THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2020/2021

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Psychology

Undergraduate Course: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: Infancy (PSYL10136)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe course covers how cognition and the brain change from gestation up to the age of around 2 years. It focuses on the reciprocal relationship between cognitive and brain development, and how these developmental pathways are affected by the infant's physical and social environment.
Course description This course covers some specific topics in developmental cognitive neuroscience, focusing on infancy. The goals of the course are to:

(a) Introduce important phenomena and mechanisms supporting neurocognitive development.
(b) Understand the mutual influence among the brain, cognition, and the environment in the dynamic context of development.
(c) Illustrate these mechanisms in various domains (e.g., perception, learning, information processing, social cognition) in the first part of the course, and study in more depth how they contribute to changes in one specific domain (language acquisition) in the second part of the course.
(d) Provide students with an introduction to some of the methods used within developmental cognitive neuroscience including basic experimentation, formal theory development, and neuroscientific methods.

The course will develop students' skills at critical analysis, writing and presenting. It will also allow them to apply their statistical analysis skills to data on infant development.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Psychology 2A (PSYL08011) AND Psychology 2B (PSYL08012)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students who are Psychology majors and in their third or final year at their home university are welcome to take this course.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  131
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 176 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Mid-course (30%): 1000 word research proposal
Final (70%): 2000 word Essay (coursework)
Feedback 1. In class feedback exercises will be used to check understanding and to develop skills (e.g. quizzes, peer feedback on essay plans/drafts).
2. The mid-course assessment will also provide feedback as to whether students have mastered the foundational theories and empirical results in the study of infant cognitive neuroscience. Thus, students can use their results to determine whether to allocate additional effort to this class.
3. Structured optional programming assignments (using the R language) will allow students to gain experience analyzing real-world data from infants, applying their research methods and statistics knowledge in context.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of recent scientific advances, debates, and challenges regarding brain and cognitive development in infancy.
  2. Analyze the developmental mechanisms driving cognitive and neural changes during infancy.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of how cognitive development and brain development are mutually supportive
  4. Analyze the role of experience and the environment in brain and cognitive development
  5. Gain experience analyzing developmental data using the R language.
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Keywordscognitive neuroscience,developmental,infancy,psychology
Contacts
Course organiserDr Hugh Rabagliati
Tel: (0131 6)50 3454
Email: Hugh.Rabagliati@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Alex MacAndrew
Tel: (0131 6)51 3733
Email: alexandra.macandrew@ed.ac.uk
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