The goal of this class is to introduce the fundamentals of Cognitive Anatomy through 13 lectures (Mondays, 2 hours/week, 8:30-10:30 AM, Salle Ribot, 29 Rue d’Ulm) and 10 practical sessions (2 hours/week, Fridays, 2:00-4:00 PM, Salle Ribot, 29 Rue d’Ulm). Two final sessions will be dedicated to evaluations, including group presentations of a research proposal. Each theoretical lecture will systematically cover a specific cognitive system, ranging from low-level sensory and motor networks to more complex and distributed higher cognitive functions. The content will address three main aspects of each system:

1.  The key neuroanatomical structures and networks involved, their general topographical organization, and their localization in different types of brain imaging.

2. The cognitive/functional contributions underlying physiological mechanisms, including relevant research assessment tests to explore these processes.

3.   Examples of pathologies associated with dysfunctions of these systems, which are used as experimental models to explore these processes or for diagnostic & therapeutic applications.

Program of theoretical lectures

After an introduction in Lecture 1: Cognitive Anatomy and Methods in the domain, the systems covered this semester by the class will include: Lecture 2: The oculomotor and eye movement systems; Lecture 3: Voluntary action and motor learning systems including the cerebellum; Lecture 4: Auditory pathways and central sound processing structures; Lecture 5: Systems for visual processing and spatial attention; Lecture 6: Systems underlying memory, learning, and the effects of sleep and emotions; Lecture 7: Executive and cognitive control systems; Lecture 8: Decision Making, Basal Ganglia & Learning; Lecture 9: Motivation and Reward Systems and Emotions; Lecture 10: Language and Communication systems; Lecture 11: The neural basis and systems underlying Consciousness; Lecture 12: Neural basis and systems for Social Interaction; and we will wrap up the course with a more general final Lecture 13: Brain Anatomy, Plasticity & Rehabilitation.

Program of practical sessions

Practical sessions will begin with Session 1, which will include a visit to the CENIR (Imaging platform of the Institut du Cerveau (ICM) at the Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital, 82 Boulevard de l’Hôpital, Bâtiment ICM, Hall of Floor -1, Paris, <Metro> Chevaleret, Line 6, or Saint Marcel, Line 5). The subsequent practical sessions will be divided into 4 parts: Sessions 2, 3, and 4 will focus on Structural MRI; Sessions 5 and 6 will cover Functional MRI; Sessions 7 and 9 will address Ultrasound Imaging and Non-invasive Brain Stimulation coupled with EEG recordings, respectively. Finally, Sessions 8 and 10 will cover EEG, MEG, and sEEG methods and analysis. During these sessions, other techniques used to explore the anatomy and functions of the brain will be presented, such as intracranial electrophysiology and functional ultrasounds (FUS). In some of these practical 'hands-on' sessions, we aim to show you how these techniques work and how they lead to conclusions, from raw data to finished results, using real human datasets and custom analysis scripts.

Home scored assignments and evaluations

Students will be required to organize themselves into groups of three and develop a joint 10- to 15-page written essay (excluding references and annex documents) on a ‘hot’ research topic in cognitive neuroanatomy involving healthy human participants or patient populations and one or several of the cognitive systems discussed in class. The essay will be graded and should take the format of a research proposal, including the following sections: (1) Title and Summary (½ page): A brief overview of the proposal; (2) State of the Art (3–5 pages): A systematic review of existing research in the chosen area of interest; (3) Research Question and Objectives (1–2 pages): Identification of a relevant and novel research question within this context, along with the general and specific objectives of the proposal. (4) Methodology and Design (3–5 pages): A detailed description of the methods and experimental design best suited to assess the research question and test the hypothesis (5) Predictions and Hypotheses (1–2 pages): A series of expected outcomes for each specific aim; (6) Methodological and Experimental Risks (1 page): Identification of major risks and proposed alternatives to mitigate their impact on the study; (7) Ethical Considerations (1 page): Discussion of medical and psychological risks, participants’ rights (including privacy and data confidentiality), gender biases, and proposed solutions; (8) Scientific and Societal Impact (1 page): An explanation of the potential scientific, clinical, social, and technological impact of the proposal; (9) References: A list of all cited references; (10) Figures and Annex Documents: Additional figures or supplementary materials (no page limit).

Two evaluation sessions will be organized (Sessions 11 & 12), during which each student group will prepare a PowerPoint presentation and orally present their written proposals in 15 minutes before their peers and the coordinators, followed by a Q&A session. The presenting teams will be evaluated on their ability to effectively communicate the key aspects of their proposals within a limited time and respond to audience questions. Attending teams will also be scored based on their ability to raise and ask insightful questions to their peers. In each session, following the presentations and discussions, a short quiz will assess students' ability to identify brain structures on images and describe their names and cognitive functions. 

The final grade will consist in a weighted mean of written assay/project (40%), its public presentation and defense by all three members (40%) and the results of the anatomical quizzes (20%). Additional +10% will be added for insightful and relevant questions during project/assay presentations. Note the written assay/project, the public defense and the +10% for insightful relevant questions evaluate collective coordinated effort and will be assigned to each member of the group. 

Couse pre-requirements

There are no specific prerequisites for this class. However, a basic knowledge of Python, MATLAB, and/or R is recommended for certain practical sessions.