Seminars, Spring 2023

ON THIS PAGE:
-List of Page Updates
-Lottery Information
-Seminar Program Overview
-Spring 2023 MBB Seminar Descriptions
-Spring 2023 Department Courses
(For Fall 2022 course descriptions and information, see https://mbb.harvard.edu/seminars-fall-2022.)



PAGE UPDATES
3 January: added new seminar MBB 980Z
11 January: added preview information for MBB 980Z (document linked from bottom of page)
12 January: added class locations, updated meeting times for MBB 980Y and Psy 980 courses, added divisional distribution for MBB 980Z
26 January: added course openings


COURSE OPENINGS

Space is still available in MBB 980V and MBB 980X. If you afe interested in joining either course, please contact Shawn Harriman as soon as possible.



LOTTERY INFORMATION

You can only enroll in an MBB 980 course by entering the lottery. MBB Seminar Lottery Day is Tuesday 17 January 2023. For lottery details and link to lottery form, see https://mbb.harvard.edu/mbb-seminars-lottery-spring-2023.SEMINAR PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Each MBB student is required to take an Interdisciplinary Seminar, usually during the junior year. These seminars are discussion-based courses that usually meet once a week for a few hours, during which students consider important readings and research on a topic or set of topics related to mind/brain/behavior. In lieu of exams, students usually prepare papers based on library or laboratory research, and grades are usually based on these papers and class participation.

In choosing a seminar, you might select a seminar closely allied to your interests to allow you to deepen your specialized knowledge, or you might take one in a more distant area to gain an appreciation of the varying perspectives and methodologies within MBB.

The seminars offered by the MBB program, listed in the catalog as Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980 courses, explore questions in mind/brain/behavior whose answers will require the perspectives and findings of several fields. Unless otherwise noted, their enrollments are limited to 15, with enrollment priority given to juniors in MBB tracks or in the MBB secondary field, and they provide four units of course credit. In addition to the seminars listed currently, we expect to offer several additional seminars in the spring.

In addition to the MBB 980 courses, some departmental courses also qualify, and are listed below after the MBB seminars.

Neuroscience students are expected to choose only from among the MBB 980 courses (no departmental options). Some tracks, including Psychology and Human Evolutionary Biology, will want to approve which course a student takes from those listed below; consult your concentration advisor if this applies to you.



MBB 980 SEMINARS FOR SPRING 2022

Functional Neuroimaging of Psychiatric Disorders: Insights into the Human Brain-Mind in Health and Disease
David Silbersweig / Medical School / dsilbersweig@partners.org
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980M, Thursdays 3-5 p.m., William James 1305
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Sciences and Engineering/Applied Sciences, course ID 160759, class # 12656
Functional brain imaging has revolutionized the study of systems-level behavioral neuroscience and psychiatric disorders, through the ability to localize and characterize distributed brain activity directly associated with perception, cognition, emotion and behavior in disorders where there are not gross brain lesions. This seminar will introduce students to translational neuroimaging methods at the interface of neuroscience, psychology and medicine. It will cover recent and ongoing advances in our understanding of fronto-limbic-subcortical brain circuitry across the range of psychiatric disorders (e.g. mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, personality disorders, addictions). It will discuss new, emerging biological (as opposed to descriptive) taxonomies and conceptualizations of mental illness and its treatment. It will explore the implications of such knowledge for issues such as consciousness, meaning, free will, emotion, resilience, and religiosity. It will incorporate clinical observations, scientific data and readings, and examine future directions in brain-mind medicine. Class Note: Additional class meetings for site visits to be arranged.

The Insanity Defense: Psychological, Neuroscientific, Legal, Philosophical, and Policy Issues
Ellsworth Fersch / Medical School / fersch@fas.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980Z, Wednesdays 3-5 p.m., Winthrop B-002 (Beren Hall basement seminar room)
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Social Science, course ID 221991, class # 24568
NEW: course preview document is linked from the bottom of this page; this may not be on the course's canvas website yet because of technical difficulties
The insanity defense remains one of the most talked about and controversial interactions between a deterministic psychological approach to human behavior and a free will based legal approach. An excellent example of the way in which our legal system has emphasized psychology rather than religion or sociology or economics or biology or neuroscience or history, the insanity defense has raised questions which lie at the root of our political views of society, our moral and religious notions of good and evil, our medical and psychological conclusions about healing and sickness, our philosophical ideas about free will and determinism, and our linguistic concerns about language and semantics. And while insanity is a legal term not a psychological or psychiatric term, it is striking how many in the public and in the press are using the word to characterize those who engage in harmful behavior or even to characterize the behaviors acts, themselves. As is generally known, the criminal law attempts to hold people accountable for their actions. The insanity defense, on the contrary, attempts to excuse some individuals from responsibility for their actions on the theory that their legal insanity prevented them from choosing the lawful act, knowing what they were doing, understanding that their action was wrong, or being able to control themselves. As the prominent psychiatrist Alan Stone wrote in his 1975 book on Mental Health and Law: A System in Transition, the insanity defense is where two incompatible, contradictory theories about what motivates humans meet: the modern determinist theory of causation which underlies psychology, neuroscience, and related disciplines, and the continuing free will theory of morality which underlies the criminal law. These two great theories about human nature and human action suggest different responses: (1) the criminal justice theory that individuals of their own free will choose to act as they do would have them punished for wrongful acts; and (2) the psychological and modern scientific theory that individuals’ actions are determined by their personality, genes, environment, and other factors largely beyond their control would seek to understand rather than punish them.

