Psy & Neuroscience of Thought

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Module Title The Psychology and Neuroscience of Spontaneous Thought Module Code: PSU34760 Lecturer(s) Paul Dockree Contact Hours One semester: 11 lectures; 103 hours independent study ECTS Value 5 ECTS (= 125 hours of student time) Rationale and Aims Rationale: Mental experience is not always anchored to the present moment; instead, when the constraints of cognitive control are released, the mind is free to transition from one mental state to the next. Spontaneous thought encompasses a range of mental phenomena that are an intrinsic part of the human experience. These include mind- wandering, daydreams, vivid fantasy, inner speech, creative insights and the nightly manifestations of dreaming. There are also negative ramifications of an excessively wandering mind including distractibility in disorders of attention, obsessive thoughts in OCD, uncontrolled ruminations in depression, and disinhibited traumatic imagery in PTSD. This module will ask, what are these various unconstrained modes of thought? How are they generated and instantiated in the brain? Why does the mind and brain devote time and energy to generating these spontaneous mental states? Moreover, this course will consider how we can guard against unwarranted mind- wandering by reflecting on techniques such as meditation, mindfulness and their philosophical origins, and how altered states of consciousness can shed light on the content and dynamics of spontaneous thought.