The objective of the course is to familiarize students with the fundamental concepts and theoretical issues of cognitive science, to help them understand its interdisciplinary nature and more generally to appreciate the importance of methodological pluralism, to introduce them to the various branches of the field together with their individual features, as well as to establish an initial contact with certain research methods. Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of cognitive and mental phenomena and processes. This introductory course gives a general overview of the main theoretical and methodological approaches of this study. Based on the fundamental assumption of “mind as machine”, the course presents a broad range of the usually studied phenomena (decision, learning, perception etc.) and investigates comparatively the three main approaches that correspond to different types of machine (symbolic, connectionist, dynamical). More recent embodied and situated approaches are also briefly presented, as well as several emerging trends
This introductory course in Cognitive Psychology presents the scientific study of cognitive processes and the functioning of the mind. The course offers a systematic presentation of contemporary theories of cognitive psychology (information-processing theories and core-knowledge theories) as well as the key research methods used in the field. The course presents the essential cognitive functions such as perception, attention and memory, and examines various theoretical approaches to knowledge acquisition and mental representations. By the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of the core principles of Cognitive Psychology, how it addresses questions about cognitive functioning, and what questions remain unanswered.
The goal of this mandatory introductory course is to provide the basic knowledge on the physiology and anatomy of the brain. Students will learn about the most important techniques employed in the study of the nervous system (including anatomical, electrophysiological, molecular and image analysis methods; and the strengths and limitations of each one) and they will cover most key concepts and themes in the field of neuroscience, such as:
In each theme, the lectures will emphasize the evolution of concepts and the ways new technologies affects the progress of research; and how deficits in basic characteristics and functions can lead to pathological conditions. The course will be the background for the following elective courses: Neurobiology of Cognition and Behaviour, Brain and Consciousness, Special topics in Cellular and Systems Neuroscience.
So much happens in our minds! We perceive our environment, we think about things, we have emotions, we have dreams, hopes, beliefs... But what are all of these? How do they come about, and what makes them the way that they are? The success of brain science and cognitive science suggest that they are strongly connected to brain states and processes, but what exactly is this connection? Are the mental states and processes merely brain states or processes? Or perhaps some sort of computation that runs on the brain as its hardware, as the advancement of computers, and especially artificial intelligence, may suggest? Or does the mind involve something over and above the material brain, something that makes us who we are and could, for example, remain once the body is no longer alive? If so, what might that be? And how should we go about searching for it? Do non-human animals have minds, and if so, to what extent is it similar to the human mind and in what way do they differ? Can inanimate things like computers think? The success of AI systems of Large Language Models raises further questions about the nature of thought and language: How is it that certain noises or marks that people or computers make can be about something else? How does language "hook onto" the world? What is the nature of meaning? How is thought connected to reality? Philosophical tradition and contemporary philosophy and science offer a variety of answers to these questions. The course will introduce students to these ideas, focusing on prominent conceptual tools and theories in contemporary analytic philosophy and in view of the achievements of contemporary science.
The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the theoretical concepts and empirical findings of modern linguistics. More specifically, the course addresses the general characteristics of language, the relationship between language and speech, and the biological nature of language (language acquisition and the relationship between language and the brain). Additionally, the course will explore the different levels of language analysis:
The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the basic principles of programming: algorithms, rules, flags, loops, functions, data matrices, variable types, data processing, input-output etc. To achieve this, we will use MATLAB, which is a widely used by scientists in the field of mind/brain research. No previous programming knowledge is required – students will learn how to program from scratch, using this powerful but also user-friendly piece of software.
The aim of the course is for students to acquire knowledge and skills related to statistical data analysis. Specifically, the course aims to:
The course is structured to include opportunities for practical application of the concepts and techniques taught through lectures, assignments, and lab exercises. At the same time, the learning process is supported through the course eclass, which provides access to educational material and relevant information, as well as facilitates communication between students and instructors.
