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 Our Courses
Here you'll find the Catalog descriptions
of our courses. In most cases, clicking on the course title will
take you to more information on each course. In many cases, you'll
find syllabi from recent semesters.
What is offered for Spring 2008?
PLEASE NOTE A CHANGE IN PREREQUISITES: Since, ICOS-201 is a prerequisite for
ICOS-202, so students wishing to take ICOS-202 in the
spring should enroll for ICOS-201 in the fall.
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Core Courses
ICOS-201. Introduction to
Cognitive Science (3)
Cognitive Science is the study of the mind, i.e., of
how knowledge is acquired and used. Cognitive scientists use theories and
methods drawn from many disciplines including cognitive psychology,
neuroscience, philosophy of mind, linguistics, computer science,
artificial intelligence, physics, mathematics, biology, and anthropology.
They ask questions such as: How do people acquire language? What are the
neural bases of perceiving, learning and remembering? What is the nature
of knowledge? Can machines think? How do experts differ from novices? Are
there innate ideas? How did human intelligence evolve? This course
introduces students to the conceptual frameworks and methods used in the
various disciplines which constitute cognitive science. The course is
team-taught by professors from several Main Campus and Medical Center
departments. The format is lecture/discussion. This course is required for
cognitive science minors, but open to all students. It is cross-listed in
Psychology and so counts toward that major. No prerequisites.
Fall Professor
Josef Rauschecker
ICOS-202. Research Modules in
Cognitive Science (3)
This course introduces students to some of the research strategies in the
different disciplines of cognitive science, by using faculty research
programs at Georgetown as examples. Approximately 12 Main Campus and
Medical Center faculty offer research modules, of which students select
three. In each module, students learn about and become engaged in some of
the current research of the faculty member. A paper is normally required
to complete each module. This course is required for cognitive science
minors, but open to all students. PREREQUISITE:
ICOS-201. This course is
cross-listed in Psychology and can be counted toward the seminar
requirement for the major. Spring. Professor Josef Rauschecker.
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Independent Research and Thesis Courses
ICOS-301,302. Research Tutorial in Cognitive Science
This is an independent
research course, offered for a variable number of credits. Interested
students should identify a Cognitive Science faculty member who agrees to
supervise the student's research, and written permission must be
obtained from that faculty member in order to enroll. Cognitive Science
minors who are considering undertaking a senior
thesis may undertake preparatory work for the thesis during their
junior year via this course. Staff
ICOS-391, 392. Senior Thesis in Cognitive Science
Students who are undertaking a senior thesis in cognitive science must
enroll for this course for a minimum of four credits distributed across
the two semesters of their senior year. The number of credits and their
distribution across semesters must be approved by the thesis mentor. The
mentor's written permission is required to enroll for this course. Staff
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Other Cognitive Science Courses
ICOS-325. Disorders and
Diseases of the Brain (3)
This course uses a
neuroscience approach to study disorders of the brain. It reviews basic
concepts in neuroscience and provides an overview of functional
neuroanatomy. This knowledge is then applied to examine the cellular and
molecular underpinnings of various abnormalities of the nervous system.
Discussions emphasize the relationship between basic neuroscience and
physiological psychology. This course is a joint venture of the Cognitive
Science Program and the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (IPN), a
Ph.D. program based in Georgetown's Medical Center. The course is
developed and taught by a team of advanced Ph.D. students in the IPN, who
are eager to share their work and their excitement about neuroscience with
undergraduate students in the College. This is a unique opportunity to
learn about various brain disorders from eager young scientists. It was
offered for the first time in the fall of 2000, and the plan is to
continue to offer it every fall. Prerequisite BIOL-003.
Fall (offered every year). Professors
Pocivasek and Leaver.
MATH-264. Neural
Networks (3)
A neural network is a directed graph in which arcs
and nodes have numeric and algorithmic properties
allowing the performance of a desired computation. Neural networks permit a problem to be decomposed
into many small independent parts. They have been
utilized for pattern recognition in medicine, forensics, economics, and artificial intelligence. Our goal will be to study mathematical issues arising in the theory and implementation of neural networks. A variety of concepts from psychology, computer science, and physics also appear, giving the subject an interdisciplinary flavor. No prior courses are needed. Necessary portions of graph theory, analysis, and linear algebra will be covered in class, making neural networks an excellent chance to see how the multiple domains in mathematics come together. We will look at current and proposed applications with the aim of formulating improvements. Professor Kainen
NSCI-514.
