Unit information: Functional Neuroanatomy and Neuroscience Methods in 2014/15

Unit name	Functional Neuroanatomy and Neuroscience Methods
Unit code	PSYCM0016
Credit points	10
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Professor. Leonards
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	none
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Psychological Science
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

This Unit has two central aims. First, it provides a review of the functional neuroanatomy of the human brain. Second, it provides a comprehensive review of techniques and methods employed to study the human brain. The Unit will revolve around ten seminar presentations, and each will focus upon a specific cerebral system. Methods and techniques employed to study each specified system will form a key focus of each seminar. A major feature of the Unit will be focus upon spatially and temporally distributed processing in the brain. This is in order to counteract the mistaken view that cognitive and affective processes are localised to discrete spatial regions. Research-active members of the Department of Experimental Psychology will lead the seminars.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The aim of the unit is to provide a thorough grounding in human functional neuroanatomy and in techniques employed to study the brain. The course will stress how knowledge of functional neuroanatomy is crucially related to a range of methodological techniques, applied at varying levels within cerebral organisation (from single neuron recordings to whole brain imaging techniques)

Teaching Information

Teaching will consist of lectures given by research active staff members, with a strong seminar-style interactive component. For the last two lectures, students will be expected to prepare short Powerpoint presentations in which each student applies different neuroimaging techniques to an area of neuroscience.

Assessment Information

Unseen 2-hour written examination that assess the level and depth of background knowledge (100%)

Reading and References

• Gazzaniga, M. S., Ivry,R. B & Mangun, G. R. (2009). Cognitive neuroscience: the biology of the mind (3rd ed.). London: Norton.

• Kolb, B., & Wishaw, I.Q. (2009). Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology. Worth Publishers, New York (6th Edition).

• Cabeza, R., & Nyberg, L. (2000). Imaging cognition II: An empirical review of 275 PET and fMRI studies. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,12(1), 1-47.

• Cabeza, R., & Kingstone, A. (2006). Handbook of functional neuroimaging of cognition. (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press.

• Brodal, P. (2010). The central nervous system. 4th Ed., Oxford University Press.