Online Course on Learning, Memory, Behavior and Brain (3:0)

Objectives

Why do we learn and how does our brain learn? What are the rules that govern whether our brain would learn or not? I will be starting from description and interpretation of initial experiments/studies that were done to answer these questions. All along keeping in mind how this intricate psychological process is intricately connected to brain and its function. We will be studying how complex brains function can be tracked down to molecules and their function. Simultaneously we will also be learning about how the information is stored, organized and utilized in our brain. Towards the end we will be discussing the contemporary areas of research such as social learning, how the learning rules have led to emergence of neural networks.

Syllabus

Origin of memory studies, Substrates of memory, Brain and behavior, Memory consolidation: Nature and its dependence, Memory and its classification, Contingency, Salience and Valence, Classical conditioning, Pavlov’s experiment: What it is and what it is not? Recorla’s experiment on contingency, Garcia and Koleing experiments, Kamin’s Observations, Rescorla and Wagner model of learning, Second order conditioning, Latent Inhibition, Reinforcement learning, Punishment learning, Positive and Negative reinforcement, punishments. Cognitive vs Reflexive behavior, Sign vs Goal tracking behavior, Rodent model of learning and memory, Molecular basis of memory.

Target Group: Colleges, HR and Learning

Who Can apply?

Basic Science (Pre UG level)

Pre-requisites: Pre – UG (Basic Science)

Reference Books

Learning: David Liberman, Memory:

Pruves : Fundamentals of Neuroscience

Kandel and Sqire : Memory from molecules to mind