Event-related Brain Potentials in Language and
Cognition (3)
(Offered by the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, but
cross-listed in Cognitive Science.) This course is an
introduction to the technique of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and
their use in cognitive psychology, and psycholinguistic research in
particular. Its primary goals are (1) to provide an overview of the
generation of brain waves (EEG) and the methodology of ERPs, (2) to read
and discuss influential ERP papers in the field of psycholinguistic
research, and (3) to get 'hands on' experience in the EEG lab by running
an ERP experiment and analyzing the data. The course will begin with a
couple of lectures on the neural basis of ERPs and on the most important
ERP components reflecting higher cognitive functions, followed by class
discussions. During the second part of the course, students will prepare a
presentation of one or two papers on a specific topic in ERP language
research (e.g., lexical/semantic or syntactic processing) and
corresponding ERP components (e.g., N400, P600). Each presentation will be
followed by a class discussion led by the presenting students. The third
part of the course will predominantly take place in the EEG lab. You will
learn how to prepare, run and analyze a psycholinguistic ERP experiment,
and probably also participate as a subject in the experiment. Professor
Steinhauer
NSCI-521.
Elements of Imaging (3)
(Offered by the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, but
cross-listed in Cognitive Science.) Imaging
techniques are crucial tools for neuroscientists. This introductory
course reviews a variety of imaging methods (e.g.,
modern optical microscopy, clinical radiology,
functional brain mapping) and their applications
to the neurosciences. The course consists of twelve weeks of lectures and four weeks of labs. The course has the following
goals: to introduce students to bases, uses, and limitations of imaging
methods illustrated by examples form the neuroimaging literature. It will
also serve to introduce students to imaging laboratories
at Georgetown University. Participating students will be asked to produce a final paper to be completed by the end of the
semester. This paper will require some
background reading, synthesis of the theoretical issues discussed during
the lectures and practical issues learned throughout the hands-on
sessions. Fall.
Professors Eden.
NSCI-523. Brain and Language (3)
(Offered by the Interdisciplinary Program in
Neuroscience, but cross-listed in Cognitive Science.) This course is an introduction to the
brain bases of language. It addresses theories and evidence pertaining to
several questions, such as which brain regions underlie our use of
language, are these regions dedicated to language or are they general
purpose, and do different regions underlie the different domains of
language (e.g., lexicon, phonology, syntax, etc.)? Multiple lines of
evidence are considered including studies of people with acquired or
developmental disorders (aphasia, neurodegenerative disease, alexia,
Specific Language Impairment, Williams syndrome), and investigations using
functional brain imaging (fMRI, PET) or electrophysiology (EEG/ERP). Spring, every other year.
Taught in the spring of odd-numbered years. Next offered Spring 2007. Professors Friedman and
Ullman
NSCI-525.
Functional Neuroimaging & Cognition (3)
(Offered by the
Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, but cross-listed in Cognitive
Science.) The course is designed to provide an
overview of the application of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
and positron emission tomography (PET) to the study of human cognitive and
sensorimotor processes. Principles of experimental design, statistical
analysis and interpretation are reviewed briefly at the beginning of the
course. For the remainder of the semester journal publications of
functional neuroimaging studies employing fMRI or PET are reviewed and
discussed. These are selected to cover a broad range of areas: vision,
audition, olfaction, language (word naming, object naming, phonological
processing), plasticity, working memory and learning, motor control, brain
development, emotions and clinical applications.
Spring. Professors Eden.
PSYC-327. Biology of Interpersonal Relations (3)
(Offered by Psychology, but cross-listed in
Cognitive Science.) Over the past century, tremendous strides have been
made in understanding interpersonal relationships. This course examines
these strides, beginning with Sigmud Freud, then considering the
behaviorist and cognitive revolutions in psychology, the interpersonal
psychiatry of Harry Stack Sullivan, advances in psychopharmacology and
other neurosciences concerning the neural bases of behavior, the mysticism
of Eastern thought, and current applications of quantum physics to brain
science. This is a panoply which relates psychology to the biological and
physical sciences (as well as, of course, the social sciences), and which
offers an unusual and exciting approach to 21st century psychology. Professor Pribram
PSYC-328. Brain and Conscious Experience (3)
Offered by Psychology, but cross-listed in
Cognitive Science.) The course is dedicated to filling the "gap" between
psychological processes and brain functions. Data are organized within a
theoretical frame that recognizes different processing levels reaching
from neural membranes, through neural circuits and systems, to behavioral
and experiential scales of investigation. Observations and results of
experiments in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropsychology, and
cognitive science form the database, while simulations with massively
parallel distributed processing programs provide techniques and
theoretical frames. The 200-year historical perspective during which the
"gap filling" has taken place provides a fascinating account that provides
guidelines for future inquiry.
Fall.
Professor Pribram
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