Cognitive Neuroscience Research Methods (Spring 2022)

Table of contents

1. Why should you take this course?
2. What this course offers
3. What I expect from you
4. What you will do
5. Grading
6. Code of conduct
7. Honor Code
8. Resources to support you

Why should you take this course?

What is the relationship between the brain, thoughts, and actions? This course will introduce you to the field of cognitive neuroscience, or the study of the neural processes driving cognition (what we think) and behavior (what we do). The overarching goal of this course is to develop your ability to think like a cognitive neuroscientist. This includes understanding the relationship between theory and empiricism, learning how to define a research question, how to design experiments to test hypotheses, how to interpret results, and how to draw conclusions that respect the limitations of the data.

Within the context of cognitive neuroscience, this course will help you:

• Develop the capacity to critically evaluate research
• Scaffold your own research projects
• Refine your capacity for independent, contextualized thinking
• Satisfy your curiosity about the brain. Maybe you’re a curious person. Maybe you’d like to be a curious person. Either way, welcome!

More practically, in the process of developing your own research question about the brain-cognition link, you will learn to:

• Form evidence-based questions
• Design experiments to test hypotheses
• Interpret data given its limitations and context

What this course offers

As your instructor, my utmost concern is your learning (i.e. an improvement in your skill level) as opposed to a demonstration of your knowledge. Notice that this definition of learning focuses on change, not performance. Therefore, I prioritize the following:

• Conceptual understanding, not rote memorization or reiterating what you already know. Unlike a neuroanatomy class where verbatim knowledge may be tested, you’ll be expected to reason using the concepts you’ve learned, not repeat their definitions.
• Growth. I’ll provide an opportunity to safely make mistakes and learn from them. You will be rewarded for making mistakes. Yes, you read that correctly. The only way to grow is to try something new.
• Active learning and collaboration with others. Time spent in class will often involve applying what you’ve learned in an interactive way (and challenging the things you know).
• Evaluating your thought processes, not your conclusions. If you think about it, your capacity to reason about novel situations using concepts you’ve learned in the past relies on your thought process, not a binary assessment of the validity of your conclusion. So, this course focuses on how you arrive at a conclusion rather than the conclusion itself.

What I expect from you

My goal is to make this an effective and supportive learning experience. To this end, the following will be expected of you:

Be present. Attend class. In class, be present (not on laptop, phone, etc.). This will ultimately save you time and it’s most effective for learning. There is a no-laptop no-phone policy.

Be engaged. This means reading material in advance when appropriate, thinking about how the material relates to other content, asking the questions you have, and attending to your fellow students when they seek feedback.

Ask when you need help. Everyone needs help at some point. Every single human being. After you’ve exerted a reasonable amount of effort, don’t stay stuck! Instead, please be kind to yourself and ask your questions, whether it be of me or your collaborators.

Be respectful of me, yourself, and others. Be considerate of others’ and your own individuality, ideas, time, and energy.

What you will do

Reading and participation Understanding the lay of the land is essential before jumping in to define your research question. To refine your ability to critically evaluate research, most classes have assigned reading as preparation for class participation. Reading materials will be posted on Canvas. To jog your thinking, a short answer in response to the reading will be due before each class. This short answer response will count as your reading grade. Working with your classmates in small groups during in-class active learning counts as your participation grade. So long as a thoughtful, good-faith effort is made to engage with the material and your classmates’ viewpoints, all points will be awarded to you. The reading will also provide examples of how (and how not) to conduct research.

Quizzes As I said, reading is important in research. To confirm you’ve come prepared to actively work with your collaborators, up to 10 classes will have pop quizzes testing basic knowledge about the required reading for that class. These multiple choice questions will be administered at the beginning of the class when they do happen. They will be scored for accuracy. Do your reading!

Final Project To actively engage with the scientific process, you will develop your own research question. This will involve applying what you’ve learned so far, including literature review, hypothesis generation, experimental design, predicting results, and drawing conclusions. To scaffold your learning, you will present each component of the project to the class and receive feedback. A successful project involves using what you’ve learned to design and complete all component presentations and then responding to the feedback you receive, with at least one iteration on a project component. The rubric for the final project will be posted on Canvas during the first month of class, allowing ample time to guide your work and understand your assessment. At the end of the semester, you will present your hypothesized results to the Psychology Department as a poster.

Extra credit To incentivize learning, I will award extra credit to those who demonstrate at least a letter-grade improvement over the semester. I’ll compare grades from the beginning of class to the mid-semester point (1/17-3/2) to grades earned after the mid-semester point to the final day of class (3/2-4/28).

See the Resources section for how to find help.

Grading

Grades will be calculated according to the following scheme. The number of assignments per category is specified in parentheses.

Reading (19%) and participation (19%) 38% (up to 25)

Quizzes 20% (up to 10)

Final project 42% (1)

Extra credit 2%

Letter assignments Letter grades will be assigned as below:

90-100: A

80-89: B …and so on

Numerical grades will be rounded to the nearest whole number to determine the corresponding letter-grade.

Late work policy Because the content in this class is cumulative, it’s important to complete assignments on time to avoid getting lost. There is a 10% penalty per week an assignment is late. An assignment submitted 2 weeks late would have a 20% penalty, 3 weeks late results in a 30% penalty, and so on. This excludes the Final Project, as it is due at the end of the semester. If you have unexpected challenges or need help, ask as soon as you need it (see Resources section).

Under prolonged extenuating or emergency circumstances, please schedule a meeting with me via Zoom as soon as possible so that we can work out a solution.

Code of conduct

It is my intent to present materials and activities that are respectful of the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of students in the classroom. You may feel free to let me know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups. If you feel uncomfortable discussing this with me, you may voice your concerns to the Chair of the Department (Mike Tarr, michaeltarr@cmu.edu) or the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Kody Manke (kmanke@andrew.cmu.edu).

Honor Code

There is zero tolerance for academic dishonesty. Any evidence of copying, duplication or any evidence of plagiarism (copying someone else’s writing, or failing to cite the work, ideas or writings of someone else, and presenting it as your own) will result in an automatic zero on the assignment, and submission of an Academic Honesty Incident Form. This applies to oral presentations with equal force. If you have questions on any issue related to academic honesty, please consult the University Policy.

Submitted work should reflect your intellectual contributions. Working together is fine! But please, cite your collaborators by adding their name and specifying the work they contributed to your submissions. Good collaboration involves equitable effort from all parties involved.

Resources to support you

Slack Class communication will be via a Slack workspace. See Canvas for the invitation link.

Canvas There is no textbook for this course. Course materials can be accessed via Canvas with your CMU credentials.

Office hours Office hours are available by appointment or from 1-3pm on Fridays in Baker 436Q. I’m happy to meet ad hoc via Zoom.

Tutoring The Student Academic Success Center offers course support in the form of supplemental instruction, peer tutoring, and drop-in tutoring. See their site for more detail.

Equal opportunity accommodations All efforts will be made to minimize conflict with students’ religious schedules (e.g., holidays, prayer services, etc.) and/or any disabilities. Students should consult with the Equal Opportunity Services (EOS) at the beginning of the semester to set up any necessary accommodations for this class.

Self-care Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, getting enough sleep and taking some time to relax. This will help you achieve your goals and cope with stress. All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. There are many helpful resources available on campus and an important part of the college experience is learning how to ask for help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is often helpful.

If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety or depression,we strongly encourage you to seek support. Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) is here to help: call 412-268-2922 and visit their website. Consider reaching out to a friend, faculty or family member you trust for help getting connected to the support that can help.