48: The New Cognitive Neuroscience Requirements
Posted on October 28, 2024.
To go into effect in Spring of 2025 for students graduating during or after the Spring of 2026.
Link to the Dean of the College’s page for Cognitive Neuroscience in the Course Bulletin.
Concentration Advisors to speak with: Prof. Elena Festa and Prof. Joo-Hyun Song
Cognitive Neuroscience is the study of how neural mechanisms give rise to the mental representations and processes that underlie behavior. Cognitive Neuroscience concentrators integrate research in cognitive science, psychology, and neuroscience. Students in the concentration are exposed to both behavioral/experimental methods and computational approaches in order to understand the nature of cognition from a neural perspective. Through the elective requirements, students can focus on one of these two avenues of study, or they can propose a balance between the two. Concentrators must also complete a senior capstone seminar course or conduct an independent program of study with members of the Cognitive and Psychological Sciences department as well as individuals in the Department of Neuroscience or the Carney Institute for Brain Science, an interdisciplinary program that unites over 90 faculty from 11 different departments. The general goal of the Cognitive Neuroscience requirements is to provide students with the foundational knowledge in Psychology and Neuroscience necessary for an integrative study of the relation between the mind and the brain, while also allowing students to deeply explore one or two areas of focus in Cognitive Neuroscience. Students are recommended to complete their Classes in Analysis and have taken at least one foundation and/or one elective by the end of Semester 5.
The major changes to the Cognitive Neuroscience concentration are as follows:
1) CPSY0010 is no longer a require class. It is part of the foundation courses. We do encourage all first and second-year students to take CPSY0010, especially if they have not had the AP or IB Psychology course. We also encourage all students to take it as it is a good course and one of the few WRIT courses among the foundations.
2) The foundation courses have changed to reflect that students in cognitive neuroscience must be fluent with facets of psychological sciences, neuroscience, and computation. Within the psychological sciences, we are more inclusive as to what courses count and can be required for the foundation. For example, CPSY 0100 (Learning and Conditioning), and certain subfields within developmental psychology and social psychology are now included in these foundations. As with the new cognitive science requirements, the new courses that were chosen and listed below as part of the foundation for cognitive neuroscience were specifically chosen for the cognitive neuroscience concentration and substitutions cannot be made (e.g., CPSY 0620 or EDUC 0800 are not acceptable in lieu of CPSY 0610)
3) A foundation in computation is now required. We strongly encourage students to take CPSY 0950, but other courses in the Computer Science department or in the CPSY department can also be used.
4) CPSY 1900/1901 is a required analysis course. Other labs will still be available, but will usually be used as capstone requirements, not laboratory requirements.
5) The Sc.B. requirement is now more inclusive to courses from other departments as well as requires advanced coursework in CPSY, but no longer requires an additional laboratory class in the department. The coursework for the Sc.B. is also more rigorous.
AB Requirements in Cognitive Neuroscience
Classes in Analysis (2). These courses provide the core knowledge of experimental design and statistical analysis necessary to interpret research findings and think critically about the relation between theories and evidence.
CPSY 0900 (Statistical Thinking)
CPSY 1900 or CPSY 1901 (Research Methods)
A lot of students ask whether other statistics courses can be taken instead of CPSY 0900. Here's my short answer - we really want you to take 900, and not another course. 900 prepares you for research and analysis in the department; other courses do not. Many other courses in statistics do not teach this material, and will not count. HOWEVER, we recognize that some courses do teach the same material. Courses that do teach this material at an appropriate (or even at a deeper) level can be used in lieu of 900. Talk with your concentration advisor about such courses, particularly if there is a legitimate reason why you cannot take 900.
Similarly, there are a few lab courses that can be taken instead of 1900/01, but again, we really want you to take those courses. Your concentration advisor has a list of possible substitutions.
Foundational Courses: The goal of this requirement is to provide students with the foundational knowledge across Cognitive Neuroscience. Students are expected to have some background in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Computation. The requirements below afford students with the opportunity to gain background in each of these foundational areas and cannot be interchanged.
A. Foundation in Cognition/Psychology (2). The goal of taking courses in this category is to consider general principles of Psychological and Cognitive Science towards the study of Cognitive Neuroscience. The courses below are ones that teach fundamental topics related to Cognitive Neuroscience or that provide foundational knowledge that can be applied to neuroscientific principles and techniques. Cognition, Learning, Perception and Cognitive Neuropsychology are emphasized. Students interested in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience are encouraged to get a background in Cognitive Development (CPSY 0610), while students interested in Social Neuroscience are encouraged to get a background in Social Psychology (CPSY 0700). However, we do not accept both CPSY 0610 and CPSY S0700, as students interested in both of these topics are recommended to concentrate in psychology
Take 2 courses among the following:
CPSY 0010 (Mind, Brain and Behavior)
CPSY 0100 (Learning and Conditioning)
CPSY 0200 (Human Cognition) or CLPS0400 (Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience) or CLPS0450 (Brain Damage and the Mind). Can only take one of these three for foundational requirements. - Can't use both for this requirement.
