychology and cognitive
neuroscience and additionally aims to stimulate critical thinking on these topics.
Through weekly lectures and discussions led by different faculty members with in
their areas of research expertise, students should acquire advanced knowledge
about recent empirical findings on the topics of perception, attention, language,
memory, and other higher cognitive functions. The lectures and discussions will
cover important theoretical issues from behavioral and neuroimaging experiments
that shed light on the cognitive processes in the brain. There will be lectures, inclass presentations, and paper discussion and additionally assigned readings for
each topic. Students are also required to actively participate in class, take a midterm
and a final exam, and turn in a term paper.
Textbook:
Purves D, Brannon EM, Cabeza R, Huettel SA, LaBar KS, Platt ML, & Woldorff
MG (Eds.). (2008) Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience. Sunderland, MA, USA:
Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Plus selected readings (assigned during the semester).
Course goals:
1. Provide an overview of the contemporary topics in the field of cognitive psychology,
including but not limited to perception, attention, memory, symbolic processing, and
executive functions.
2. Gain an understanding of the experimental methods employed in the field of
cognitive psychology to test relevant theories.
3. Develop the ability to present, summarize, and criticize research findings that are
reported in academic journals in both oral and written formats.
4. Enhance and refine the skills involved in critical thinking.
Course requirements:
The specific requirements of students taking this course are listed below:
1. Class participation: Students are required to read assigned materials before each
class, and to actively participate in the class.
2. In-class presentation: Students are required to take turns to present and to lead
discussion of textbook or additionally assigned papers on each topic.
3. Midterm and final exams: Students are required to take the midterm exam on
Nov. 10, and to take the final exam on Jan. 12. The exams will require students a)
to explain key concepts and important findings of cognitive psychology, b) to
demonstrate the ability of critical thinking, and c) to integrate the acquired
knowledge and skills to solve problems.
4. Term paper: Students are required to turn in a term paper about one specific
research topic of cognitive psychology. The report is due at 9am of Jan. 20.
Turning in the assignment in time is imperative – five points will be deducted
from the grade for a delay of every 24 hours.
Evaluation:
Class participation and discussion
In-class presentation
Midterm exam (Nov. 10)
Final exam (Jan. 12)
Term paper (due: 9am of Jan. 19)
25%
15%
15%
25%
20%
Course schedule
Date
Sep. 15
Topics
Instructor(s)
Course orientation &
Neil Muggleton
introduction to the brain
Methods: Cognitive
Sep. 22 neuropsychology &
TMS/tDCS
Chap. 3
Erik Chang
Shih-kuen
Cheng
Chap. 3
Methods: MRI,
ERPs/MEG
Oct. 6
Computational
Neuroscience and
Wei-Kuang
advanced/adaptive data Liang
processing
Oct. 13 Vision
Chi-Hung Juan
Oct. 20 Attention I
Neil Muggleton
Oct. 27 Attention II
Neil Muggleton
Working memory,
cognitive control &
emotion
Nov. 10 Midterm exam
Chap. 1
Denise Wu
Neil Muggleton
Sep. 29
Nov. 3
Textbook
readings
Chi-Hung Juan
Neil Muggleton
Chap. n/a
Chap. 5
Chap. 10-12
Paper
presenters
Nov. 17 Action I
Erik Chang
Nov. 24 Action II
Erik Chang
Dec. 1
Learning & Memory I
Shih-kuen Cheng
Dec. 8
Learning & Memory II
Shih-kuen
Cheng
Chap. 8-9
Dec. 15 Speech and language I
Denise Wu
Chap. 20
Dec. 22 Speech and language II
Denise Wu
Chap. 21
Dec. 29 Executive control
Nissen Kuo
Chap. 23
Jan. 5
Shih-Wei Wu
Chap. 24
Decision making
Jan. 12 Final exam
Chap. 14-16
Neil Muggleton
Additional reading
Attention
Awh, E., Armstrong, K. M., & Moore, T. (2006). Visual and oculomotor selection: links, causes and
implications for spatial attention. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 10(3), 124-130.
Chambers, C. D., & Mattingley, J. B. (2005). Neurodisruption of selective attention: insights and
implications. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 9(11), 542-550.
Corbetta, M., & Shulman, G. L. (2011). Spatial Neglect and Attention Networks. Annual review of
neuroscience, 34(1), 569-599.
Green, A. E., Munafò, M. R., DeYoung, C. G., Fossella, J. A., Fan, J., & Gray, J. R. (2008). Using genetic
data in cognitive neuroscience: from growing pains to genuine insights. Nature Reviews
Neuroscience, 9(9), 710-720.
Kravitz, D. J., Saleem, K. S., Baker, C. I., & Mishkin, M. (2011). A new neural framework for
visuospatial processing. Nature Review Neuroscience, 12(217), 1-14.
Learning & Memory
McCabe, D. P., & Balota, D. A. (2007). Context effects on remembering and knowing: the
expectancy heuristic. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn, 33(3), 536-549.
Migo, Ellen M., Mayes, Andrew R., & Montaldi, Daniela. (2012). Measuring recollection and
familiarity: Improving the remember/know procedure. Consciousness and Cognition,
21(3), 1435-1455.
Rugg, M. D., Vilberg, K. L., Mattson, J. T., Yu, S. S., Johnson, J. D., & Suzuki, M. (2012). Item memory,
context memory and the hippocampus: fMRI evidence. Neuropsychologia, 50(13), 30703079.
Wais, P. E., Squire, L. R., & Wixted, J. T. (2010). In search of recollection and familiarity signals in
the hippocampus. J Cogn Neurosci, 22(1), 109-123.
Action
Graydon, F. X., Friston, K. J., Thomas, C. G., Brooks, V. B., & Menon, R. S. (2005). Learning-related
fMRI activation associated with a rotational visuo-motor transformation. Brain research.
Cognitive brain research, 22(3), 373–83.
Milner, A. D., & Goodale, M. A. (2008). Two visual systems re-viewed. Neuropsychologia, 46(3),
774-785.
Rosenbaum, D. A. (2010). Core Problems. Human motor control (pp. 11–41).
Speech and language
Caramazza, A., & Mahon, B. Z. (2003). The organization of conceptual knowledge: the evidence
from category-specific semantic deficits. Trends Cogn Sci, 7(8), 354-361.
Kuhl, P., & Rivera-Gaxiola, M. (2008). Neural substrates of language acquisition. Annual review of
neuroscience, 31, 511-34.
Kutas, M., & Federmeier, K. D. (2000). Electrophysiology reveals semantic memory use in
language comprehension. Trends in cognitive sciences, 4(12), 463-470.
Executive control & Decision making
Fuster, J. M. (2001). The prefrontal cortex - An update: time is of the essence. Neuron, 30(2), 319333.
Miller, E. K., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annual
review of neuroscience, 24, 167-202.