PSY4317 ¨C Hemispheric asymmetry and cognition

Course content

The left and right cerebral hemispheres differ in their information processing abilities. Some cognitive functions, like speech and language processing, are predominately relying on temporal and frontal regions of the left hemisphere, while others, e.g. spatial processing and face recognition, are considered right-hemispheric functions. In this, these so-called functional hemispheric asymmetries represent a fundamental characteristic of brain organisation and theories of human cognition can only be complete when acknowledging these processing differences between the hemispheres. The present course provides an overview to classical findings as well as an introduction to modern approaches to studying functional brain asymmetries. The course covers inter-individual differences in brain asymmetry in healthy and clinical populations, as well as the role of the interaction between the cerebral hemisphere for establishing and maintaining hemispheric asymmetries. Across all topics, the course connects phenomena of hemispheric asymmetry with concept widely used in cognitive psychology (e.g., working memory, attention) with the aim to establish an integrated cognitive neuroscience perspective on hemispheric differences.

Learning outcome

Knowledge

You will:

• Have a good understanding of central phenomena and concepts of functional brain asymmetry
• Know about the most frequent individual differences in asymmetries
• Have a basic understanding of the relationship between selected cognitive faculties (such as working memory or attention) and hemispheric asymmetries
• Have a good understanding of traditional and modern methods for studying functional asymmetries

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Skills

You will be able to:

• Discuss theories and phenomena of hemispheric asymmetry with others and in writing
• Propose ways of testing theories of brain asymmetry in experiments
• Propose ways of applying these theories to circumscribed problems?

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General competence

You will:

• Acquire a good understanding of the interplay between experimental operationalisation, empirical results, and theory
• Learn how to find, integrate, and discuss empirical research articles to answer a predefined research question

Admission to the course

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Formal prerequisite knowledge

Admission to the master's program in Cognitive Neuroscience

Teaching

8 seminars of 2h each.

Examination

Individual home exam (essay)

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

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