The course "Foundations of Neuroscience" delves into the neural and biological foundations of influence and persuasion, providing a comprehensive understanding of how the brain processes sensory, emotional, and cognitive information. You will explore key brain regions and their role in decision-making, memory, attention, and emotion, essential for effective communication strategies. By gaining hands-on experience with neuroscience measurement techniques, you will learn to assess the impact of influence campaigns through implicit and explicit methods.
What sets this course apart is its focus on bridging neuroscience with practical applications in neuromarketing. By studying real-world case studies, you will gain the skills to evaluate and design more effective influence strategies. Whether you're in marketing, advertising, or behavioral science, this course equips you with the knowledge to better understand consumer behavior and tailor marketing efforts for maximum impact. You'll leave with a deep understanding of how to apply cutting-edge neuroscience principles to real-world influence campaigns, making this course a unique and invaluable resource for anyone in the field.
Overview
Syllabus
- Course Introduction
- This course explores the neural and biological foundations of influence and persuasion, focusing on key brain regions, sensory systems, and emotional processing. Learners will examine cognitive processes like attention, memory, and decision-making, and how these relate to persuasive communication. The course also covers the role of sensory perception phenomena and the impact of emotional responses on behavior. Learners will gain practical skills in evaluating influence campaigns using neuroscience measurement techniques. Through case studies and hands-on assessments, students will apply these insights to real-world scenarios.
- Neural Anatomy
- This module will explore neural anatomy and brain function. Specific attention is focused on the pre-frontal cortex responsible for executive function. This module requires more memorization than other modules in the course, but is necessary to develop fluency of brain anatomy and functions so that future modules are more effective.
- Sensation and Perception
- This module provides an overview of perception and cognition. Key theories will include top-down and bottom-up processing. The module will emphasize visual, auditory, and olfactory processing in the brain and its relation to influence and attention.
- Memory
- This module delves into the intricacies of human information processing and its role in influence. Learners will explore core cognitive processes—attention, engagement, working memory, and workload—while distinguishing between implicit and explicit measurement methods.
- Emotion
- In this module, you'll explore the brain structures that support different memory processes. You'll also dive into topics like declarative and non-declarative memory, procedural memory, and priming, along with an introduction to how encoding and retrieval work.
Taught by
Ian McCulloh and Jennifer McKneely
