Why this course?

Description

b) Elementary psychology and basics of hypothesis testing:

Basic neuroanatomy. Physical layout of the brain, names of important components and their functions, e.g. cortex, cerebellum, brainstem etc.What is a neuron? Structure, components, action potentials, synapses etc.
What is the nervous system? Nerves, receptors, connectivity, speed, structure etc.

Psychophysics: absolute and difference thresholds, Weber's law, Fechner's Law.

Learning: Associative and non-associative learning, Pavlovian conditioning, Hebbian learning.

Memory: modal model of memory, working memory, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, central executive), types of memory (explicit, implicit), memory inhibition effects, e.g. blocking, interference etc. Long-term memory: encoding, retrieval, forgetting. Visual perception: basics of colour, depth and motion perception, perceptual constancy, and principles of perceptual organization.

Basics of hypothesis testing (e.g. t-test, chi-square, ANOVA), significance, p-value, error types, power and size effects.