The Cognitive and Neural Sciences

Internet Resources

There are many excellent resources on the Internet relating to the cognitive and neural sciences. Here is a partial list that might be of immediate interest to students in our programs.

Biomotion Lab

Directed by Dr. Nikolaus Troje at Queen's University in Ontario, the Biomotion Lab is working on issues in motion perception and cognition. This site includes several interactive models for exploring gender, emotion, life, etc.

CogPrints: Cognitive Sciences Eprint Archive

CogPrints is an open access archive of academic papers that cuts across every dimension of cognitive science. Papers in cognitive psychology and neuroscience are also represented, along with papers in linguistics, genetics, neuroimaging, primatology, and so on.

John Conway's Game of Life

A cellular automaton invented by Cambridge mathematician, John Conway, the Game of Life is often used to demonstrate emergent properties. This site includes a real-time java version, but users can also download the program here.

LONI: Laboratory of Neuro Imaging

Based at UCLA, "LONI seeks to improve understanding of the brain in health and disease. The laboratory is dedicated to the development of scientific approaches for the comprehensive mapping of brain structure and function."

The Mind Project

Sponsored by the Consortium on Mind/Brain Science Instruction, The Mind Project is working to provide free, open access instructional materials for teachers and students in the cognitive sciences. The website includes among other things an array of interactive, graphical learning exercises. 

Neuroscience Tutorial

From the Washington University School of Medicine, this neuroscience tutorial is "an illustrated guide to the essential basics of clinical neuroscience created in conjunction with the first-year course for medical students."

Noesis: Philosophical Research Online

Noesis is a limited area search engine devoted to open access philosophy on the Internet. Based at the University of Evansville, this search engine is an initiative to help users find quality academic resources on all aspects of philosophy, including many pertinent to the cognitive and neural sciences.

The Phineas Gage Information Page

This site is an encyclopedic compendium of information relating to the historic case of Phineas Gage. Maintained by Malcolm Macmillan, the site includes a newspaper article from the time of the incident and a picture of the actual tamping rod that went through Phineas' head.

Psych/Lab Experimental Psychology Software

"The Psych/Lab (TM) software contains programs to run versions of classic experiments from Human Cognitive/Experimental Psychology," including some on reaction time, mental rotation and Stroop interference. It is provided by Richard A. Abrams in the psychology department at Washington University in St. Louis.

SimBrain

"SIMBRAIN is a free tool for building, running, and analyzing neural-networks (computer simulations of brain circuitry)." The software is graphical and easy to use, among the best neural network modeling software available for free.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The premiere model of an evolving, organic encyclopedia, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy contains several lengthy and scholarly articles pertinent to the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, and many issues related to the general study of cognition.

StarLogo

"StarLogo is a programmable modeling environment for exploring the workings of decentralized systems -- systems that are organized without an organizer, coordinated without a coordinator. With StarLogo, you can model (and gain insights into) many real-life phenomena, such as bird flocks, traffic jams, ant colonies, and market economies."

The Whole Brain Atlas

This site provides image maps of brains in normal and abnormal states. Users can view images taken using a variety of techniques and explore human brains interactively. The Whole Brain Atlas is based at the Harvard Medical School. 

Professional Organizations

There are several professional organizations related to the study of mind and brain. This list provides a short sampling. 

Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness

 

Cognitive Development Society

 

Cognitive Neuroscience Society

 

Cognitive Science Society

 

European Society for Cognitive Psychology

 

Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience

 

IEEE Computational Intelligence Society

International Association for Computing and Philosophy

Society for Machines and Mentality

 

Society for Philosophy and Psychology

 

Society for Neuroscience