Undergraduate Course: Neuropsychology of Perception and Action (PSYL10060)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course will provide an overview of the brain systems supporting perception of the spatial world, and controlling the movements of our bodies in space. The visual system will be used to illustrate the core principle of modularity, by which complex tasks are broken down into independent sub-tasks that can proceed in parallel. Some basic requirements for the control of skilled actions such as reaching-and-grasping will then be considered. There will be discussion of evidence that the brain systems supporting the visual guidance of action are separate from those giving rise to visual awareness, so that the view of the world available to our mind=s eye is not that which guides our movements. This course will draw on evidence from a wide range of research methods, with special emphasis given to the study of brain-damaged individuals with abnormalities of visual perception, attention or action (e.g. visual agnosia, visual neglect, optic ataxia). |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Degree major in Psychology and passes in Psychology courses at least to the equivalent of Junior Honours level in Edinburgh. Prior agreement with the 4th Year Honours Course Organiser |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
To understand the core concept of modularity, and to be able to provide examples of modular processing in human vision.
To understand the special role of the neuropsychological double dissociation in inferring modularity, and to be able to cite examples from the research literature.
To appreciate the sensory cues available to the nervous system for representing the spatial world, and to understand how these cues are exploited.
To understand the basic properties of feedforward and feedback control systems, and to be able to relate these to the control of human actions.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
With permission of the Psychology 4 Course Organiser (Dr Alexa Morcom) and the student's Personal Tutor, this course may be taken by honours-level Linguistic students. |
| Keywords | Neuropsychology; perception; action; movement; brain; vision; modularity |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Robert Mcintosh
Tel: (0131 6)50 3444
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Marie Craft
Tel: (0131 6)50 3943
Email: |
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