Imaging the Mind: consciousness, higher mental and social processes

This doctoral programme (DK+) aims to provide students with a balance of theoretical and experimental expertise within specific areas of cognitive science as well as training in neuroscientific methods for the investigation of the neurological substrate of mental functioning. The participating faculty and their research groups all have an international reputation in specialist areas ranging from experimental cognitive psychology, social psychology, and malfunction of mental processes, to the development of specific neuroscientific methods. Their respective areas of expertise include linguistic structures (Haider), reading processes (Wimmer), consciousness in dementia and vegetative state (Ladurner), mental explanation of behaviour ("theory of mind," Perner), decision processes (Kühberger) including gambling addiction (Wurst), stress, emotion regulation and mental disorders (Wilhelm), motivational foundations of social thinking and behaviour (Jonas), cognitive effects of hormones (Kerschbaum), and novel methods in EEG research (Klimesch). This internationally renowned cluster of expertise in studying cognitive processes receives optimal equipment resources from the Centre for Neurocognitive Research (CNCR). The CNCR offers a knowledge platform combined with an exceptional set of up-to-date neuroscientific research methods: 3T-MRI scanner, compatible EEG, TMS/navigation, eye tracking, and somatic physiology systems. It is jointly supported by the Department of Psychology at the Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg (PLUS) and the Department of Neurology at the Christian Doppler Clinic (CDK). The CNCR equipment is exclusively dedicated to research, which provides a unique opportunity for graduate students to have generous access to such equipment for learning these modern techniques and using them in their thesis research. The faculty members of the DK+ enjoy excellent world wide international connections, which guarantee opportunity for exchange studies abroad, provide a flow of international experts in departmental colloquia, and enhance international job prospects for graduates.