Description
Content: This module introduces students to the psychological and neurological processes that generate human actions, and action decisions. The module covers the neural circuits and mechanisms of decision-making, metacognition, and neural control of action. The module will introduce students to recent research literature using a wide range of research methods: behavioural, computational, neuroimaging, neurostimulation, electrophysiological and patient studies. It will therefore suit students who feel comfortable with somewhat technical material.
Teaching delivery: This module is taught in 15 hours of in-person lectures spread over 10 teaching weeks (usually 5 2-hour sessions in one half of term and 5 1-hour lectures in the other half of term).
Indicative Topics: Indicative lecture topics – based on module content in 2023/24, subject to possible changes: Neural mechanisms for simple decisions, Computational accounts of decision-making, Metacognition in decision-making, Error Monitoring & Cognitive Control, Neuro-computational accounts of decision-making, Volition in action: role of medial frontal cortex, Thought into action: executive function, Decision confidence, Metacognition, Motor cortex. Basal Ganglia. Reading, evaluating & writing about research.
Module Aims: By the end of the module students should be able:
- To critically read and evaluate cognitive neuroscience research;
- To use data describing brain processes to tackle questions about the human mind;
- To integrate and compare experimental results obtained by multiple scientific methods.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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