Cognitive Processses I

This unit introduces major topics of cognition including mechanisms of visual and auditory attention, varieties of short and long term memory, language processes such as reading and written word recognition, and storage and retrieval of knowledge of concepts and reasoning. We cannot attend to everything that impinges on the senses so we select and attend only to part of the available input. Selected information must be encoded, used, stored and retrieved. Although the main focus of the unit is on normal adult cognition, disorders of cognitive processes are also examined and these include acquired dyslexias and various forms of memory impairments. The unit is taught by means of lectures and practical classes. The latter demonstrate phenomena and research findings from various areas of cognition.