Neuroscience

• Neuroscience


  The collected multidisciplinary sciences that analyze the nervous system to understand the biological basis for behaviour
• Neuroscience includes functional links between the nervous system and cognition, emotion, motivation, etc. Any psychological construct or process (e.g. lying, interpersonal attraction, etc.)
• Neuroscience


  • Includes both the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the central nervous system (CNS), though it is most commonly associated with the CNS
• Cells


  The basic building blocks in the body (e.g. kidney cells, muscle cells, nerve cells or neurons – these are the cells which comprise the Nervous System)
• Components of the Nervous System

  • Central Nervous System (CNS)
  • Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

  • Mainly sensory neurons (afferent), motor neurons (efferent)
  • Muscles – skeletal, cardiac and smooth
  • Somatic and autonomic
• Neuroscience explanations of psychological constructs and processes can be at the level of genes, individual cells, neurotransmitters, hormones, nerves, brain regions, etc.
• Many topics in traditional 'Neuroscience' have already been covered in Biological and Cognitive Psychology in Level 5
• The current 'zeitgeist' in neuroscience includes moral dilemma, utilitarian reasoning, deontological intuitive emotional response, conflict monitor, and neuroethics - moral judgement
• Geschwind syndrome: Certain patients with right temporal epilepsy characterized by religiosity, hypergraphia (compulsive writing) and hyposexuality
• Michael Persinger's "God helmet" is still very controversial scientifically speaking
• Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) can be manipulated experimentally and fMRI reveals the activation of temporo-parietal junction (TPJ)
• Several companies have been founded recently marketing fMRI-based lie detection services, though reliability is still controversial
• What will happen on this module

  • Weekly teaching events about Neuroscience topics
  • Readings to develop your understanding
  • Workshops to help you with assessments
  • Practical demonstration of electroencephalography
  • Discussion forums
• Some topics addressed in the lecture programme

  • What neuroscience can tell us about alcohol intoxication and dependency
  • What about neuroimaging in babies
  • What happens in the brain during conscious perception
  • What happens to the brain during moral decision making
  • What are brain computer interfaces
  • How does neurofeedback work
  • What can neuroscience tell us about mental disorders
  • What contemporary neuroscience techniques and brain imaging can tell us (and what are it's limitations)
• Lecturers


  • Lorenzo Stafford
  • Thanusha V Manohor
  • Paul Conway
  • Alistair Harvey
  • Tom Lockhart
  • Roger Moore
  • Erik Gustafsson
• Lorenzo Stafford


  • Multisensory perception
  • Brief overview of sensory systems
  • Dynamic perception (sensory cue integration, cross modal, the 'binding' problem)
  • Chemical Senses - Role in eating behaviour (obesity, food neophobia and eating disorders), Role in mating behaviour (the question of 'human' pheromones)
  • Olfactory & taste disorders
• Thanusha V Manohor


  • Neuroimaging techniques - Different techniques to study the brain, How the scanning equipment functions, What is measured in the brain, Pros & cons of different techniques
• Tom Lockhart


  • Neuroscience and Personality - Advanced EEG, Event-Related Potential, Time-Frequency Analysis, Biomarker of anxiety
• Alistair Harvey


  • A brief history of alcohol, Binge drinking, Global impact, Psychopharmacology of alcohol, Acute effects on brain & CNS, Perceptual & cognitive impairments, Alcohol: attention, memory & executive control, Alcohol myopia theory, Behavioural & social consequences
• Erik Gustafsson


  • Neurobiology of brain development, Behaviour and brain development, Environment and brain development, Neuroscience in babies (new tools and studies), Methods with infants, Research on brain development and processing with infants
• Paul Conway


  • Neuroscience of empathy & moral judgment
• Roger Moore


  • Applications of Neuroscience 1 - Brain-computer interfaces
  • Applications of Neuroscience 2 - Neurofeedback, Deep brain stimulation
  • Applications of Neuroscience 3 - Psychophysiology approaches to lie detection (Brain Fingerprinting), Neural correlates of consciousness
• Module Learning Outcomes


  • Provide a detailed appraisal of the structures and functions of the human nervous system that are relevant to the study of psychology
  • Explain and critically evaluate clinical and non-clinical applications of neuroscience
  • Systematically examine and compare the main methods used in modern neuroscience, with emphasis on their strengths and limitations
  • Describe and critically evaluate current and emerging areas of interest and also historical debates in neuroscience
• Assessment


  • Summative - One final 1.5 hour exam at the end of TB2 (50%), Essay/review style assignment (equivalent to 2000 word essay)
  • Formative Activities/Assessment - Self test questions in many lectures, Essay support, Revision session (In-class mock exams)
• Coursework


  1. Outline the latest developments in an areas of neuroscience using the post 2020 neuroscience research papers

  2. Tabulate 5-7 post-2020 neuroscience research papers on your chosen neuroscience topic using the Course work template (equiv. 1000 words)

  3. Based on your tabulated neuroscience research papers, you will be required to write a 1000-word narrative which describes the latest developments in your neuroscience topic of interest
• The neuroscience topic on which you would like to complete your assignment must be emailed to the module coordinator by Friday 8th March, 2024
• Example neuroscience topics for the coursework

  • The effects of mindfulness and/or meditation on the human nervous system
  • The long-term consequences on the human nervous system of adverse childhood experiences
  • The prevention and/ or reversal of dementia (or age-related memory loss)
  • Neurofeedback treatments for mental illness and to what extent they have proved to be a useful
  • The extent to which social and financial conditions in which a child is raised have an impact on the development of the nervous system
  • The ability for tetraplegics to be able to walk again with neuroscience interventions
  • The role of neuroscience in education
• Exam


  1.5hrs, Takes place in the summer exam period (13.05.24 – 07.06.24), Primarily based on info in lectures, Revision session in week beginning 16.04.24
• Exam questions


  • Name two brain structures involved in moral judgement (0.5 mark each) and describe two studies which demonstrate activation of at least one of these brain structures (2.5 marks each)
  • Describe the two main corticospinal pathways and their functions (6 marks)
• Cognitive neuroscience


  Measures changes in the magnetic field as blood becomes deoxygenated at particular sites in the brain
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)


  Uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body
• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)


  Measures changes in the magnetic field as blood becomes deoxygenated at particular sites in the brain
• Electroencephalography (EEG)


  Records electrical activity of the brain along the scalp
• Magnetoencephalography (MEG)


  Records micro magnetic changes caused by the brain electrical activity
• The decade of the brain (1990s) was an initiative designated by G. W. Bush to investigate whether there are specific areas of the brain associated with specific 'mental processes'
• Localization hypothesis


  The idea that specific areas of the brain can be identified that control specific cognitive functions (i.e. memory, perception, thinking, reasoning, problem solving etc.)
• Phrenology (or cranioscopy) was rapidly discredited in the mid 19th century, but the idea that the brain was responsible for mental processes was more accepted
• Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828) and Johann Spurzheim (1776-1832) proposed the idea that one could examine 'bumps' on a person's head and obtain some valid measure of their personality
• The localization hypothesis was a widespread belief in psychology and beyond (e.g. philosophy)