Cognitive Science - Syllabus

Embark on a profound academic exploration as you delve into the Cognitive Science course () within the distinguished Tribhuvan university's CSIT department. Aligned with the 2074 Syllabus, this course (CSC374) seamlessly merges theoretical frameworks with practical sessions, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the subject. Rigorous assessment based on a 60 + 20 + 20 marks system, coupled with a challenging passing threshold of , propels students to strive for excellence, fostering a deeper grasp of the course content.

This 3 credit-hour journey unfolds as a holistic learning experience, bridging theory and application. Beyond theoretical comprehension, students actively engage in practical sessions, acquiring valuable skills for real-world scenarios. Immerse yourself in this well-structured course, where each element, from the course description to interactive sessions, is meticulously crafted to shape a well-rounded and insightful academic experience.

Course Description:

This course covers the fundamental concepts of cognitive science and brain computation.

Course Objectives:

The main objective of this course is to provide basic knowledge of web cognition process,

mind theory, physical symbol systems, cognitive systems, concepts of brain mappings and

neural network structures.

Introduction

Cognition Process, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science; Foundations of Cognitive Science, Cognitive Science and Multi-disciplinary; Machines and Minds; Laws thoughts to binary logic; Classical Cognitive Science; Connectionist Cognitive Science; Mind body Problem; Turing Response to Mind Body Problem; Pinker, Penerose and Searle‟s Responses to Mind Body Problem; Representational Theory of Mind; Theories of Mental Representation: Minimal Analysis of mental representation, Resemblance theories of mental representation, Casual covariation theories of mental representation, internal roles theories of mental representation

Precursors of Cognitive Science

Behaviorism; Theory of Computation and Algorithms; Algorithms and Turing Machines; Marr‟s Three Level of Computation; Linguistics and Formal Language; Information Processing Models in Psychology

Psycological Perspective of Cognition

Cognitive Models of Memory, Atkinson-Shiffrin‟s Model, Tulving‟s Model, Mental Imagery, Kosslyn‟s View, Moyer‟s View, Peterson‟s View, Cognitive Maps, Problem Understanding, States of Cognition, Cognition in AI

Physical Symbol System and Language of Thought

Physical Symbol System Hypothesis; Symbol and Symbol Systems; Problem Solving by Symbol Structure; Physical Symbol System to Language of Thoughts; The Computer Model of the Mind; Syntax and the Language of Thought: Fodor‟s Argument for the Language of Thought Hypothesis; The Chinese Room Argument; Chinese Room and Turing Test; The Symbol Ground Problem

Cognitive System

Cognitive System; Architecture for intelligent agents; Modularity of Mind; Modularity Hypothesis; The ACT-R/PM architecture

Brain Mapping

Structure and Function in Brain; Anatomical Connectivity; Cognitive Functioning Techniques from Neuroscience; Mapping the brain‟s electrical activity: EEG and MEG; Mapping the brain‟s blood flow and blood oxygen levels: PET and fMRI; Attention; Visuospatial attention

Mind Reading

Metarepresentation; Metarepresentation, autism, and theory of mind; Mind Reading System; Understanding False Belief; Mind Reading as Simulation

Neural Networks and Distributed Information Processing

Neurally Inspired Models of Information Processing; Single-Layer Networks and Boolean Functions; Multilayer Networks; Information Processing in Neural Networks; Language Learning in Neural Networks; Neural Network Models of Children‟s Physical Reasoning

Laboratory Works:

The laboratory work includes implementing and simulating the concepts of cognition process,

intelligent agents, neural networks. In addition, laboratory work can be extended to use the

tools like PSY Toolkit, PsyNeuLink etc.