The Curricular Unit should allow the student to form a general picture of the anatomical and functional organization of the nervous system that allows the comparison of the nervous systems of the various animal species used in experiments in neuroscience.
It is intended that students acquire knowledge about the general anatomical and functional organization of the nervous system, in particular the human. The UC approach emphasizes the perspective of the relationship between structural and physiological aspects of the nervous system in the perception and production of behavior.

It is intended with this course that students:

- Deepen the study of the relationship between Nervous System and Behavior;
- Deepen the knowledge of the main cognitive functions with neurological reality;
- Know the main models of normal cognitive functioning as well as how the analysis of patients with cognitive deficits contributes to the development of these models;
- Know the main contributions of the most recent methods, namely imaging, for the understanding of cognitive functions;
- Acquire analysis skills and bibliography search in the area.

The basic biological processes underlying the study of brain and behaviour are presented. The UC is organized in 2 parts: the first part addresses the functional organization of the nervous system (cellular and molecular level); 2nd part presents the methods and principles of genetics applied to the study of brain and behaviour. Highlights: neurophysiology of nerve cells; basic principles of neuropharmacology; plasticity of the nervous system; interaction genes environment; epigenetics and gene regulation.

Upon completing the UC, students must understand:

- Processing and transmission of information in nerve cells

- Basic principles of the action of neuropharmaceuticals

- Formation of neural networks and their structures

- How genes and environment interact to regulate the expression of behaviours

- How the influence of environmental stimuli on the genetic regulation of behaviour varies throughout ontogeny

- Potentials and limitations of quantitative genetics applied to the study of behaviour

This curricular unit intends to provide students with an initial approach to the study methods used in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neurosciences considering both the more classical and current methods. The main characteristics, potentials, limitations and applications of the methods will be discussed and examples of their applications will be discussed.
At the end students must:
- Understand the importance of conceptual and theoretical aspects for behavioral research
- Understand the bases underlying the main methods of studying behavior, and their applications, interpretations and limitations.
- Knowing how to appreciate the adequacy of the study methods to the problems under analysis.
- Search relevant bibliography in the area

Cognitive Sciences are defined at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, computing, neurosciences, linguistics and anthropology. The UC provides an advanced introduction to the core themes of the field, considering the study of the mind as that of an intelligent system. The integrative approach provides insights from simulations, experimentation, and philosophical inquiry. The UC addresses processes of perception, attention, learning and memory, mental representation and the structural constraints to processing, and discusses issues such as consciousness and free will. The main objective is to provide practical knowledge, allowing critical reading and investigation of specific topics.
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to describe: the historical and philosophical context of cognitive sciences; current knowledge about human cognition derived from research findings the different theoretical approaches to cognition; and develop an empirical study aimed at investigating human cognition.

This curricular unit addresses: The study of the origins and nature of individual differences in human behavior, the study of the complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors in the development of behavior and the study of the variation, throughout development, of the susceptibility to environmental stimuli of mechanisms underlying the expression of behaviors.
It is intended that the student has acquired:
- Critical knowledge of the interaction between genes and environment in regulating the expression of behaviors.
- The elaboration of research proposals on the differential influence, throughout the development of life, of social and cultural experience in the genetic regulation of behavior.
- Recognition and articulation of the potentials and limitaExperimental Methodology and Data Analysistions of developmental psychobiology for the applied study of behavior.

Students will develop skills in:
- Description of the most common experimental designs in Biological Sciences Research
- Description of advanced statistical analysis techniques applied to biological data
- Planning and analysis of experimental projects applied to research in biological sciences/Neurosciences.
- Use of multivariate statistical analysis techniques applied to biological sciences/Neurosciences

This course aims to introduce students to the biological processes involved in controlling the motivational bases of behavior and emotions, leading them to understand the neuroendocrine regulation of motivational states and to identify the neuroendocrine mechanisms of basic emotions and social emotions.
At the end of the course, students should have acquired the following skills:
- Provide an in-depth understanding of the behavioral, neurophysiological and neuroendocrinological techniques and methods available to study motivation and emotions;
- Demonstrate a perfect understanding of the fundamental neurobiological principles underlying the functioning of motivational and emotional systems;
- Have the ability to critically assess primary multidisciplinary literature relevant to the study of motivation and emotions;
- Be able to communicate ideas and research results orally and in writing.

It is intended with the course that students acquire knowledge and skills of:
- Autonomous search for scientific information from the various appropriate sources;
- Analysis and collection of information on a topic of interest in Cognitive Neuroscience;
- Organization of information collected in scientific poster format and its presentation
- Formulation of questions, hypotheses or objectives for a research project;
- Selection of the most suitable work methodology depending on the study in question;
- Preparation of a research project in writing

It is intended that students acquire knowledge about:
- Learning Disorders, Specific Language Development Disorders, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders,
- Broad Spectrum Developmental Disorders: Turner Syndrome, Fragile X, Type I Neurofibromatosis and Down Syndrome.
- The impact of these disorders on psychological and cognitive processes such as language, reasoning, emotions and behavior.
- Diagnosis and identification of the characteristics of each disturbance.

It is intended to provide notions of computer programming of practical use in carrying out research projects in scientific areas. Computer concepts will be introduced from the perspective of the advanced user, such as: the components of a computer, its basic functioning and the function and use of the operating system. The fundamental concepts of computer programming will be presented in a theoretical-practical perspective accompanied by real examples in the Python programming language. 3 practical applications of scientific programming will be introduced: (i) Data acquisition and processing, (ii) Experimental data analysis and (iii) Automatic classification techniques. Each of these areas will allow you to develop programming skills in parallel with applications of immediate practical use.
As skills to develop, we highlight the creation of simple Python programs, knowing how to interpret programs written by others, applying programming knowledge in solving real problems

Social Neurosciences is the discipline that lies at the intersection between Cognitive Neurosciences and Social Psychology. Following the developments of the last 15 years, the Social Neurosciences raise the level of analysis above the individual dimension and propose social and neuroscientific perspectives that clarify the neural and behavioral bases of social behavior.
The main objective of this curricular unit is the analysis of the fundamental literature published in this field, providing the student with access to the methodologies and theories of Social Neuroscience.

The objective of the dissertation is to provide students with the domain of research competence that will allow them to formulate relevant questions in the field of Cognitive Neuroscience, based on bibliographic reviews, design experimental paradigms to test these same hypotheses and put them into practice. The objectives of this unit are for the student to learn to:
- Review the literature in a systematic and written way aiming at the development of research projects.
- Develop a research project in its various phases, from posing the problem, to choosing the research design and methodology to be used.
- Select data collection instruments collected in accordance with the outlined objectives.
- Prepare the dissertation in writing taking into account the standards of scientific writing.