Mind, Brain, and Behavior

Faculty of the Committee on Mind, Brain, and Behavior

Other Faculty Offering Instruction in Mind, Brain, and Behavior

Primarily for Undergraduates: Foundation Courses

Primarily for Undergraduates: Elective Courses

Primarily for Undergraduates: Interdisciplinary Seminars

*Mind, Brain, and Behavior 92 (formerly Psychology 987d). Conscious Experience: Image, Space, and Self
Catalog Number: 7390 Enrollment: Preference to juniors in MBB tracks or MBB secondary field.
Sean D. Kelly
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4.
Join renowned neuroscientists from Harvard and elsewhere who will lead highly interactive seminars addressing core problems underlying the emergence of conscious visual experience. Topics include the requisite neuronal representations of the content of visual images, their localization within extrapersonal space and the sense of ownership of such images by a self. Subsidiary topics include selective attention, the binding problem, binocular rivalry, change blindness, recursive neuronal networks and distinction between phenomenal and access consciousness.

*Mind, Brain, and Behavior 93 (formerly Psychology 987f). The Biology of Conscious States: Waking, Sleeping, and Dreaming
Catalog Number: 5017 Enrollment: Preference to juniors in MBB tracks or MBB secondary field.
Robert A. Stickgold (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3.
Focuses on waking, sleeping, and dreaming as examples of conscious states in both humans and animals. Original papers and books by Allan Hobson (The Dreaming Brain) and Antonio Damasio (The Feeling of What Happens) form the background for discussions of waking, sleeping, and dreaming from the perspectives of neurology, physiology, psychology, and cognitive neurosciences. Discusses various approaches to understanding the functions of sleep and wake (consciousness) and reviews several theories on the topic.

*Mind, Brain, and Behavior 94 (formerly Psychology 987g). Theories of Violence
Catalog Number: 3767 Enrollment: Preference to juniors in MBB tracks or MBB secondary field.
Alan A. Stone (Law School, Medical School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4.
Considers how law and science construct violence. Review clinical examples of violence (videotapes of a serial killer, a sexually violent predator, and a case of maternal infanticide) and the responses of law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Then examine the spectrum of scientific theories that seek to explain human violence and their relevance to law.

*Mind, Brain, and Behavior 95 (formerly Psychology 987h). Addiction and Motivation
Catalog Number: 4890 Enrollment: Preference to juniors in MBB tracks or MBB secondary field.
Gene M. Heyman (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 4–6.
Provides an understanding of self-destructive human behavior, focusing largely on drug addiction. Topics include environmental and behavioral influences on gene expression and neural functioning, how to make sense of heritability in regard to behavioral traits, key findings in the epidemiology of addiction, similarities and differences between addiction and OCD, and recent advances in the understanding of choice, particularly the tendency for stable yet suboptimal preferences.

*Mind, Brain, and Behavior 96 (formerly Psychology 987i). The Science of Happiness
Catalog Number: 2517 Enrollment: Preference to juniors in MBB tracks or MBB secondary field.
Nancy Lee Etcoff (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Th., 1–3.
Focuses on the science of happiness, integrating findings from positive psychology, psychiatry, behavioral genetics, neuroscience, and behavioral economics. Begins with a brief history of ideas on happiness from Aristotle to Kahneman. Considers the genetics of happiness including the notion of a biologically determined hedonic set point, the brain’s pleasure circuitry, and the mind’s power to frame events positively, a tool used in cognitive therapies. Questions whether pleasure and happiness are our purpose.

*Mind, Brain, and Behavior 97. Why We Hate: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 8579 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Lawrence J. Friedman
Half course (spring term). W 1-4 p.m. plus occasional W 7-8:30 p.m.
Why have hatred and accompanying outbreaks of violent, degrading behaviors persisted? Is there something inherent in the human condition as well as in specific circumstances that accounts for hatred? We shall review pertinent classics including Beck’s Prisoners of Hate, LeDoux’s The Emotional Brain, Goethe’s Faust, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and Wright’s Native Son. Each student shall prepare an integrative paper with her/his ’answers.’

For Undergraduates and Graduates

Additional Interdisciplinary Seminars

Courses for Undergraduates and Graduates

Additional Courses