“Human cognition is a puzzling phenomenon. We can remember the name of our first-grade teacher but fail to recall what we had for breakfast a few days ago.  We are transported to a different world when we read a story, even though our eyes are just looking at black marks on white paper. We can rapidly decide whether an animal is a cat or a dog, even though we have never seen that particular animal before. When something in our environment is threatening, we automatically focus on its movement and shape rather than on its color and other details. These are all functions of human cognition: memory, language, categorization, and emotion. Understanding these functions and how the brain performs them requires sophisticated and theoretically-motivated experimental studies.

The programme in Brain & Cognition will train you in current theories and advanced research methodology, including behavioral tasks, eye tracking, EEG, fMRI, and advanced statistics. You will acquire the tools that will equip you to participate in the scientific enterprise of solving the puzzle of human cognition. To me, solving this puzzle means no less than finding out what it means to be human.”

Prof. Dr. Rolf Zwaan

Head of the Department