Master Programmes

The Research Master BCN is is an interdisciplinary programme that offers three specialization tracks:

Animal and Human Behaviour (B-track)

The Behaviour track is designed for students who are familiar with the basic theoretical foundations of behavioural research. They follow the "four why's" of the evolution, function, causation and development of behaviour.

Thorough evolutionary insight is necessary for guiding the causal analysis of behaviour, just as we can not understand its evolution without physiological knowledge. Hence we link the functional and physiological analysis of behaviour. This holds also for human behaviour where particular emphasis is placed on evolutionary psychology. Development of behaviour is a further key to understand the complex regulation of behaviour in adulthood, the origins of individuality and the constraints and plasticity in behavioural adaptation.

Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Modelling (C-track)

The Cognition track focuses on cognitive processing from psychological, neurological and modelling perspectives.

The psychological aspect is covered in expert courses on psychological phenomena such as learning, memory and attention. The neurological aspects entail specialized courses on neuroscience, both from functional, clinical and biological perspectives, and training in different methodologies (e.g., fMRI, TMS, EEG) to study brain processes. The modelling aspects focuses on abstract characterization of cognitive processing. These characterizations can take the form of statistical or computational models. This enables researchers to establish causal relations between behavioural and neurological phenomena and cognitive theories.

Molecular and Clinical Neuroscience (N-track)

The Neuroscience track is designed for students interested in molecular mechanisms of brain function and of the neuropathology of disease.

The brain and the central nervous system are the key players in behaviour and cognition. The Neuroscience track is designed for students interested in molecular mechanisms of brain function and of the neuropathology of disease. The programme focuses on molecular and functional neurosciences, neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases, neuroinflammatory processes and stem cell biology. The courses emphasize the anatomy of the nervous system, neurotransmission and transduction cascades, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology and neuropathology. The latest insights in Parkinson's disease, sleep and sleep disorders, obesity, aggression, anxiety, multiple sclerosis, and stroke related pathology will be discussed.

The track Animal and Human Behaviour is coordinated by the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences and includes four track-specific compulsory modules:

• Timing of Behaviour
• Individuality of Behaviour: Genes, Ontogeny and Neurobiology
• Neuroendocrine Basis of Behaviour

Check the Education website for admission procedures and requirements.