Master of Science in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (C892)

This web page is under construction and may undergo changes during the Academic Year 2009/2010

The course structure is outlined in a handbook (version 29 June 2010) which also contains basic information about assessment. For more details please see the module catalogue (search by module code) and tutorial information (version 19 Oct 2009).

Table of Contents

• Methods for Cognitive Neuroscience: Methods based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Methods for Cognitive Neuroscience: Electrophysiological and behavioural methods
• Cognitive Neuroscience: Basic introduction and implications for experimental design in fMRI, MEG, EEG, and TMS studies
• Computer programming for stimuli and analysis with demonstration of fMRI data analysis packages
• Advanced Statistics course (Methods and Data Institute)
• Seminars in School of Psychology and Sir Peter Mansfield MR centre
• Personal Development and Research Skills (Graduate School courses)
• Professional and ethical issues in research and practice (Institute of Work, Health, and Organizations)
• Research Placement
• Research Project (with details about supervisory meetings)

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Methods for Cognitive Neuroscience: Methods based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging

*Handouts to be accessed via this link once available

Recommended reading

• A book that is rather unique in its combination of depth and accessibility; note that a 2nd edition is announced for February 2009 -- Huettel SA, Song AW, McCarthy G. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Sunderland: Sinauer 2004, ISBN-13 978-0878932887

Handbook chapter and in-depth reading

• Comprehensive handbook chapter about fMRI -- Wager T et al. Elements of functional neuroimaging. In: Cacioppo JT, Tassinary LG, Berntson GG. Handbook of Psychophysiology. Cambridge Univ Press, 3rd edition, 2007
• Detailed review article (in-depth reading only; focus on fMRI for experimental psychology) Henson R. Q J Exp Psychol 2005; 58: 193-233
• Detailed review article (in-depth reading only; physiological and technical focus) Logothetis NK, Pfeuffer J. Magn Res Imag 2004; 22: 1517-1531
• Handbook (in-depth reading only) Clinical applications of functional brain MRI, Rombouts SARB, Barkhof F, Scheltens P (eds) Oxford University Press 2007

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Methods for Cognitive Neuroscience: Electrophysiological and behavioural methods

• MEG: Hari R, Levänen S, Raij T. Timing of human cortical functions during cognition: role of MEG. Trends Cogn Sci 2000, 4: 455
• EEG/MEG vs fMRI: Shibasaki H. Human brain mapping: hemodynamic response and electrophysiology. Clin Neurophysiol. 2008; 119: 731
• EEG biophysics and data analysis, Olaf Hauk, Univ Cambridge (for in depth-reading only)
• Detailed review article (in-depth reading only) on biophysics of EEG and localization of neural sources from EEG and MEG -- Lopes da Silva FH. Magn Res Imag 2004; 22: 1533–1538
• Comprehensive handbook chapter about ERPs -- Fabiani M et al. Event-related brain potentials. In: Cacioppo JT, Tassinary LG, Berntson GG. Handbook of Psychophysiology. Cambridge Univ Press, 3rd edition, 2007
• Review article about ERPs -- Muller-Gass A, Campbell K. Int J Psychopharamcol 2002; 46: 177-195)
• Detailed handbook on ERP methods -- Handy TC. Event-related potentials. A methods handbook. MIT Press 2004
• Detailed handbook on ERP methods -- Luck SJ. An Introduction to the Event-Related Potential Technique. MIT Press 2005
• Review article (for in-depth reading) about EEG frequency analysis -- Engel AK, Fries P, Singer W (2001). Dynamic predictions: Oscillations and synchrony in top-down processing. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2, 704-716
• Review article (for in-depth reading) about EEG frequency analysis -- Fries P (2005). A mechanism for cognitive dynamics: neuronal communication through neuronal coherence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 474-480
• Review article (for in-depth reading) about EEG frequency analysis -- Pfurtscheller G, Lopes da Silva FH (1999). Event-related EEG/MEG synchronization and desynchronization: basic principles. Clinical Neurophysiology, 110, 1842-1857
• Review article (for in-depth reading) about EEG frequency analysis -- Sauseng P, Klimesch W (2008). What does phase information of oscillatory brain activity tell us about cognitive processes? Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 32, 1001-1013
• Review article (for in-depth reading) about EEG frequency analysis -- Varela F, Lachaux J-P, Rodriguez E, Martinerie J (2001).The brainweb: Phase synchronization and large-scale integration. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2, 229-239
• Comprehensive handbook chapter about TMS -- Luber et al. Application of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in psychophysiology. In: Cacioppo JT, Tassinary LG, Berntson GG. Handbook of Psychophysiology. Cambridge Univ Press, 3rd edition, 2007
• TMS: physics, cortical physiology, neurology, ... -- Hallett M. Nature 2000; 406: 147-150
• "Virtual lesions" induced by TMS -- Rafal R. Nat Neurosci 2001; 4: 862-864
• TMS for cognitive neuroscience -- Pascual-Leone A, Walsh V, Rothwell J. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2000; 10: 232-237s
• Comprehensive handbook chapter about brain lesions and functional localization -- Koenigs M et al. The lesion method in cognitive neuroscience. In: Cacioppo JT, Tassinary LG, Berntson GG. Handbook of Psychophysiology. Cambridge Univ Press, 3rd edition, 2007
• Neuropsychology based on brain lesions vs functional imaging: Rorden C, Karnath HO. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2004; 5, 813-819.

