The Integrated Brain

Course manual 2025/2026

Course content

Extensive knowledge about the brain and cognition has emerged from both biology and psychology. Biological research has elucidated neural processes at the cellular and circuit levels, while psychological studies have advanced our understanding of behavior and cognitive functions at the level of the individual and larger brain systems. However, the integration between these micro- and macro-level perspectives remains limited.

This course focuses on two complementary approaches to bridge this gap. The first, vertical integration, explores how the functioning of individual neurons can be translated into processes at the level of neural networks, which in turn contribute to psychological functions. The second, horizontal integration, investigates how functional units at the same level (e.g., brain regions) work together to give rise to specific cognitive processes.

To explore these integrative perspectives, we examine neural and cognitive mechanisms that have been introduced in earlier courses, now approached in a more interconnected and research-oriented context. Topics include perception, decision-making, and attention, as well as the neuronal basis of multisensory integration, and theories such as predictive coding and the neural correlates of consciousness. A strong emphasis is placed on brain dynamics at the micro- and meso-levels, covering themes such as neuronal oscillations, population coding, and variability in network activity. Students are introduced to in vivo electrophysiology in animal models, and learn how large-scale neural activity patterns—captured through methods like laminar recordings—relate to cognition and behavior.

The course also incorporates perspectives from human neuroanatomy and in-vivo brain imaging techniques. Students gain foundational knowledge about the meso- and macro-scale organization of the brain based on both post-mortem and in-vivo data, and explore the principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including advances in ultra-high field structural and functional imaging. These anatomical and methodological foundations are used to explore cognitive neuroscience questions, such as the neurobiological mechanisms of decision-making, and the integration of anatomy and imaging through model-based approaches.

Lectures are given by UvA researchers from both Science Faculty and Psychology, who present topics from the perspective of their ongoing research. As such, the course not only provides theoretical insight but also offers a look behind the scenes of brain research in Amsterdam.

In addition to lectures, the course includes tutorials and working groups in which students engage more deeply with the material by reading, interpreting, discussing, and critically evaluating the literature. The course concludes with student presentations based on their literature studies.

Objectives

• Describe the physiological organization of the brain as a hierarchy of interacting systems (from synapse to macroscopic networks), and illustrate how these levels are studied across species using diverse methodologies
• Explain how complex neural phenomena—such as brain rhythms, neuromodulation, predictive processing, and multisensory integration—emerge from the interactions between different levels of brain organization.
• Analyze how specific cognitive processes (e.g., visual perception, attention, decision-making, and conscious experience) depend on underlying physiological mechanisms and dynamic network activity.
• Integrate insights from biology and psychology to form a coherent view of how brain structure and dynamics give rise to behavior and cognition, and formulate new questions that bridge across levels of analysis (e.g., from microcircuit function to perceptual experience).
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of modern experimental techniques (e.g., in vivo electrophysiology, fMRI, high-resolution neuroimaging, computational modeling) for investigating questions in cognitive and systems neuroscience.
• Critically assess primary literature in cognitive neuroscience, identifying key hypotheses, interpreting results in context, and discussing potential pitfalls such as methodological biases or over-interpretation.
• Present literature findings and personal critical reflections in a clear and engaging way, tailored to a peer audience, and actively participate in group discussions.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Presentation/symposium
• Self-study
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis
• Supervision/feedback meeting
• Seminar

Lectures: The core of our course lies in the lectures, where we explore diverse brain mechanisms at various scales and unravel the impacts of their activity.

Seminars: In these collaborative sessions, students will answer a set of open questions related to the lecture's contents and discuss their answers with the instructor. During the last week, they will team up and, with the instructor's guidance, select a research paper from a provided list. Together, they'll critically evaluate the paper's findings, explore its context, and broaden their perspective by examining the study's broader questions and implications.

Presentations: Students will deliver their work in a presentation session fashioned like a Journal Club.

Independent Study: Students will also work autonomously, preparing for lectures, assessing supplementary materials, and participating in seminars.

Learning activities

Attendance

Assessment

Assignments

The assignment is based on searching, reading, interpreting scientific literature, discussing this material, and presenting a literature study (see above).

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Exit qualifications

Via de Zichtbare Leerlijnen Creator kun je zien aan welke eindtermen de leerdoelen van deze cursus bijdragen en hoe de  vakleerdoelen, leerlijndoelen en eindtermen van de opleiding aan elkaar gekoppeld zijn:

https://datanose.nl/#program[BSc%20PB]/outcomes 

https://datanose.nl/#program[BSc%20PB]/trajectories

Contact information

Coordinator

• C.A. Bosman Vittini

Staff

• dr. C.A. Bosman Vittini
• prof. dr. B. U. Fortsmann
• dr. Jan Willem de Gee
• dr. Umberto Olcese
• prof. dr. C.M.A. Pennartz
• dr. M. Suzuki
• Sabina Craciun (TA)
• Darragh Fitzpatrick (TA)