What is Cognitive Neuroscience? Why should I study it?
Cognitive neuroscience is the highly integrative scientific study of the biological processes underlying cognition. Cognitive neuroscientists are concerned with cognitive systems, human and animal behavior, and the functionality of different brain regions. They investigate the brain with functional magnetic resonance imaging, animal models, computational models, behavioral paradigms, pharmacological interventions, and much more. Mainly, cognitive neuroscientists are interested in explaining behaviors in terms of the neural substrates that drive them.
Cognitive neuroscience offers a mechanistic and systems-focused look into the brain and behavior. As compared to pure neuroscience, which is built on pre-medical requirements and the nitty-gritty of brain cell chemistry, cognitive neurosciences takes more of a behavioral approach. And compared to cognitive science or psychology, there is more of a focus on the mechanisms producing behavior within the brain itself. Cognitive neuroscience is a flexible concentration at Brown in that it offers a focused look into a topic of interest. Concentrators are given the opportunity to pick one “track” of cognitive neuroscience that they want to become fluent in, such as computation/modeling, cognitive development, linguistics, spatial cognition, or animal behavior. As long as you take four 1000-level electives along a unified theme (on top of the foundational requirements), you can graduate in cognitive neuroscience.
The cognitive neuroscience concentration can be pursued as an A.B. or Sc.B.
What are the requirements for CogNeuro?
The official requirements can be found here. Please note that the Sc.B. has the same requirements as the A.B. as well as 4 additional science electives and a lab course.
What is the normal course trajectory for CogNeuro concentrators?
What counts as an approved elective course?
Any approved elective should be able to address the topic of cognition, neuropsychology, neuroscience, or computational methods. (Most CLPS and NEUR classes fall under this category, though some psychology or linguistics classes without any neuroscience or cognition component might not count - if you are unsure about whether a class qualifies, e-mail Professor Heindel.) Other classes outside of CLPS and NEUR within the theme may count with special permission. These classes must be in the 1000 level or higher.
Example: NEUR1020, NEUR1030, NEUR1040, NEUR1930N
What counts as an approved science course?
Generally classes that will count towards an APMA, BIOL, CHEM, CSCI, PHYS, MATH, NEUR, or ENGN degree will qualify. Specifically almost all APMA, BIOL, NEUR, and MATH classes will count. Classes such as CHEM0090 (Kitchen Chemistry) and PHYS0220 (Astronomy) will not. Any CSCI programming class will count. ENGN classes with physiological/neurological components will count.