Program Overview

Master in Brain and Cognition

Overview

The Master in Brain and Cognition is a comprehensive program that explores the intricacies of human cognition and the underlying neural mechanisms. The program is designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of the most important experiments, research techniques, and methodologies in the field of cognitive neuroscience.

Academic Information

Syllabus

The program consists of three terms, with a total of 60 credits.

• 1st term: 20.5 credits
  • 17.5 credits' worth of subjects
  • 1 credit towards the planning of the master's degree final project under the supervision of a CBC faculty member
  • 2 credits' worth of seminar activity
• 2nd term: 18.5 credits
  • 5.5 credits' worth of subjects
  • 10 credits of work towards the master's degree final project
  • 3 credits' worth of seminar activity
• 3rd term: 21 credits
  • 3 credits' worth of subjects
  • 16 credits of work towards the master's degree final project
  • 2 credits' worth of seminar activity

Structure

The program is divided into three modules:

• MODULE 1: Cognitive Neuroscience and Research Techniques
  • Exploration of the most important experiments on various aspects of human cognition and the results thereof
  • Presentation of the most common research techniques, procedures, and designs and approaches to data analysis and the interpretation of results
• MODULE 2: Materia: Seminars
  • Weekly critical and constructive analysis of one or more ongoing experiments
  • Tracking of students' designs, methodologies, data analyses, results, and conclusions
• MODULE 3: Master's Degree Final Project
  • Research project on a topic related to the Master preparation and completion of a Master's thesis

Subjects

• Data Analysis for Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Programming for experimental data analysis with Matlab or Python
  • Mathematical methods for univariate and multivariate statistical analysis of neurophysiological, behavioral, and neuroimaging data
• Neuroimaging Methods
  • Experimental methodologies for neuroimaging techniques
  • Mathematical and statistical analysis of neuroimaging data (e.g., EEGs, ERPs, fMRI)
• Comparative Cognition
  • General learning mechanisms
  • Techniques of research in cognitive science with animals
  • Animal models: psychological processes, language in animal and human research
  • Ethical considerations
• Decision Making: the Brain in Action
  • The neurophysiology of decisions
  • Perceptual and economic decisions
  • Planning
  • Models: diffusion and competition
• Introduction to Computational Neuroscience
  • Spiking neurons
  • Dynamic Synapses
  • Cortical networks
  • Plasticity/Learning
• Cognitive Neuroscience of Language
  • How language is represented and processed in the brain
  • Perception of language
  • Production of language
  • Bilingualism: how the brain handles two languages
• Cognitive Neuroscience of Perception and Attention
  • Cognitive and neural processes involved in perception
  • Perceptual mechanisms
  • Multisensory aspects of perceptual functions
  • Awareness
• The Evolution of Human Cognition and Language
  • Evolutionary models of human cognition and behavior
  • Animal communication
  • Language in human evolution
  • Language diversity
  • The association between human cognition and languages
• Advanced Topics in Intelligence and Neuroscience
• Seminar
  • Presentation of experimental articles and results
  • Analysis of data
  • Designing of a research project
• Master Degree Final Project
  • Research project on a topic related to the Master preparation and completion of a Master's thesis

Requirements

• All students are expected to have done the readings before the course starts
• It is mandatory that all students with no strong background on programming and/or statistics do some introductory courses on these subjects before the program starts
• It is mandatory that all students with no strong background on programming do the following introductory Python course before the program starts
• It is mandatory to read Chapter 2 of the book "MATLAB for Neuroscientists: An Introduction to Scientific Computing in MATLAB" 1st Edition by Pascal Wallisch, Michael E. Lusignan, Marc D. Benayoun, Tanya I. Baker, Adam Seth Dickey, Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos
• Mandatory reading for the course "Early Human Cognition"
• Strongly suggested reading: "The Student's Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience, 2nd Edition" by Jamie Ward

Plagiarism

Plagiarism can be defined as the appropriation of another person's ideas, words, works, etc. The Master of Brain and Cognition notes that plagiarism is damaging to the original authors, to the reputation of the masters and the University as a whole, and it leads to unfair advantage amongst students. Plagiarism can lead to disciplinary action from the University, above and beyond any measures taken within the Master itself.

Additional Information

For more information on the program, please refer to the provided context. Note that the program details are subject to change, and it is essential to verify the information with the university before applying.