Ethics

Neuroscience Boot Camp

By Adam Kolber

The University of Pennsylvania is offering an intensive "Neuroscience Boot Camp" this summer to introduce a broad swath of scholars, students, and practitioners to social and affective neuroscience.  The program, which runs from August 2-12, 2009, will no doubt be of interest to the neuroethics community.  Here is some more information from the website:

Why Neuroscience Boot Camp?

Neuroscience is increasingly relevant to a number of professions and academic disciplines beyond its traditional medical applications.  Lawyers, educators, economists and businesspeople, as well as scholars of sociology, philosophy, applied ethics and policy, are incorporating the concepts and methods of neuroscience into their work.  Indeed, for any field in which it is important to understand, predict or influence human behavior, neuroscience will play an increasing role.  The Penn Neuroscience Boot Camp is designed to give participants a basic foundation in cognitive and affective neuroscience and to equip them to be informed consumers of neuroscience research.

What happens at Neuroscience Boot Camp?

Through a combination of lectures, break-out groups, panel discussions and laboratory visits, participants will gain an understanding of the methods of neuroscience and key findings on the cognitive and social-emotional functions of the brain, lifespan development and disorders of brain function.

Each lecture will be followed by extensive Q&A.  Break-out groups will allow participants to delve more deeply into topics of relevance to their fields.  Laboratory visits will include trip to an MRI scanner, an EEG/ERP lab, an animal neurophysiology lab, and a transcranial magnetic stimulation lab.  Participants will also have access to an extensive online library of copyrighted materials selected for relevance to the Boot Camp, including classic and review articles and textbook chapters in cognitive and affective neuroscience and the applications of neuroscience to diverse fields.

The Boot Camp faculty consists of leaders in the fields of cognitive and affective neuroscience who are committed to the goal of educating nonneuroscientists.  Several of our faculty have won awards for their teaching.

Full post as published by Neuroethics and Law on November 07, 2008 (boomark / email).