Cognitive Neuroscience Lecture 1

Introduction and Course Overview

The course started with an introduction by Dr. Benjamin Hughes. He reminded the students about the class schedule, emphasizing that the course would include lectures via Zoom for the first week, with plans to switch to in-person attendance afterward. Dr. Hughes outlined his expectations for student participation and informed students of the resources available, including study guides for midterms and the final exam.

Course Structure and Assessments

Assessments

  • Participation and Attendance: Attendance is mandatory and constitutes 20% of the overall grade, with quizzes recorded to document attendance. Students must complete a participation quiz labeled for attendance at each class session.

  • Quizzes: Weekly quizzes are assigned to reinforce material, with no limit on retakes before the due date—only the highest score will be counted. These quizzes will open on Tuesdays and close the following Monday.

  • Exams: There will be two midterms and one cumulative final exam, with all exams composed entirely of multiple choice questions. The first midterm is expected to occur in week four.

Syllabus and Textbook

  • The required textbook is Cognitive Neuroscience by Marie T. Banich and Rebecca J. Compton. The textbook serves as the primary source for course content, and students are encouraged to read it to stay aligned with lecture material.

  • A syllabus overview was provided, highlighting key themes in cognitive neuroscience, including the physiological mechanisms of sensation, perception, memory, and emotional processing.

Course and Participation Expectations

  • Sections: Sections begin in week two and are optional but highly encouraged for deeper engagement with topics. Participants may attend any section regardless of enrollment.

  • Office Hours: Students can reach Dr. Hughes through email or during his office hours held via Zoom on Tuesdays. He requested that emails regarding the class include "Psych 123" in the subject line for efficient filtering.

Historical Context of Neuroscience

Ancient Understanding of the Brain

  • Dr. Hughes discussed the rich history of neuroscience, beginning with early observations made in ancient civilizations. He highlighted the Edwin Smith Papyrus, dating back to around 1700 BC, which documented medical knowledge related to brain injuries.

  • Early physicians noted the effects of head trauma on various cognitive and motor functions, leading to basic interpretations of brain function concerning behaviors.

Development of Neuroscience Toward the1800s

  • The class moved into the 1800s, exploring concepts of localization vs. mass action in the brain. Early neuroscientific theory revolved around whether brain function was distributed throughout the entire organ or localized to specific regions, an idea explored through lesion studies and early surgical observations.

  • Significant figures included Galen and Watuo, who provided crucial insights into the functional implications of brain injuries and medical practices of the time.

Advances in Neuroscience Techniques

Early Imaging and Diagnostic Methods

  • Advances began in the early 1900s with X-rays, which allowed for the visualization of injuries without invasive surgical exploration. Dr. Hughes mentioned Marie Curie's contributions to mobile X-ray technology during World War I and its impact on both neuroscience research and medicine.

  • EEG, introduced in the 1920s, provided a method to record electrical activity from the scalp, which became instrumental in diagnosing conditions like epilepsy.

Functional Imaging and the Split Brain

  • Modern techniques, such as fMRI and PET scans, evolved further, offering insights into brain activity and functional localization of tasks and cognitive processes.

  • Split-brain studies provided compelling evidence of lateralization of brain functions, demonstrating that each hemisphere can process information independently when the corpus callosum is severed, leading to distinct behavioral responses depending on which hemisphere accesses the information.

Conclusion of Lecture

The lecture was set to continue into more specifics about the methods and the anatomy of the brain in future classes, with students encouraged to prepare by reading the relevant textbook sections and participating actively in the course. During the ending session, Dr. Hughes also introduced the teaching assistants who will assist students throughout the semester.