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Cognitive Neuroscience: Basic introduction and implications for experimental design in fMRI, MEG, EEG, and TMS studies

*Handouts to be accessed via this link once available

Recommended reading: all of the following books are written to be accessible to students; the first two are textbooks, the third is less detailed than a textbook but it is remarkably well structured and engaging

• Purves D et al. (eds). Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience. Sunderland: Sinauer 2008, ISBN 978-0-87893-694-6
• Gazzaniga MS, Ivry RB, Mangun GR (eds). Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind. New York: Norton 2nd edition 2002, ISBN 0393977773
• Ward J. The Student's Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience. Hove: Psychology Press 2006, ISBN 1-84169-535-1

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Computer programming for stimuli and analysis with demonstration of fMRI data analysis packages

Lectures/practicals include demonstrations that require students to log in to classroom computers (in room A5), both in Windows XP and in MacOS. Before the course begins, please test whether your login works on the classroom computers.

Statistics course (Methods and Data Institute)

Lectures/practicals include demonstrations that require students to log in to classroom computers (for example room A5) in Windows XP mode. Before the course begins, please test whether your login works on the classroom computers.

Recommended textbook: FOX, John: Applied Regression Analysis, and Generalized Linear Models. SAGE Publications 2008 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-0761930426 (the 1st edition would do as well) - several copies are available in George Green Library

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Seminars in School of Psychology and Sir Peter Mansfield MR centre

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Personal Development and Research Skills (Graduate School courses)

Comment (01 June 2009): Several students report that the 8-credit Graduate School course "Programming for Beginners" has been useful as a preparation for the summer semester module C84CPR.

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Professional and ethical issues in research and practice (Institute of Work, Health, and Organizations)

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Research Placement

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Research Project (with details about supervisory meetings)

For possible topics of placements and projects, please see project catalogue (version 23 Nov 2009, please check for updates)

Two formal meetings between MSc student and project supervisors are required during research project work. Normally the first meeting is held at the beginning of the project period and the second meeting when the student is half-way through the project. For each of these meetings a Supervision Record must be completed. No other formal meetings are required during the MSc year. (Students on a 1+3 MSc/PhD programme please note that different regulations apply to PhD years.) Students are free to ask the supervisor for additional meetings if needed. It is advisable for students to keep their own records of such extra meetings.

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File formats and file names for coursework submission

• Where electronic submission of coursework is required, pdf format is normally preferable (unless stated otherwise).
• If you prefer to submit in a Microsoft-Word-readable format please choose rtf or doc but not docx (because it is not straightforward to open docx files with pre-2007 Word versions). Similarly, please use xls, not xlsx, and ppt, not pptx, when submitting files.
• Please make sure that the filename contains the module code and your name, e.g. C84RPS_Portfolio_FirstnameLastname.pdf
• Your name needs to appear on the first page of reports etc (and/or put your name in header/footer on each page), and pages are to be numbered
• Suggested word processor settings: 11 point font, line spacing 1.5 lines and left/right margins of ~2.5 cm (unless stated otherwise by module convenor)
• Please exclude references from the word count

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Further advice regarding electronic submission of coursework, project reports, ...

• Whenever you submit coursework and/or project reports by email please keep backup copies, best in several locations: (1) in the "sent mail" directory of your email account on the @nottingham.ac.uk systems; (2) in your home directory on a Psychology server, (3) on portable memory (e.g. USB memory), (4) in a secondary email account which you can access remotely in case you are traveling (just cc your email with assignment attached to the secondary email account at the moment of submission; note that this approach also overcomes any limitations of storage space that may apply to option 1)
• If you use an email client program that filters spam (junk mail), please check the settings. Don't allow automatic deletion because occasionally error messages like "recipient cannot be reached" may be sorted into the junk mail folder -- such messages are obviously important!
• Before you attach a file to an email, please check the file size. Many email systems do not allow you to send files larger than -- for example -- 2 MB; even if you are allowed to send them, large files may block a recipient's inbox. Please get familiar with methods to reduce file size (e.g. reducing the size of graphics embedded in Microsoft Word files)

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Applying for further studies (e.g. PhD programmes)

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Students may also be interested in ...

• the postgraduate conference of the School of Psychology where research students report on their progress (once a year; date for the 2009 conference to be confirmed)
• the internal seminars of the School of Psychology, held by staff members and research students
• The University of Nottingham Centre for Career Development