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Cognitive ScienceSpring 2005
Last updated 12/9/04
| Georgetown University | Home | A-Z Index | Contents | Directories | Search |
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Last updated 12/9/04
Details regarding individual modules for the Spring 2005 are posted below. Each student enrolled in the course is to take exactly 3 modules throughout the semester.
Students choose the modules they want to take, rank ordering by their preference, and email them to the Director. Students are asked to list at least 5 in order of their preference.
Students also need to register for the course itself via the usual registrar's process.
In the spring of 2005, each module will be offered during one of four
periods of the semester. These periods meet during the following weeks.
Students may distribute their modules across three of the four different periods
or, if preferred, take more than one in a given period as long as there is no
time conflict. For the exact meeting times for each module, see the
summary table and the module descriptions
themselves.
| Period # | Period | Modules |
| 1 | Jan 17 - Feb 4 | Kainen, Schwartz |
| 2 | Feb 7 - 25 | Malkova, Friedman |
| 3 | Feb 28 - Mar 23 | Kanwal, Howard, Ullman |
| 4 | Mar 29 - Apr 22 | Hoffman, Lardiere, Rauschecker |
| TBA | Portner |
Summary of Meeting Times (See individual module descriptions below for more details)
Modules marked "TBA" will have their times arranged in consultation between students and teachers.
| Period 1 | Schwartz | Th 4:00-6:00 |
| Kainen | Tuesday 6:00 to 7:30 | |
| Period 2 | ||
| Malkova | Th 2-4 | |
| Friedman | Feb 7, 11, 18 10:00-11:30, plus one patient observation TBA | |
| Period 3 | Kanwal | TBA |
| Howard* | Wed Mar 2, 16, 30. 6:00-8:30 | |
| Ullman |
4:10 to 6:00pm on Monday March 14, Wed March 16, Mon March 21, Wed March 23. Note: demonstration of the ERP system will take place on Monday March 21; this class may run until 6:30 |
|
| Period 4 | ||
| Lardiere | W 3:15-5:45 | |
| Rauschecker | March 30, April 13, April 20. Time TBA | |
| Hoffman | Tu 2:30-5:00 |
*Note: Howard's module goes into period 4 a bit.
Descriptions of Modules for Spring 2005
Prof Rhonda Friedman & Susan N. Lott
Department of Neurology, GU Med Center
Phone: (202)784-4134
friedmar@georgetown.edu, lotts@georgetown.edu
http://www.georgetown.edu/users/cew8/
Meeting place: Bldg D Room 207E
Maximum enrollment: 8
Assessment and Rehabilitation of Acquired Disorders of Reading (alexias) in Patients with Stroke or Head Injury
Students will read general articles on aphasia and alexia. We will discuss the process of reading, and the symptoms and syndromes of alexia. We will learn how to diagnose the various types of alexia, and students will make "diagnoses" based upon real patient data. Next we will discuss possible remediation strategies for the different types of alexia. Students will then sit in on one treatment session with a patient. Grade will be based on class participation and three short written assignments.
Department of Pediatrics
Phone: (202) 784-4978
http://csl.georgetown.edu/members/faculty/HoffmanE.shtml
Meeting place TBA
Maximum enrollment: 10
Face Perception and Social Cognition
Faces provide a wealth of information that facilitates social communication.
In this module, we will review some of the historical work on face
perception that shows how faces are treated differently from other objects,
as well as more recent neuroimaging work that demonstrates that areas in the
human and monkey brain respond selectively to faces. Particular attention
will be given to social cues that are transmitted by faces, such as eye gaze
and facial expression, and how these cues inform us about another's state of
mind. Students will participate in a face perception experiment as research
subjects and we will interpret the data together in the final class meeting.
Each student will also be required to write a short paper (3-4 typed pages
plus an annotated bibliography) on a topic of their choice that is related
to face perception. Grading will be based on class participation and the
term paper.
Department of Psychology
301F White Gravenor
http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/psychology/faculty/howard.html
http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/howardd/lab2003/
Meeting place: 308 WGR
Maximum enrollment: 6
The Aging Mind & Brain: Implicit Learning and Memory
My research investigates how and why learning and memory change (and don't change) in the course of healthy human aging. I'll assign several articles/papers from my laboratory for students to read ahead of time, and I'll ask students to offer questions for discussion. We'll have a total of 3 class meetings, each approximately 2 ½-3 hours long. During the first we'll discuss the assigned readings and students will visit our lab and see a demonstration of the tasks we are using in our current studies. During the second meeting, the class will design and set up a simple experiment for which students will then collect data from friends before the next class. In the final meeting, we'll discuss our findings and how they relate to broader issues in the study of learning and memory. Each student will be required to write a short paper (7 typewritten pages or fewer) on the readings and the class experiment. The grade will be determined by the quality of the discussion questions the student proposed for the class, the quality of the student's contribution to our class meetings and experiment, and the quality of the written paper.
Department of Mathematics
72703 (phone or voice-mail)
http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/kainen/module05.html
Maximum enrollment: 8
Mathematical Psychophysics: From Lissajous Figures to Topology
Demonstrations of psychophysical phenomena (such as
Lissajous figures) will be shown to the students in
this module. I will provide lectures and articles
regarding the mathematical nature of perception and
the relevance of perceptual issues in artificial
visual environments, such as occur during the use
of computers and video. I will also give a basic
introduction to those areas of mathematics which
are proposed for the models.
