Harvard Summer Program in Mind/Brain Sciences

8th June - 3rd August

General Information

This 8-week, interdisciplinary program at the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, ltaly, provides students a unique opportunity to study the mind/brain.Taught by neuroscientists and cognitive scientists from Harvard, Harvard Medical School and the University of Trento, the courses include lectures as well as hands-on laboratory sessions (e.g., neuroimaging demonstrations, discussion sections).The program also provides room and board in Trento, ltaly. Students will have the opportunity to participate in program activities, which include hikes in the ltalian Alps, day and weekend trips to Verona, Venice, and Lake Garda. Courses run Monday through Thursday; Fridays are dedicated to program outings and student activities. On free weekends, students will have the opportunity to organize independent travel and activities. Deadline: 15th March 2013

Faculty

Alfonso Caramazza, PhD, Daniel and Amy Starch Professor of Psychology, Harvard University; University of Trento
John Assad, PhD, Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Giorgio Coricelli, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Trento
David Melcher, PhD, Professor of Cognitive Sciences, CIMeC, University ofTrento
Francesca Bacci, PhD, Curator of Special Projects, M.A.R.T. Trento e Rovereto

Courses

Students will receive course credit from the Harvard Summer School and can request an official transcript of their marks two weeks after the end of the program. Students may choose to take the introductory course offered in the first half of the program (MBB S-101) and
one of the two in-depth courses (MBB S-91and S-93) offered in the second half, or they may choose just the introductory course or one of the two in-depth courses. lf students choose to take only the course in the second half, they must have demonstrated proof of having taken the equivalent of the introductory course prior to the summer of 2013. All instruction is in English.

MBB S-101. Windows into the Structure of the Mind/Brain (Assad/Caramazza)
The mind/brain can be studied at multiple levels of description and with various methodologies. The course reviews methods from psycholinguistics to neuroimaging, and from computational modeling to clinical neuroscience. Each method is illustrated through laboratory demonstrations. This course is mandatory for all program participants, and it is meant to provide the neuroscience and cognitive science foundation necessary to explore specific topics in the field.
Pre-requisites: None

MBB S-91. Art, Mind and the Brain (Melcher/Bacci)
The ability to create and appreciate artworks is one of the unique hallmarks of the human brain. This course will take advantage of the rich artistic heritage of Northern ltaly by exploring the mind/brain through the arts. ln particular, we will investigate visual art, from antiquity to contemporary with a special emphasis on medieval, Renaissance, and modern painting and sculpture. The course will involve a series of visits to local museums and historie sites. In addition, there is an in-class lectures and discussions and hands-on activities in the education department of the MART museum. The overall aim is to use artworks as case studies that illustrate fundamental principies ofthe mind and brain.
Pre-requisite: MBB S-1O1 or equivalent

MBB S-93. Mind, Brain, and Behavior in Decision Making (Coricelli)
Economists have produced remarkable theories describing how people make decisions, but, until recently, their approach treated the human brain as a "black box." The introduction of neuroscience tools (brain imaging, neuropsychological studies, single-cell recording) and the discovery of evidence about the importance of emotional and social states in economic decision-making are revealing new perspectives in the field of behavioral economics. This new discipline combines economics, psychology, and neuroscience in order to study decision-making in individual and social contexts. Students will learn about economic decision-making principies (e.g., choice under risk and uncertainty, intertemporal choices, bargaining, cooperation and competition); lectures and laboratory sessions will cover contemporary theories of behavioral economics as well as the application of methods from neuroscience (e.g., single-cell recording, fMRI, TMS) to the study of decision-making.
Pre-requisites: MBB S-101 or equivalent

Prerequisites for partecipation and key facts

Applicants must be enrolled, without exception, to a three-year degree (3rd year) or Master (1st year), Italian university
Subscription is possibile for the complete program (2 courses) or the mid-program (1 course prior prerequisite check)
The complete cost dipends on the selected program and includes course material, accommodation, meals, extra-curricular activities included in the program
The courses are in English and are activated at the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC) Mattarello (TN)
All students will be housed in the student dorms "San Bartolomeo", University of Trento
Economic benefits are available, according to the ISEE indicator; the completed application form must be submitted with the application
Letters of recommendation must be written in English and sent separately, directly by recommender to trento@wjh.harvard.edu
The application form must be hand-delivered or sent by recommender and received by March 15, 2013.