Cognitive Neuroscience

Marie T. Banich uses brain imaging techniques to understand the neural systems that enable us to direct actions and thoughts in a goal-oriented manner, often referred to as executive function. Her research findings have been published in leading journals, including Science. Among her professional experiences, Professor Banich has been a member of the MacArthur Foundation on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice, a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Verona, Italy, and a recipient of a James Cattell sabbatical award. Currently she serves as the co-Principal Investigator for the Colorado site of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, an unprecedented 10-year longitudinal study that uses neuroimaging to provide an unrivaled window on development of the adolescent brain and its influences on cognitive and emotional development. Rebecca J. Compton has taught at Haverford College since 1999 and in 2012 she received Haverford's prestigious Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. She received her B.A. from Vassar College, New York, and her Ph.D. in biological psychology from the University of Chicago. She is the recipient of several NSF and NIH grants for research in primarily undergraduate institutions and has served on the Education and Training Committee of the Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Part I. Fundamentals: 1. Introduction: history and definitions; 2. The nervous system; 3. Methods; Part II. Neural Bases of Mental Functions: 4. Motor control; 5. Sensation and perception; 6. Object recognition; 7. Spatial cognition; 8. Language; 9. Memory and learning; 10. Attention; 11. Executive function and decision making; 12. Emotion; 13. Social cognition; Part III. Broader Applications: 14. Psychopathology; 15. Brain development and plasticity; 16. Generalized cognitive disorders; 17. Neuroscience and society; Endpapers; Glossary; References; Index.