Study of the Brain
The Department of Cognitive Science offers five areas of specialization that undergraduate students pursuing a B.S. Cognitive Science major have the option of declaring depending on their interests. Though aspects of the brain are encapsulated in each specialization, students interested in this particular area have most often declared a neuroscience, human cognition, or clinical aspects of cognition specialization. The 107 core sequence provides students with a basic foundation of cognitive neuroscience.
The 107 Core Sequence
COGS 107A Neuroanatomy and Physiology
This first course in the sequence focuses on principles of brain organization, from neurons to circuits to functional networks. It explores developmental plasticity, neuronal connectivity, cellular communication, complex signaling, and how these various dimensions form functional brain systems.
COGS 107B Systems Neuroscience
This course is devoted to the cognitive aspects of systems neuroscience, with a focus on the visual and motor systems. Many other high order neural systems are also covered. Readings are augmented with lectures on current experimental and theoretical results.
COGS 107C Cognitive Neuroscience
This course studies brain systems implicated in attention, language, object recognition, and memory. Neurobiological evidence for functional subsystems within these processes and the way specialized systems develop are considered using findings from animal studies, human development, and behavioral and brain imaging.