Course Description P423

Human Neuropsychology is the study of brain-behavior relationships in
humans.  Human neuropsychology forms the basis for the profession of
clinical neuropsychology, a specialty area in clinical and
experimental psychology.  Its focus is on brain-behavior relationships
in cases of central nervous system damage. This field is growing
rapidly as the population ages and neurological diseases of aging
become more common.  For example, estimates of the prevalence of
Alzhiemer’s disease in the United States is greater than 4 million
affected individuals, and this number is growing!  In parallel, there
is a growing ield of study in cognitive neuroscience-typically the
study of neural mechanisms underlying normal cognitive function.  This
is an emerging new cross-discipline between cognitive and neural
science.  Human neuropsychology forms the basis of this new field.
Current trainees in cognitive neuroscience are among the first to be
trained primarily  in the cross-discipline rather than having to be
trained in either cognitive or neural science, and then later make the
bridge.

The primary aim of the course is to develop a foundation of knowledge
an professional skills in human neuropsychology.  As a student in the
course, you will:

1.	Develop and/or advance your own model of how neural processes
relate to human behavior through:
a.	Building your knowledge of basic human brain anatomy
b.	Mapping of human brain anatomy at the structural level to
cognitive functions
c.	Understanding limits of knowledge in the field (i.e., fact vs.
theory vs. conjecture)
2.	Develop skills for observing human behavior and communicating these
observations, for example:
a.	Understanding differences between observations and impressions
b.	Making accurate records
c.	Becoming familiar with standardized, objective testing techniques
d.	Becoming familiar with current terminology and categorization
schemes for normal and abnormal human behavior
3.	Develop skills for forming logical interpretations based on data,
for example:
a.	Arguing for particular interpretations of behavioral data
gathered in unstructured settings
b.	Arguing for particular interpretations of behavioral data from
standardized testing
c.	Analyzing contradictory data and interpretations using existing
theory
4.	Developing skills for finding and using neuropsychological
information for everyday problem solving:
a.	Techniques for finding useful information on neuropsychological
topics
b.	Evaluating sources of information
c.	Using available information to make ‘real life’ decisions