Cognition and Neuropsychology - Overview

In this course the relationships between brain and behavior will be explored. The course will focus mainly on cortical and cognitive abilities. Initial lectures will be a general introduction to neuro-anatomy and methods used by neuropsychologists. This will be followed by lectures focusing on specific brain functions, such as motor functions, object recognition, memory and so on. Throughout the course students will learn about the relationships between brain and behaviour from brain injury cases (e.g., head injuries, strokes, tumors etc.) as well as from research done on brain- intact individuals. Readings will include studies with patients who have central nervous system dysfunction resulting from trauma or illness, as well as studies that utilize neuroimaging with healthy individuals. At the end of the course the student will have an understanding of how the brain is organized and how it accomplishes some behaviours and cognitive functions. As mentioned above, the course will cover some popular topics such as amnesia and “frontal” syndromes and, therefore, the course might be of interest to a wide spectrum of students. However, students interested in pursuing neuropsychology, neurophysiology or neurobiology will find the course particularly useful.