Ph.D. Program

Welcome to the Cognition & Cognitive Neuroscience program at Texas Tech University! We are a group of faculty, students and researchers who study a range of human behaviors and cognitive processes as well as their implementation in the brain. Broad topics covered by our collective include (but are not limited to):

• Category formation and neural representation within the contexts of basic, health and clinical research
• Selective attention and its impact on vision, perception and decision-making
• Language learning and reading comprehension
• Brain mechanisms of addictive behaviors
• Understanding and optimizing brain functioning and behavior over the lifespan
• Translational research on preventive intervention techniques related to behavioral problems and mental disorders over the lifespan
• The psychology of art creation and appreciation
• Human-animal interactions and the cognitive processing associated with pet-related information
• Education-related metacognition and multimedia learning, both in the context of basic and applied research
• Student study and learning behaviors

Housed within a Tier One Carnegie research-extensive institution, our Cognition & Cognitive Neuroscience program has on-campus access to state-of-the art research-dedicated equipment and facilities, including the Texas Tech Neuroimaging Institute (TTNI) located in the Experimental Sciences building. We utilize a variety of behavioral, physiological and neural methods to aid our investigations, including: computational modeling; laboratory testing; functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); diffusion tensor imaging (DTI); transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS); psychophysics; eye tracking; skin conductance; heart rate variability and cortisol levels; electroencephalography (EEG); and wet lab techniques. Thus, we provide a multitude of experimental methods to our graduate students, who are expected to become active in research from the outset and continue to engage in research throughout the degree program.

A Sample of Cognition & Cognitive Neuroscience Course Offerings:
(To be chosen by the student with the guidance of his/her advisor and according to degree requirements)

• Seminar in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroscience of Vision
• Neuroscience of Emotion and Social Behavior
• Biological Bases of Behavior and Psychological Function
• Seminar in Metacognition
• Human-Animal Interactions
• fMRI Design and Analysis
• Multivariate Statistics
• Advanced Correlation Methods and Factor Analysis