Overview
The goal of the cognitive neuroscience concentration is to train scientists with a strong foundation in human cognition, complemented by an understanding of human brain function and neuroscientific methods. Students in the Cogntive program who choose a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience participate fully in the Cognitive program, as well as a joint training program between the Psychology department at Pittsburgh and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC). Created in 1994, the CNBC is dedicated to the study of the neural basis of cognitive processes, including learning and memory, language and thought, perception, attention, and planning.

The CNBC consists of faculty, students, and research scientists whose work relates to the mission stated above. All faculty have appointments in one or more coordinating departments. These include the Departments of Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Psychology and Robotics at Carnegie Mellon, and the Departments of Mathematics, Neurobiology, Neurology, Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Students in the CNBC program combine intensive training in their chosen specialty with broad exposure to other disciplines that touch on neural computation and problems of higher brain function. Members of the CNBC community have access to a wide range of resources, including Positron Emssion Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners for functional brain imaging, neurophysiology laboratories for recording from awake, behaving animals, high performance computing facilities, and patient populations for neuropsychological studies. In addition to physical resources, the CNBC provides an intellectually vibrant environment in which students and faculty from different disciplines participate in collaborative research projects and engage in informal discussions during bi-weekly seminars and student sponsored "brown bags."

* further details about CNBC coursework, admission, financial support, etc.

Participating Faculty
The interdisciplinary quality of the CNBC is well-captured in the diverse interests and methodological skills of the faculty associated with the Cognitive Neuroscience Concentration. Students working with these faculty members have research projects that combine one or more of the following methodologies: analysis of normal behavior and the effects of brain damage and disorder, functional brain imaging studies, and computational modeling and assessment. Clinical applications include major efforts to understand schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and disorders of language processing due to acquired or developmental disorders.

Students who participate in the Cognitive Neuroscience Concentration generally work with one of the faculty members listed below, although collaborative projects with other faculty affiliated with the Cognitive Program at the University of Pittsburgh or with the CNBC are possible. While most students select a doctoral advisor as part of the application/admissions process, some students rotate through a few laboratories in the first year before making a final choice.

James Becker, Ph.D.
human memory disorders and the nature and extent of the neuroanatomical damage which produces these defects

Cameron Carter, M.D.
mechanisms of normal attention, and the pathophysiological processes underlying such disorders, such as schizophrenia

B. J. Casey, Ph.D.
inhibitory mechanisms of attention, particularly their neurobiological basis, development, and pathology.

Julie Fiez, Ph.D.
neural basis of language processing, verbal working memory, and non-motor functions of the cerebellum

Lisa Morrow, Ph.D.
neurobehavioral dysfunction in individual with cerebral lesions and various medical disorders (e.g, solvent exposure)

Chuck Perfetti, Ph.D.
language and reading; comparisons of different writing systems; word, sentence, and text level processes in normal and brain-damaged subjects

Walter Schneider , Ph.D.
dynamic cortical processing in human behavioral and brain imaging studies and computer simulation models, with a focus on identifying stages and selective processing within the visual system

Special Application Procedures
Students interested in participating in the Cognitive Neuroscience Concentration must apply to the CNBC training program and to the Department of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Both applications must be received by February 1, 1997.
Application to the Department of Psychology is made by completing the standard departmental application, and designating "Cognitive Neuroscience Concentration" as the desired program choice. Application to the CNBC training program is made by completing a short application form and a brief (2 page) essay. The following additional materials will be forwarded to the CNBC from the Department of Psychology if not supplied by the student directly: undergraduate transcript, GRE scores, and three letters of recommendation. Sending copies of these items direct to the CNBC admissions office will speed up processing of the application. Where possible, finalists for admission are invited to Pittsburgh for personal interviews before the final admission decision.

Return to Cognitive Psychology Home Page