Functional Neuroimaging MSc

About the Course

How does brain scanning equipment work?
What can brain scanners tell us about brain function?
How do differences in brain structure affect brain function?

Recent years have been characterised by a rapid development of functional imaging technology, with increasing availability worldwide of high resolution scanners for research and clinical applications. Functional brain imaging requires an understanding of current concepts in cognitive neuroscience and psychology, as well as a basic appreciation of neuroimaging techniques and the mathematical and statistical foundations for data analysis.

This programme, the first of its kind in the UK, provides a strong theoretical and practical introduction to the world of neuroimaging research. The course is a good preparation for a PhD in functional brain imaging, or for working as part of a neuroimaging team with fMRI and/or other imaging modalities.

Aims

The rapid development of functional imaging technology and research has contributed to the call for improved education and training in functional imaging. Within this context, the aim of the programme is to provide a strong theoretical and practical introduction to the world of neuroimaging research. It will equip students with a range of practical research skills to enable them to successfully complete research of this kind, either as part of a research team or as an individual.

The course will also provide the necessary training in safety and in the rules of scanner operation, to allow students to conduct a neuroimaging research project under the supervision of an Authorised User on Brunel’s 3T scanner, or else to conduct a project on one of its related ERP imaging or psychological laboratory facilities.

Whether you want to pursue neuroimaging research, or simply become an expert in this important field of science, the Functional Neuroimaging MSc provides the relevant skills and knowledge.

The course is a good preparation for a PhD in functional brain imaging, or for working as part of a neuroimaging team with fMRI and/or other imaging modalities.

Enquiries

Course enquiries
Email sss-pgenquiries@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 265951

For applications already submitted
Contact Admissions online
Tel +44 (0)1895 265265

Course director: Dr Adrian Williams
Email: adrian.williams@brunel.ac.uk

View the School of Social Sciences website

Related Courses

Special Features

The University's substantial investment in a 3T fMRI facility (jointly owned with Royal Holloway, Roehampton and Surrey Universities) is organised by the Centre for Cognition and Neuroimaging (CCNI). The Centre also has facilities for EEG and ERP imaging as well as experimental psychology and computational modelling. It includes a substantial team of neuroimaging experts.

Staff involved in the course and their research interests include:

Dr Adrian Williams
Notional organisation of the human visual system; low-level aspects of vision; development and plasticity; functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); artificial neural networks.

Prof David Bunce
Cognitive neuropsychology, focusing on age, attention and memory.

Dr Stephen Johnston
Neural correlates of emotion regulation processes and the underlying functional organisation of the emotion system of the human brain; visual attention (specifically the factors that effect the minimum temporal interval for deploying attention to multiple targets). I employ both traditional fMRI techniques, and real-time imaging which allows participants the opportunity to learn to ‘control’ regions of their own brain in order to bring about changes in behaviour.

Dr Justin O’Brien
Brain imaging; visual psychophysics; form and motion coherence; retinotopic mapping; developmental disorders.

Dr Andrew Parton
Cognitive neuroscience of processess associated with vision (eg attention) and visuo-motor control (eg response conflict) in normal and clinical populations (eg stroke and Parkinson's disease)

Dr Charlotte Russell
Cognitive neuropsychology of attention and visual attention in neurologically healthy subjects; disorders after right parietal brain injury, eg visuospacial neglect and construction apraxia; integration of information, memory and attention across eye movements in neurologically health subjects and patients.

Dr Noam Sagiv
Perception and its neural basis; synaesthesia; face perception; perceptual anomalies; neural correlates of consciousness.

Dr Maria Uther
Speech perception and speech production; speech and mobile phone technologies; auditory and music perception; bilingualism; brain imaging research on auditory and speech perception.

Prof Michael Wright
Visual perception: psychophysics of visual motion; visual memory; stereopsis, shape from shading; perception of shape. Neuropsychology: neglect; visual fields; constructional apraxia. Psychology of consciousness.

