Memory Systems of the Brain

This course is a neuroscience-based survey of memory systems including the disciplines of traditional psychology (for example, behaviorism versus cognitivism), behavioral neuroscience (in animals and human patient case studies), neuroanatomy (both extrinsic and intrinsic circuitries), cognitive neuroscience (executive functions, including semantic and episodic memory, and language) and contemporary topics in learning and memory research (including epigenetics, optogenetics, and chemogenetics). Students learn how to approach original scientific articles, including citation, hypothesis, methods (key dependent and independent variables), results (including graphs, statistical analyses, and interpretation), and conclusions, and importantly, learn to determine in their professional scientific opinion if the conclusions are sufficiently justified by the results, or not.