The focus of the cognitive neuroscience track is on a neuroscientific approach to cognition. It is firmly rooted in psychology and biology and focuses on how the brain processes information to enable complex cognitive functions. Besides fundamental neuroscience disciplines, brain imaging, systems neurophysiology and cognitive behaviour are strongly represented here. A question characteristic for this track is: “how do neural processes such as spikes and synaptic plasticity give rise to memory, conscious perception and behavioural decisions?”

The track aims at understanding how the brain implements cognitive processes by studying information processing in the healthy, active brain, but also by computer stimulation and interventional approaches targeting causal functions. In this track the pathological brain is equally captivating as the healthy brain and will be high-lighted by studying neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Programme

Year 1 

• 5 EC, Advanced Cognitive Neuroscience
• 5 EC, Neurophysiology: Introduction to Electrophysiology & Imaging
• 21-31 EC, Research project 1
• 6 EC, Specialised Courses
• 9 EC, Current Issues  in Brain and Cognitive Sciences
• 4 EC, Summer School
• 0-10 Elective

Year 2

• >44 EC, Research project 2 (minimum credits for both research projects are 65EC)
• 10 EC, Literature Thesis
• 6 EC, Electives

Specialised courses

Next to the track specific courses, the track Cognitive Neuroscience offers three specialised courses of which the students need to choose courses up to at least 6 EC, depending on their interest, as an obligatory module in their master programme.

Students can choose between:

• a human cognitive neuroscience focus, i.e. Neuroimaging, or
• a behavioral neuroscience focus, i.e. Experimental Neurobiology and Matlab Programming for Data Analysis.