Prof Taeko Wydell
Cognitive Neoropsychology of language; psycholinguistics; reading processes involved in alphbetic and non-alphabetic languages' developmental and acquired (with neurological patients) dyslexia; brain imaging research on reading with MEG, MRI and fMRI.

Course Content

Modules are subject to variation and students are advised to check with the School on whether a particular module of interest will be running in their year of entry.

Modules

Cognitive Neuroscience
How has neuroimaging increased our understanding of brain function? This module covers learning and memory, language and the brain, cerebral lateralization and specialization, the control of action, executive control and frontal lobes, emotional mechanisms, evolutionary perspectives, development, plasticity and consciousness.

Principles of Neuroimaging
This introduces Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Electroencephalography (EEG), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy (NIRS), Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The module will focus especially on EEG and fMRI, considering MRI safety, MR signal generation, MR signal formation, contrast mechanisms and pulse sequences, neuronal to haemodynamic activity, BOLD FMRI, spatial and temporal properties of fMRI.

Practical Neuroimaging
How do we design, conduct and analyse neuroimaging experiments? How can we use this knowledge to evaluate other neuroimaging studies? This module includes EEG equipment operation, using a Siemens TRIO 3T MRI scanner, experimental design, image processing, statistical analysis, statistical inference and data presentation.

Visual Neuroscience
Processing the information received by our eyes involves nearly half the cortex. In this module, we study the visual pathways and along the way consider a number of topics including: visual motion and the dorsal stream, biological motion, object recognition and the ventral stream, face recognition, disorders of vision, visual development, visual imagery, visual awareness, change blindness and neuroaesthetics.

Research Project/Dissertation
Under the supervision of one of the CCNI’s research team, students will conduct a functional imaging experiment. This could involve the in-house EEG or fMRI facilities. Recent examples include:

Responses of the Cortical Reading Network
The Role of Personal Familiarity in Visual Processing: An fMRI study of the FFA and LOC
MT/V5 area & STS activation to video and point light display of perceptual skills in badminton: an fMRI study
An fMRI Study of Different Responses of the Brain while Presenting Two Opposing Stimuli Simultaneously and their Dominance
Attentional Modulation of the Human Primary Visual Cortex. An fMRI Study.

Assessment

Two of the taught modules are assessed entirely by coursework (essays). The Principles of Neuroimaging module is assessed by a combination of essay and multiple-choice examination.

The Dissertation is based on a student's own research project and includes a review of the relevant literature. It allows students to undertake in-depth study and investigation of their own functional neuroimaging design in an area relevant to them. If desired, the dissertation can be written in the format of a full-length paper as published in neuroimaging and related journals.

The module essays are coursework that are submitted towards the end of each module, and reflect a student's learning and investigation into one of many topics covered by the module.

Careers

The MSc Functional Neuroimaging is an invaluable companion or prelude to a research degree or research position in functional neuroimaging, one of the most rapidly growing fields of scientific research.

Academic or research positions:

MPhil/PhD in neuroimaging or related subject
Research Assistant on a neuroscience project, or related project in psychology or biology. Imaging has applications now from the physical sciences to projects in economics and the social sciences.
Technical Assistant in functional neuroimaging.

Non-academic positions:

Any occupation that requires a higher level of analytical, technical and presentation skills than can be offered by a graduate in the life sciences

The course is also an ideal precursor to an MPhil or PhD degree course.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £7,000 full-time; £3,500 part-time

International students: £15,000 full-time; £7,500 part-time

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements

Normally applicants require a good Honours degree in Psychology or Neuroscience or Computer Science or other relevant scientific or engineering discipline from a UK institution; an equivalent overseas qualification; or an equivalent professional qualification.

English Language Requirements

IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
TOEFL Paper test: 580 (TWE 4.5)
TOEFL Internet test: 92 (R20, L20, S20, W20)
Pearson: 59 (51 in all subscores)
BrunELT 65% (min 60% in all areas)

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.