Students will be expected to synthesize what they
have learned either by writing a paper or designing
an experiment. The focus of such papers and designs
may be on education, entertainment, or psychophysical
research.
Tuesday 6:00 to 7:30.
Tues. Jan 18, Jan 25, Feb 1.
Department of Physiology & Biophysics, GU Med Center
Room WP09A, The Research Building
http://www.giccs.georgetown.edu/labs/kanwal/index.html
http://gumc.georgetown.edu/departments/physiology/kanwal.html
Meeting place: WP07A Research Bldg
Maximum enrollment: 8
Origins of Music
Music, even more than speech, remains an elusive phenomenon that only humans appear to exploit. We know little of its neurobiological foundations. How did this ability originate in humans and for what? This module will focus on the origins of music from the perspective of music perception and brain/human evolution. The contents will be based on a recently published book as well new ideas that the students might have. Active participation is expected. A brief overview of the auditory system will be provided. We plan to meet for 2 two hour informal lectures and a final discussion session. Students will submit a short, one to two page, write up. Grading will be based on participation and write up.
Department of Linguistics
http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/linguistics/program/ResearchStatements.htm#donna
Meeting Place: TBA
Maximum Enrolment: 10
Developmental Critical Periods
Part I in Animals
Part II in First language acquisition
Part III in Second language acquisition.
Prof Ludise Malkova, Department of Pharmacology, GU Medical Center
http://neuroscience.georgetown.edu/Faculty/IPN_malkova.html
Meeting place: TBA
Meetin time: Th 2-4
Maximum enrollment: 10
Neural Substrates of Socioemotional Behavior
This module is directed to the neural substrates of socioemotional behavior and some aspects of learning and memory studied in animal models. Special interest will be aimed at the involvement of medial temporal lobe structures, i.e., amygdala, hippocampus, and temporal lobe cortical areas, in these functions. This module will review the research in animals that uses pharmacological manipulations of discrete brain regions by focal drug infusions and lesions made by various techniques. Findings from animals studies will be related to some human disorders, such as amnesia and autism. Each student will have to write a paper on a topic related to the module according to their choice. They will be graded based on the paper and class participation.
Department of Linguistics
Phone 7-5949
http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/portnerp/
Universals in Language
The fact that some aspects of language appear to be universal has been used as an argument that these aspects of language are innate. We will examine a number of linguistic universals, and consider the implications for cognitive science, in particular the innateness hypothesis.
Department of Physiology & Biophysics, GU Med Center
Phone: (202) 687-1580
WP15, Research Building
http://gumc.georgetown.edu/departments/physiology/rauschecker.html
Meeting place: TBA
Maximum enrollment:
10
Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition: Functional Organization and
Plasticity of the Cerebral Cortex
My research tries to understand the neurobiological bases of perception, cognition, and memory. The cerebral cortex is the main site in the brain that is thought to be involved in these higher functions. Therefore, we are trying to figure out how the cortex works, especially with regard to visual and auditory perception, as well as visual-auditory integration. The cortex is also a very smart structure in that it is capable of self- and re-organization during development, and after injury or sensory deprivation.
During three two-hour sessions we will discuss some of the above topics. One session will concentrate on vision, one on audition, and the third on brain plasticity. Students will also visit our laboratories and (hopefully) do a few simple experiments or at least look at results from recent studies performed in our lab. Each student will write a short paper on one of the topics, integrating the contents of the group discussions with the lab results. The grade will be based on this paper and on the contributions during class
Department of Psychiatry & Washington, DC VA Hospital
http://neuroscience.georgetown.edu/Faculty/IPN_schwartz.html
Meeting place: Psychiatry Service, VA Medical Center
Maximum enrollment: 8
Neurocognitive Function in Schizophrenia
In the last decade, researchers in the field of schizophrenia have discovered the central role that cognitive dysfunction has played in this complex disorder. This module will provide an overview of clinical symptoms, brain pathology and neurocognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Our discussion of cognitive dysfunction will focus on impairments in recognizing facial expressions of emotion. We will discuss assigned readings and I will show students the types of neuropsychological tests and experimental paradigms used to assess cognitive problems in schizophrenia. Students will observe the administration of face perception tests used in our research. Each student will have an opportunity to observe a research patient. Students will be required to write a short paper (maximum about 5 pages) on a topic covered in our overview of schizophrenia. Grading will be based on class participation and the quality of the written paper.
Prof Michael Ullman, Dr. Matthew Walenski, and Matthew Moffa
Department of Neuroscience, GU Medical Center
michael@georgetown.edu, msw7@georgetown.edu, mjm84@georgetown.edu
Office (for both faculty): Building D, Room 237
Phone (for both faculty): 687-6896
http://www.giccs.georgetown.edu/labs/ullman/
Location: Preclinical Science Building GE4 (between Leavey and the MedDent Building
Maximum enrollment: 8
Seeing Language in the Brain
The module will introduce you to the study of language and the brain--that is, neurolinguistics. You will read introductory articles on neurolinguistics, including the neuroimaging technique of examining Event-Related Potentials (ERPs). ERPs are measures of the electrical activity in the brain that occurs during the processing of language or other domains of cognition. We will discuss these articles and issues in class.You will then be shown the system which we use to acquire ERPs here at Georgetown. You will learn to use the system, and will help us to run an experiment with it. Finally, you will be expected to write up a very brief paper on a relevant topic of your choice.