Neuroimaging and Big Data in Connectomics: Advances in Understanding the Wiring of the Brain
Lisa Nickerson / Medical School / lisa_nickerson@hms.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980V, Tuesdays 3-5 p.m., William James B-6
4 units of course credit, course ID 215757, class # 14098
The last decade has seen a revolution in mapping the human brain “connectome” of functional and structural wiring patterns that generate our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. In this course, we will learn the basics of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods used for connectomics research - functional and diffusion MRI. Key methodological and interpretational issues for each technique will be examined to gain a deeper understanding of MRI measures of connectivity. We will discuss some of the key brain networks in the brain’s connectome, and the links between the functional and structural wiring of the brain. Last, tremendous advancements in human brain connectomics have been made possible by efforts to collect “big” neuroimaging data in thousands and thousands of individuals. We will discuss some of these key open access resources for connectomics research, including: the Human Connectome Projects with petabytes of neuroimaging and phenotyping data collected in thousands of individuals across the entire lifespan and in numerous brain diseases; the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) decade-long longitudinal study of childhood through adolescence in 10,000 kids, and the largest neuroimaging study in the world – the UK Biobank that is collecting imaging, genetics, medical records, and deep phenotyping data in 100,000 individuals. This wave of “big data” is providing exceptional opportunities for advancements in connectomics and in machine learning applications to human health, yielding breakthroughs every day in our understanding of how our brains work, and what makes us uniquely us when we are healthy and when we are sick.

Translational Neuroscience: The Limits of Adaptation from Extreme Environments to Clinical Practice
Vladimir Ivkovic / Medical School / vivkovic@mgh.harvard.edu & Gary Strangman / Medical School
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980X, Fridays 12-2 p.m., William James B-6
4 units of course credit, course ID 219973, class # 16372
Within the translational neuroscience paradigm, this course explores the concepts of neurobehavioral adaptation, stress, resilience, and neuropsychiatric disorders, in relation to the underlying neurophysiologic mechanisms that regulate them. What can we learn about the limitations of human neurobehavioral function through exposure and adaptation to extreme environments, as well as readaptation to “normal” environment, or onset of neuropsychiatric disorders? We will explore neurobehavioral adaptations to extreme activities such as spaceflight, expeditionary (polar, underwater, desert exploration, military deployments), emergency response services (e.g. firefighting), and impact sports (e.g. football). The limits to neurobehavioral adaptations will be discussed in the broader context of mental and occupational health, gender differences, and understanding the etiology of neuropsychiatric conditions such as, depressive and anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), intracranial hypertension and stroke, etc. These will be augmented with insights from COVID-19 pandemic which placed a large portion of the world’s population in an extreme environment defined by social and physical isolation/confinement, movement and travel restrictions, disruption of personal and professional activities, novel health risks, and behavioral adjustments. Contemporary findings from research studies conducted in laboratory, occupational/extreme, and clinical environments will be discussed in the context of translational neuroscience paradigm including neurocognitive, neurophysiological, and psychoneuroimmunological considerations. Special focus will be placed on demonstrations of research/clinical application of novel technologies such as ambulatory brain and physiologic monitoring. Theoretical concepts and research findings will be evaluated relative to their utility in developing prevention and mitigation strategies in extreme environments, as well as translational implementation in clinical treatments for related medical conditions in the general population. This course may be particularly interesting to Mind Brain and Behavior students pursuing careers in translational neuroscience, psychology, medicine, and related fields. This course features expert guest lecturers (e.g. NASA astronauts and researchers, Antarctic expeditionary physicians, underwater explorers, etc.), demonstrations of unique experimental methodologies and equipment (e.g. ambulatory brain and physiologic monitoring) used in extreme environments, and field visits to operational facilities such as Boston Fire Department Training Academy and/or Neural Systems Group (NSG) at Massachusetts General Hospital (directed by course head, Dr. Strangman).

