See module specification for other years:
2023-242024-25
Module will run
Occurrence
Teaching period
A
Spring Term 2022-23
Module aims
Our memories make us who we are. They allow us to delve into our past and project ourselves into the future. How does the brain support something so complex, subjective and personal?
This module will explore the cognitive neuroscience of long-term memory, with a specific focus on episodic and spatial memory. We will explore this topic from a wide variety of methodologies – from traditional experimental psychology, to neuropsychology, to brain imaging, to electrophysiological recordings.
Module learning outcomes
Appreciate the complexities involved in the study of long-term memory
Discuss memory research at multiple scales, from individual neurons to cortical networks
Describe research related to episodic and spatial memory
Demonstrate knowledge of the neural circuitry of the medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus
Describe the main theoretical accounts of hippocampal function
Module content
Memory systems and declarative memory
Episodic and semantic memory
Recollection and familiarity
Medial Temporal Lobe architecture
Pattern separation and pattern completion
Functional neurons in the medial temporal lobes
Process and representational accounts of the medial temporal lobes
The medial temporal lobes beyond episodic memory
Indicative assessment
Task
% of module mark
Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled)
100
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
Task
% of module mark
Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled)
100
Module feedback
The marks on all assessed work will be provided on e-vision.
These marks will be accompanied by module feedback forms which will be circulated by e-mail.
Students will meet supervisors in wk 6 in AuT, SpT and wk 9 in SuT to discuss their marks.
Indicative reading
The following review papers will give an reasonable overview of some of the topics and issues covered in the module:
Horner, A.J., & Doeller, C.F. (2017) Plasticity of hippocampal memories in humans, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 43, 102-109.
Burgess, N., Maguire, E. A, & O’Keefe, J. (2002). The human hippocampus and spatial and episodic memory. Neuron, 35(4), 625–641.
Rugg, M. D., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2003). Human recognition memory: a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(7), 313–319.