CPSY 0500 (Perception and Mind)
CPSY 0550 (Science of Consciousness)
CPSY 0610 (Children’s Thinking) or CPSY 0700 (Social Psychology) - Can't use both for this requirement.
B. Foundation in Neuroscience (1). The goal of taking a course in this category is to become familiar with the principles of cognitive neuroscience research and methods in one of the foundational domains.
Take 1 course among the following:
CPSY 0400 (Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience)
CPSY0 450 (Brain Damage and the Mind)
NEUR0010 (Foundations of Neuroscience)
Note that CLPS0400 and CLPS0450 can be used for both either the Foundation in Cognition or the Foundation in Neuroscience requirement, but not both. That is, if either of these classes are used for the Foundation in Cognition requirement, students must take NEUR10 to satisfy Foundations in Neuroscience requirement; if either CPSY 400 or CPSY 0450 of these classes are used for Foundation in Neuroscience, students cannot use them (or CPSY 0200) to satisfy the Foundations in Cognition requirements.
C. Foundation in Computation (1). Because the study of Cognitive Neuroscience can focus on computational explanations for the relation between neural processes and behavior, a course in programming or computational modeling is also relevant to understand the foundations of the discipline.
Take 1 course among the following:
CPSY 0950
Any Introductory CSCI Course with a Programming Component (e.g., CSCI0111, CSCI150, CSCI170, CSCI190), or any CSCI Course with a higher number than 0190. CSCI Courses with numbers below 0111 do not satisfy this requirement)
CPSY 1291
CPSY 1492
CPSY 1950
Electives (5). The goal of the elective requirement is to construct a curriculum that provides a deeper understanding of Cognitive Neuroscience. Students should take five electives from the CPSY, NEUR, or CSCI departments, of which three must be at the 1000-level. Courses might also come from the APMA, COST or PHP departments (and possibly other departments as well) with permission of concentration advisor. Extra foundation classes can be used as electives, except students cannot construct a program of study that includes both CLPS950 and an introductory CSCI class as part of this requirement, and students must still have at least three electives at the 1000-level. These elective courses must represent a specific coherent program of study, which is discussed with the concentration advisor.
Capstone (1): The purpose of the capstone in Cognitive Science is to take the material students are exposed to in their foundational courses and integrate them with the methodological savvy acquired from the analysis courses. Students should engage in this capstone experience in one of the following ways:
A) By participating in the honors program in the senior year, which involves conducting independent research supervised by a faculty member of the Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences or by an approved trainer from another department at Brown University. Please contact the honors advisor for a list of approved trainers or for faculty from other departments to apply for approved trainer status.
B) By successfully completing one-semester of CPSY 1970 (Directed Readings) or CPSY 1980 (Directed Research) during the senior year under the supervision of a member of the Cognitive and Psychological Sciences department or an approved trainer from another department at Brown University. Typically, trainers are assigned a section number of CPSY 1970/1980.
3) By the successful completion of a laboratory course in the Cognitive and Psychological Sciences Department in the senior year. This course must be chosen in consultation with the student’s concentration advisor. Laboratory courses integrate material taught in the department with research methodology to enable students to produce cutting-edge novel research. All laboratory-style courses are at the 1000-level and have a 9 in the tenth position (e.g., 1_9_) and are listed on the department website. Please note that Research Methods (CPSY 1900/1901) cannot be used to fulfill this requirement. Laboratory courses in Neuroscience might be appliable with permission of the concentration advisor.
4) By the successful completion of a seminar-style course in the Cognitive and Psychological Sciences Department relevant to the student’s foundational and elective focus of study. This course must be taken in the senior year. Such a course should be selected in consultation with the student’s concentration advisor. Seminar-style courses are advanced classes that build on material students are exposed to in their foundational and methods classes. Examples include, but are not limited to, “topics” classes taught in the Cognitive and Psychological Sciences department, which are at the 1000-level, end in the numbers ‘80’ and a letter (e.g., 1_80X). Many other seminar-style classes at the 1000 level will also be appropriate. Typically, this is a course that will be taught in the CPSY department, but some seminars in the Neuroscience department can be used with permission of the concentration advisor.
ScB Requirements in Cognitive Neuroscience
To satisfy the ScB. requirements in the Cognitive Neuroscience concentration, one must satisfy all the AB requirements as well as take five (5) additional classes in STEM fields related to the concentration. The goal of this requirement is to provide students with a broader background in both the study of psychology and STEM fields in general. At least two (2) of those five classes must be in the CPSY Department. These two courses must be at the 1000-level. We strongly recommend that one of these courses be an advanced laboratory course (Described above). The other classes can be from the following departments: APMA, BIOL, CSCI, CHEM, CPSY, MATH, NEUR, or PHYS. Courses from other STEM fields might be eligible with permission of the concentration advisor, but such courses must be related to a student’s other courses, such as their electives. Additional courses from CPSY must be at the 1000-level to be considered for the Sc.B. All courses must also be acceptable for the requirements of a concentration administered by that department. For example, if a PHYS course is used to satisfy one of these requirements, it must be acceptable for a concentration in the PHYS department.