Virtue Science
Sara Lazar / Medical School / slazar@mgh.harvard.edu & Michael Ferguson / Medical School-Divinity School / mferguson7@bwh.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980Y, Mondays 12-2 p.m., Wlliam James 1305.
4 units of course credit, course ID 220770, class # 20266
“Virtue” refers to excellence in living. Philosophical questions about how to live with excellence have ancient legacies dating back to the earliest records in human history. In fact, human striving for virtue is a truly universal phenomenon that is represented in every cultural tradition and has shaped every system of human mythos, without exception. However, relative to their ancient histories, questions pertaining to human virtue have only recently become subjects of scientific inquiry. Positive psychologists in particular have led this translation of virtue ethics from philosophical traditions into evidence-based research paradigms. Today, this collective effort to construct a systematic virtue science has been joined by cognitive scientists, social scientists, developmental psychologists, neuroscientists, and healthcare professionals. In this course, we will 1) introduce historic, religious, and contemporary approaches to virtue philosophy, 2) examine evidence-based developmental science paradigms for virtue acquisition, 3) survey contemporary psychology and neuroscience studies of virtue and character, and 4) explore clinical relevancies of virtue, including moral injury and recovery from moral injury. No prior knowledge of virtue philosophy, psychology, or neuroscience is required for this course. However, students are expected to engage each of these disciplinary lenses with curiosity and a desire for integrating multidisciplinary knowledge and understanding. The course will be a mixture of lecture, discussion of two primary scientific articles that are assigned each week, and a semester-long “Virtue In Action” project to be completed by each course participant. The “Virtue In Action” project will entail selecting a specific virtue, writing a mini literature review on the virtue, creatively designing a developmental intervention around the selected virtue, engaging the self-directed developmental virtue intervention, and reporting on the subjective experience of intentional virtue development.

What Disease Teaches about Cognition
William Milberg / Medical School / william_milberg@hms.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980H, Tuesdays 3:45-5:45 p.m., William James 1305
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Social Sciences, course ID 109866, class # 13402
This course seeks to reconcile the complicated and messy problems of patients with brain disease with the concise analysis of precisely defined cognitive functions in normal subjects. Students will learn to overlap cognitive functions on to the brain in disease - at the gross dissection and imaging levels - and to understand some of the complex interactions of individual cognitive operations in disease using the examples of famous landmark cases in the literature (e.g.Broca’s Monsieur Leborgne, Phineas Gage, HM and others) The course will include a dissection of a human brain, an examination of how the actual brain maps onto two dimensional neuroimages, and discussions of how the classic lesion based maps of cortical function are related to contemporary maps based on functional neuroimaging.



DEPARTMENTAL SEMINARS FOR SPRING 2023

Departmental courses that will fulfill the MBB seminar requirement include neuroscience junior tutorials. These tutorials are full-year courses, and the following second-half courses are available this spring: Introduction to Neural Computation (Neuroscience 101UB); Neurobiology of Emotions and Mood Disorders (Neuroscience 101RB); The Neurobiology of Sleep and its Role in Mental Health (Neuroscience 101LB); Neuroscience of Addition (Neuroscience 101TB) Neuroscience of Learning and Memory (Neuroscience 101QB); and Sculpting Activity: How Inhibition Shapes the Brain in Health and Disease (Neuroscience 101VB). More detail on the courses are available below in the departmental seminar fall 2022 section of this page above.

Biological and Artificial Intelligence
Gabriel Kreiman / Medical School / gabriel_kreiman@affiliate.hms.harvard.edu
Neuroscience 140, Tuesdays 3-5 p.m.
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Science and Engineering/Applied Sciences, course ID 207645, class # 14177
This course provides a foundational overview of the fundamental ideas in computational neuroscience and the study of Biological Intelligence. At the same time, the course will connect the study of brains to the blossoming and rapid development of ideas in Artificial Intelligence. Topics covered include the biophysics of computation, neural networks, machine learning, Bayesian models, theory of learning, deep convolutional networks, generative adversarial networks, neural coding, control and dynamics of neural activity, applications to brain-machine interfaces, connectomics, among others. Recommended Prep: Basic knowledge of multivariate calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, and elementary probability theory.

How Hidden Ideologies Shape the Mind: The Origins of Our Beliefs and Ideologies
Bethany Burum / Psychology-FAS / bethanyburum@gmail.com
Psychology 980JT, Tuesdays 3-5 p.m., William James 401
4 units of course credit, course ID 207824, class # 15195
Why do our ideologies change when we are put in positions of power (e.g., victim dehumanization), or subordination (e.g., Stockholm Syndrome), or with peers with a different opinion (e.g., conformity)? Why are our moral and political ideologies so different across time and culture (e.g., the ideologies of ISIS members compared to Americans)? Why do we claim that our morals are logically justifiable when we cannot justify them (e.g., moral dumbfounding)? This course will explore the hidden incentives that can explain these and many other puzzling features of our beliefs and ideologies. Evidence from psychology, as well as philosophy, economics, history, and current events (including the election cycle), will demonstrate the crucial way that incentives outside of our awareness shape our beliefs and ideologies. Note: This is the same course as PSY 1575 How Hidden Incentives Shape the Mind: The Origins of Our Beliefs and Ideologies, which has been offered previously. Students who have taken 1575 cannot enroll in this course. Recommended Prep: The Psychology Department requires completion of Science of Living Systems 20 or Psychology 1 or the equivalent of introductory psychology (e.g. Psych AP=5 or IB =7 or Psyc S-1) and at least one foundational course from PSY 14, PSY 15, PSY 16, or PSY 18 before enrolling in this course; or permission of instructor.

