Introduction to cognitive science 2401-K-S1-1-WDK

http://www.is.umk.pl/~duch/Wyklady/Kog_plan.html
https://www.is.umk.pl/~duch/Wyklady/Kog_plan.html (term 2022/23Z)
https://www.is.umk.pl/~duch/Wyklady/Kog_plan.html (term 2023/24Z)

Introduction to the cognitive science is a two-semester course designed for cognitive science curriculum, but it is also an open lecture that students of other fields may take.

First semester is a general introduction to the nature of minds, second semester is mainly concerned with brain-mind-behavior relations, behavioral neuropsychology and brain models.

Sem I. Nature of minds.
1. Cognitive scienc eand what should we expect of it, how understanding the mind means.
2. History of mind: myth as explanations, history of mind-related concepts, from spirits and souls to consciousness and awareness.
3. Folklore of mind, paranormal phenomena and pseudoscience, theories that lead astray.
4. Philosophy of mind from contemporary science point of view: from ancient Greece to XX century, cognitive philosophy and neurophilosophy.
5. Mind and evolution: cosmic calendar, animal minds, primiate cognitive skills.
6. Paleo-antrophology of mind, evolution of man, sociobiology.
7. Brains and minds: genes and brains, evolutionary biology, complexity of genetic and epigenetic information.

Sem II. Brain, mind, behavior.

8. Brain neuroanatomy, methods and fields that investigate the brain in various aspects, localization of cognitive, affective and homeostatic functions.
9. Brains in action: simples theories.
10. Homeostasis and the brain stem
11. Emotions, drive, control mechanisms.
12. Cortex: modular structure, functions, sensory data analysis, perception and motor control.
13. Memory, various types and models of memory.
14. Complex cognition: speech and language, thinking, intelligence, volition, self.
15. Brains and consciousness.

Term 2022/23Z:

None

Term 2023/24Z:

None

Total student workload

A total of 150 hours, including: 30 direct contact hours of lecture, 90 hours of reading the lecture notes, searching for relevant information, summarizing/commenting the lecture notes, and asking questions, 30 hours preparation for the final exam.

Learning outcomes - knowledge

Student understands: * the goals of cognitive science research, * knows interdisciplinary methods of cognitive science, * knows which branches of science contributed to the rise of cognitive sciences and are essential for its further development, * knows and understands the history of basic concpets that have been used in the past to describe mind in the past, * is able to critically evaluate myth and media reports about brain and mind functions, * knows basic historical and contemporary philosophical trends connected to understanding of the mind and is able to critically asses them from the current scientific point of view, * understands evolutionary pressures that led to the formation of specific perceptual and cognitive mechanisms, * knows basic structures and functions of the brain, is able to sketch schemes and describe them, * understands mind-body relations in terms of information flow for perception, memory, complex decision making and consciousness, * is able to evaluate results of lesions of brain structures and their interconnections. Reference to the general effects of qualifications in cognitive science program: K_W01, K_W02, K_W03, K_W04, K_W05, K_W06, K_W07.

Learning outcomes - skills

Student is able to: * find and critically assess the quality of information in the Internet and media about scientific discoveries related to CS, * summarize the main points of each lecture, based on lecture notes, * collect and interpret information from various sources, * formulate interesting questions about the lecture topics, * notice false assumptions and reasoning errors about brains and minds appearing in the media and in folk psychology, * critically evaluate results of experiments done with different methods used in CS. Reference to the general effects of qualifications in cognitive science program: K_U01, K_U02, K_U04, K_U06

Learning outcomes - social competencies

Student is: * aware of the complexity of cognitive science topics and therefore of the need for many theoretical and methodological approaches, * is able to analyze and evaluate information trying to understand their consequences for understanding mental processes, * knows limitations of her/his knowledge and distinguishes opinions from well documented facts, * is able to critically look at his/her own ideas and opinions, * understands the need for further study and the danger of holding shallow opinions, * expands the knowledge gained from the introductory lectures, including the knowledge on practical applications of CS, * is aware of the need to popularize knowledge about CS and the use of this knowledge in professional work, * is sensitive to the ethical aspects of conducting research in CS, possible errors in interpretations, effects of the irrational form of thinking, and cheating in the presentation of results.

Teaching methods

* Lectures with discussions and problem statements, * reading lecture notes before the lecture, * summarizing, commenting and formulating questions on the wiki pages based on lecture notes before the actual lecture, * evaluation of comments of each student before the lecture, * interactions between the students who read and comment on what they have written, * during lectures discussions and answering questions posed on Wiki pages.

Expository teaching methods

- description
- participatory lecture
- informative (conventional) lecture
- programmed material
- problem-based lecture

Exploratory teaching methods

- points system
- observation
- situational

Type of course

compulsory course

Prerequisites

Introductory lectures, there are no specific requirements except for basic knowledge from the high school and computer skills to navigate through the internet web pages and the ability to write comments and questions on the Wiki pages.

Course coordinators

Włodzisław Duch

Learning outcomes

Understanding the goals and the methods of transdiciplinary cognitive research, understanding philosophical concepts and terminology used to describe issues related to the mind, understanding basic cognitive processes, relations between brains and minds,
ability to describe cognitive processes in terms of information flow,
understanding how perturbation in the information flow may influence mental processes and how this can help in neurorehabilitation,
understanding the tradeoffs between stability of information processing and plasticity needed for memory and learning.
Ability to evaluate critically information related to psychological and brain-related research.

Assessment criteria

Exam, composed of two parts.
As a necessary condition to write exam at least half of the maximum of 120 points should be accumulated for comments and questions on all lectures in a given semester.
(points,mark) = (>220;5), (>210;5-), (>200;4+), (>180;4), (>170;4-), (>160,3+), (>130;3), (>120;3-), below 120 points 2.
Additional 30 points for more than 210 points from comments, or 20 points for 180-210 points.

Practical placement

Not planned.

Bibliography

Anderson John R. Uczenie się i pamięć. Integracja zagadnień. WSiP 1998.
Bremer J, Osoba – fikcja czy rzeczywistość? Tożsamość i jedność Ja w świetle badań neurologicznych Kraków: Aureus, 2008
Crick Francis, Zdumiewająca hipoteza. Prószyński i S-ka, Warszawa 1997
Górska T, Grabowska A, Zagrodzka J, red, Mózg a zachowanie. Wyd. Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1997
Jaśkowski P, Neuronauka poznawcza. Jak mózg tworzy umysł. Wizja Press IT, Warszawa 2009
Jodzio K (red), Neuronalny świat umysłu, Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza "Impuls", 2005
Lindsay P. H., Norman D.A. Procesy przetwarzania informacji u człowieka. Warszawa: PWN. 1995
Maruszewski T., Psychologia poznania. Sposoby rozumienia siebie i świata, GWP Warszawa 2001
Milner D.A, Goodale M.A., Mózg wzrokowy w działaniu. Wyd. Naukowe PWN, Seria: Biblioteka Psychologii Współczesnej, 2008
Sadowski B, Biologiczne mechanizmy zachowania się ludzi i zwierząt. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa, 2006.
Wróbel A, Kasicki S, red. Zobaczyć myśl. Badania czynności mózgu.

Term 2022/23Z:

None

Term 2023/24Z:

None

Notes

Term 2022/23Z:

None

Term 2023/24Z:

None

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2401-K-S1-1-WDK in USOSweb