The Student's Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience

Chapter 1: Introducing Cognitive Neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience in historical perspective. Does cognitive psychology need the brain? Does neuroscience need cognitive psychology? Boxed Material: Computational and connectionist models of cognition. Is the brain modular? Chapter 2: Introducing the Brain. Structure and function of the neuron. The gross organization of the brain. The cerebral cortex. The subcortex. The midbrain and hindbrain. Boxed Material: Ten interesting facts about the human brain. Chapter 3: The Electrophysiological Brain. In search of neural representations: Single-cell Electroencephalography (EEG) and Event Related Potentials (ERPs). Mental chronometry in electrophysiology and cognitive psychology. Magnetoencephalography. Boxed Material: Practical issues to consider when doing research. Why are caricatures easy to recognize? Chapter 4: The Imaged Brain. Structural imaging. Functional imaging. From image to cognitive theory: An example of cognitive subtraction methodology. Beyond cognitive subtraction. Event-related versus blocked designs. Analyzing data from functional imaging. Interpreting data from functional imaging. Why do functional imaging data sometimes disagree with lesion data? Is "Big Brother" round the corner? Boxed Material: Voxel based morphometry (VBM): One of the latest methods of structural analysis. Safety and ethical issues in functional imaging research. Could functional imaging be used as a lie detector? Chapter 5: The Lesioned Brain. Dissociations and associations. Single case studies. Group studies and lesion-deficit analysis. Animal models in neuropsychology. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Boxed Material: Ways of acquiring brain damage. What is the "visual" cortex of a blind person used for? Safety and ethical issues in TMS research. Facilitation, interference and functional integration using TMS. Chapter 6: The Seeing Brain. From eye to brain. Cortical blindness and "blindsight". Functional specialization of the visual cortex beyond V1. Recognizing objects. Category specificity in visual object recognition? Recognizing faces. Vision imagined. Boxed Material: Would we notice a gorilla in our midst? How does the brain respond to visual illusions? The Margaret Thatcher illusion. Chapter 7: The Spatial Brain. A spotlight on attention. Attending to visual objects: Feature-integration theory. Space, attention and the parietal lobes. Losing space: Seeing one object at a time. Losing half of space: Spatial frames and neglect. Remembering space: Does the hippocampus store a long-term map of the environment? Boxed Material: Why do actors make a hidden entrance from stage right? How is the brain fooled by a ventriloquist? Does driving a London taxi increase your grey matter? Chapter 8: The Acting Brain. A basic cognitive framework for movement and action. The role of the frontal lobes in movement and action. Planning actions: The SAS model. Ownership and awareness of actions. Action comprehension and imitation. Parietofrontal circuits for sensorymotor transformation. Using objects and tools. Preparation and execution of actions. Boxed Material: Could neural activity in the primary motor cortex be used to guide a prosthetic limb? The anarchic (or "alien") hand syndrome. How to move a phantom limb. Chapter 9: The Remembering Brain. Short-term and working memory. Different types of long-term memory. Amnesia. Memory storage and consolidation: A time-limited role for the hippocampus? Theories of remembering, knowing and forgetting. The role of the prefrontal cortex in long-term memory. Constructive memory and memory distortions. Boxed Material: Amnesia at the movies. The neuroscience of consolidation. Recovered memories of abuse can sometimes be false. Chapter 10: The Speaking Brain. Speech perception. Spoken word recognition. Semantic memory and the meaning of words. Understanding and producing sentences. Retrieving spoken words. Boxed Material: Do non-human animals have language? The N400 as an index of semantic congruity. Looking back on Nineteenth Century models of speech and aphasia. Early stages of dementia in the language use of Iris Murdoch. Chapter 11: The Literate Brain. Visual word recognition. Does understanding text require phonological mediation? Reading aloud: Routes from spelling to sound. Spelling and writing. Does spelling use the same mechanisms as reading? Boxed Material: The origins and diversity of writing systems. What do studies of eye movement reveal about reading text? The unusual spelling and writing of Leonardo da Vinci. Chapter 12: The Numerate Brain. Universal numeracy? The meaning of numbers. Models of number processing. Are numbers represented in a visuo-spatial code? Boxed Material: Counting with fingers, bodies and bases. The making of mathematical genius. Chapter 13: The Executive Brain. Anatomical and functional divisions of the prefrontal cortex. Executive functions in practice. Accounting for dysexecutive syndrome: How many executive functions? Functional specialization within the lateral prefrontal cortex? The role of the anterior cingulate in executive functions. Task switching. Boxed Material: The frontal lobes and intelligence. Egas Moniz and the prefrontal lobotomy. How does the brain appreciate humor? Chapter 14: The Social and Emotional Brain. Processing emotions and social cues: Reading faces and reading eyes. Processing emotions: a role for somatic responses? Reading minds. Antisocial behavior. Boxed Material: Posed versus spontaneous emotional displays: Can you tell a sincere smile from an insincere smile? Is autism an extreme form of the male brain? The extraordinary case of Phineas Gage.