Psychology and Criminal Law
Lindsey Davis / Psychology-FAS / lindsey_davis@williamjames.edu
Psychology 980CL, Mondays 3-5 p.m., William James Hall 303
4 units of course credit, course ID 220475, class # 18725
Why do eyewitnesses often identify the wrong suspect? Why would an innocent percent confess to a crime they did not commit? Can we predict who will commit a violent crime in the future? This course examines how behavioral science can be used to answer these and other questions central to the legal system. Psychologists with expertise at the intersection of psychology and criminal law conduct empirical research, interpret study findings and provide explanations to judges and juries, evaluate the mental states of criminal defendants and victims, consult with attorneys and law enforcement agencies, and serve in a variety of roles to help improve the fairness of our criminal justice system. Drawing on key areas of research from clinical and social psychology, we will delve into theories of criminal behavior, forensic evaluation, the role of bias in the courtroom, false confessions, eyewitness testimony, deception, and treatment of offenders. Research will be applied to real-world cases. Recommended Prep: The Psychology Department requires completion of Science of Living Systems 20 or Psychology 1 or the equivalent of introductory psychology (e.g. Psych AP=5 or IB =7 or Psyc S-1) and at least one foundational course from PSY 14, PSY 15, PSY 16, and PSY 18 before enrolling in this course; or permission of instructor.

Psychology of Cults
Bethany Burum / Psychology-FAS / bethanyburum@gmail.com
Psychology 980AH, Thursdays 9:45-11:45 a.m., William James Hall B-4
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Social Science, course ID 214498, class # 15178
In November of 1978, 909 members of The People’s Temple perished in Jonestown, Guyana after drinking Kool Aid laced with cyanide. David Berg of the Children of God convinced his followers to abandon their monogamous marriages, encourage pedophilia, and allow their children to be sex trafficked. How do certain groups convince people to harm and even kill themselves and their children? This course will explore the psychological mechanisms that enable cults to form and to take human belief and behavior to such extremes. What do cults share with other groups (mainstream religions, nations, everyday social interactions, etc.), and what makes them stand apart? In what ways are cults an environment in which many of our psychological tendencies (toward ingroup conformity, heuristic decision making, rationalization, etc.) are magnified? And what do cults reveal about the profound power of our social environment? We will examine case studies through the lens of empirical psychological science to uncover how psychological research can shed light on cult behavior, and how cult behavior can shed light on our everyday psychology. Recommended Prep/Course Requirements: The Psychology Department requires completion of Science of Living Systems 20 or PSY 1 or the equivalent of introductory psychology (e.g. Psych AP=5 or IB=7 or Psyc S-1) and at least one foundational course from PSY 14, PSY 15, PSY 16, or PSY 18 before enrolling in this course; or permission of instructor.

Psychology of Humor
Arkadiy Maksimovskiy / Medical School / amaksimovskiy@mclean.harvard.edu
Psychology 980HU, Thursdays 3:45-5:45 p.m., William James Hall 303
4 units of course credit, course ID 218334, class # 17744
What makes some jokes funny but others dull? Why does the act of laughing feel good? From an evolutionary perspective, if seeking food, finding mates, and detecting predators served a clear purpose, what could be gained by mirthful laughter? What benefits could justify the energy cost of laughing? The answers to these questions are deeply rooted in ancient neurocognitive mechanisms that evolved over long periods of time. In this course, we will critically evaluate scientific perspectives on humor from different subfields of psychology including clinical psychology, social psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. Covered topics will include different styles of humor, why some jokes are funnier when we laugh with friends, why it feels hurtful when others laugh at us, and how humor and laughter are affected across certain mental health disorders. Note: This is a full credit, half-term course. This means it is an intensive, half-term seminar that runs during the first 7 weeks of the semester (from September 1 – October 15). Prerequisites: The Psychology Department requires completion of Science of Living Systems 20 or Psychology 1 or the equivalent of introductory psychology (e.g. Psych AP=5 or IB =7 or Psyc S-1) and at least one foundational course from PSY 14, PSY 15, PSY 16, and PSY 18 before enrolling in this course; or permission of instructor.