Neuroanthropology

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2022-2023

Course director

Number of hours/semester

lectures: 0 hours

practices: 0 hours

seminars: 24 hours

total of: 24 hours

Subject data

  • Code of subject: OAF-NOA-T
  • 2 kredit
  • General Medicine
  • Optional modul
  • spring
Prerequisites:

-

Course headcount limitations

min. 3 – max. 20

Topic

Culture, mind, and brain: The three main substrates of our self. The basic mechanisms of these substrates as well as the potential interactions between them have been widely investigated by several scientific fields. For example, various research areas of neuroscience and psychology are dedicated to mind and brain connections. In addition, the dynamics and rules of the complex human cultures have been rigorously studied by cultural anthropologists. The potential cultural effects on neuronal functioning, however, received less attention. Therefore, a novel scientific synthesis - Neuroanthropology - has emerged recently with an aim to provide a conceptual background of culture-brain interactions. The course is dedicated to this scientific area. More particular, the course aims to show the different aspects of the main question of 'how human culture is embedded in the human brain'.

Lectures

Practices

Seminars

  • 1. Methods and main theoretical approaches of neuroanthropology
  • 2. Methods and main theoretical approaches of neuroanthropology
  • 3. Culture-sensitive neural substrates, brain evolution
  • 4. Culture-sensitive neural substrates, brain evolution
  • 5. Neuroanthropology of social behaviour
  • 6. Neuroanthropology of social behaviour
  • 7. The neuroanthropology of human empathy
  • 8. The neuroanthropology of human empathy
  • 9. Socio-cultural background of pain
  • 10. Socio-cultural background of pain
  • 11. Culture bound syndromes: Relationship between culture and mental diseases
  • 12. Culture bound syndromes: Relationship between culture and mental diseases
  • 13. Neuroanthropology of addiction
  • 14. Neuroanthropology of addiction
  • 15. The bio-psycho-social context of "everyday" drugs
  • 16. The bio-psycho-social context of "everyday" drugs
  • 17. Human locomotion: Ecology, Culture, and Disorders
  • 18. Human locomotion: Ecology, Culture, and Disorders
  • 19. Fatigue and Activity: Biopsychological and social correlates
  • 20. Fatigue and Activity: Biopsychological and social correlates
  • 21. Human diet and its neuro-cultural background
  • 22. Human diet and its neuro-cultural background
  • 23. The social stress: Effects of cultural and neural processes
  • 24. The social stress: Effects of cultural and neural processes

Reading material

Obligatory literature

-

Literature developed by the Department

Available on Neptun.

Notes

-

Recommended literature

D. H. Lende and G. Downey (eds.): The encultured brain: An introduction on Neuroanthropology, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA 2015

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

Maximum of 15 % absence allowed

Mid-term exams

Students are required to write an essay about a Neuroanthropology topic chosen from the topics announced during the semester.

Making up for missed classes

According to the Code of Studies and Examinations.

Exam topics/questions

-

Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars

  • Dr. Csathó Árpád István