270936 A critical look at neuroscientific methods: what they can and cannot do (S) (SoSe 2020)

Achtung: Wichtiger aktueller Hinweis

Die Veranstaltung wird in digitaler Form stattfinden.
Hierzu wird der LernraumPlus, Perusall und Zoom genutzt.
Sie werden vertiefende Themen durch Lesen von Papers (zu Hause), Diskussion in Kleingruppen (via Forum oder Skype/Zoom, dezentral), Gespräche/Foren mit dem Lehrenden und seminarweite Zooms (wenige) bearbeiten.
Detaillierte Informationen werden in dem Lernraum hochgeladen.

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As psychologists, we strive to understand the human mind. As neuroscientists, we attempt to understand the mind as the result of brain function. How cognition arises from what happens in the brain is still largely a mystery. We try to dissect cognition into basic processes, either by localizing where specific functions may happen, or by specifying which variables change brain processing.
The tools we have at hand are usually crude and indirect, restricted in their use, difficult to understand, complex to analyze, and require us to make many a priori assumptions. 
In this seminar, we will face these challenges head-on by studying some current biopsychological and neuroscientific methods. We will approach them by examining original research papers, and by identifying each method's unique strengths and limitations. 
The specific topics and methods will be chosen in the first session. 
Some examples for topics are: analyzing movement as a mirror of cognition; probing brain function with TMS; inducing rhythms in the brain; current trends in multi-cell invasive recordings; fMRI multi-voxel pattern analysis; modeling approaches; brain connectivity. 

Aims:
The aim of the seminar is to build knowledge and expertise of current neuroscientific approaches and to get to know exemplary research questions which they are currently used to address.

Method:
The seminar will be held in German or English, depending on what the group decides. 
We will use a mix of presentations, group work, reading, and discussion. 
We will review the methodological background before we go into the details of the methods, so that we will be able to realistically judge the possibilities and limitations of each method.

Literaturangaben

will be announced in the seminar