Track Cognitive Neuroscience

Contents of the CN track

How do we remember yesterday’s events? How do we choose and order the words to describe them? What is the common basis between song bird learning and human language? When does a given visual stimulus reach awareness and which dynamic changes in neural circuitries underlie the ‘awareness sensation’? What are the behavioural mechanisms shared by rats, monkeys and humans, and how has evolution driven the emergence of the refined cognitive apparatus encountered in modern men? How does an angry face attract or avert our attention and which brain/ hormonal mechanisms lead to marked differences between groups of individuals in this?

These questions are the core of the Cognitive neuroscience track. We study the cognitive functions of the brain, by designing clever behavioural experiments and combining this with a variety of brain related techniques, such as fMRI, EEG, TMS, and patient lesion methodology. The research is embedded in internationally renowned institutes such as the Utrecht Institute of Linguistics, where psycho- and neurolinguistic, formal language modeling and syntax/semantics studies are done, and the Helmholtz Institute, with a strong focus on perception, attention and emotion, (nonverbal & spatial) memory and psychophysical and neuropsychological methodologies. Comparative research on cognitive mechanisms in animals is done in the Behavioural Biology and the Animals in Science and Society group.

Albert Postma is coördinator of the cognitive neuroscience track. In consultation with the Track coordinator, cognitive neuroscience students can pick from a wealth of internship possibilities. The cognitive process is always central and can be studied on itself (behavioural experiments) or in combination with techniques which directly tap into the brain.

CN track Coordination

During the summer, the coordinator usually tries to plan a brief individual meeting with first year students to discuss their progress in the master and the plans for the second year.

Albert Postma is Professor in Cognitive- and Neuropsychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University. The focus of his research is on the neurocognition of space, examining spatial aspects of memory (e.g. wayfinding), perception (e.g. distance estimation), and attention (e.g. moving mental spotlight from one location to another) across different modalities (e.g. how do blind and deaf individuals use their sense of touch to explore grasping space). He combines behavioural experiments with various brain related techniques, such as fMRI, EEG and studies in brain damaged patients. Albert Postma’s research has been supported by national (NWO) and international grants (EU 6th Framework). One of his most recent interests concerns the question how the episodic memory ability in humans has evolved out of the older spatial memory circuitry in the medial temporal lobe.

Neuroscience and Cognition students are always welcome for advice on how to find internships or thesis supervisors and all other sorts of master related affairs.

a.postma@uu.nl

030 2533657 / 2534281

Van Unnik building, Heidelberglaan 2 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands. Room 17.24D

CN courses:

Students are strongly advised to choose electives which directly relate to cognitive neuroscience theory and methodology. The following cognitive neuroscience courses are offered in Utrecht:

It is strongly advised to take at least one of the above Utrecht courses in the electives part. It is also possible to shorten the 9 month internship with 9 ECTS in order to follow more theoretical courses.  This has to be approved by the coordinator. Electives courses can be followed in parallel to a concurrent internship, provided the internship supervisor agrees.