Syllabus for
Master of Science (Neuropsychology)
Academic Year  (2021)

The primary objective of the Master of Science in Neuropsychology Programme is to provide the student with skills to work as an entry level Professional Neuropsychologist.  The programme aims to provide fundamental knowledge in central nervous system functioning with implications for cognition, affect and behaviour across developmental stages. The course also aims to train the student in skills in assessment and intervention of individuals with neurological, neurosurgical and psychiatric conditions including traumatic brain injury, dementia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders and developmental disorders. The student is also trained in skills required for neuropsychological research.

Formative and Summative assessments are conducted by the department to ascertain the readiness for learning and the attainment of learning outcomes. Assessments are examinations are based on competency frame work and principles of outcome-based education. Attainment of learning outcomes/ expected competencies is evaluated using either holistic or analytic rubrics, grading schemes or attainment criteria specified to the students at the beginning of the semester. Learning outcomes (Course outcomes) of each course are mapped to programme outcomes. Assessments and examinations follow the principle of constructive alignment and outcomes are mapped to higher order thinking skills. Most common frameworks used in this programme include Revised Blooms Taxonomy, and Structure of Observed Learning outcomes (SOLO) and ICAP framework.

Assessment is based on the performance of the student throughout the semester.

Credit Structure
Normally 15 hours of classroom teaching in a semester is considered as one credit for theory courses.

• Courses with 30 hours per semester will earn the candidate 2 credits.
• Courses with 45-50 hours per semester will earn the candidate 3 credits.
• Courses with 51 hours and above per semester including practical will earn the candidate 4 credits.
• Dissertations/Practical equivalent to one course will earn the candidates 4-6 credits.

This course is designed to provide the structural framework for developing an understanding of the role of  CNS  in human behaviour. The topics provide an understanding of the development and the organizational structure of the brain, and generate an understanding of principles of electrical and chemical communication. Finally, the course also aims to generate a systems understanding of neural circuits.

Organizational Principles of CNS, Gross structure of CNS, Blood supply to the Brain, Brain development and plasticity - development of the brain, response to injury.

Grey matter, White matter; Basic anatomy and function of Cortical and Subcortical structures, Midbrain, Cerebellum & Spinal cord. Neuronal and glial structure.

Neurons & Glia; Signaling - Electrical and Chemical Communication, Simple Neural Circuit (e.g. H reflex); Neurotransmitters and Synaptic communication; Hormones and the brain.

Understanding Hierarchy and Parallel pathways in the brain - Typical plan for Motor system and Sensory System, Transmitter systems; Techniques in Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology: Histology, Electrophysiology and other current methods.

Kandel, E., Schwartz, J., Jessell, T., Jessell, D. B. M. B. T., Siegelbaum, S., & Hudspeth, A. J. (2012). Principles of Neural Science, Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill Publishing.

Kolb, B., Whishaw, I. Q., & Teskey, G. C. (2016). An introduction to brain and behavior. Worth

Carlson, N. R., & Birkett, M. A. (2017). Physiology of behavior (12th edition). Pearson.

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with an overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks to be eligible to write the ESE. 

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course.(CIA+ESE)

This course introduces the student to the neurobiological basis of cognitive functions such as sensation, perception, attention, consciousness

History and perspectives of Cognition, Advantages and limitations of the various perspectives; Methods of studying Cognition with specific reference to fMRI, EEG/MEG, TMS

Varieties of Attention, Theories of Attention, Visual, Auditory and Spatial Attention, Brain Networks of Attention.

Biological basis of perception and basic plan of generating sensory codes – Visual, Auditory, Touch, Pain, Smell; Visual perception-Form, Colour, Depth, Objects, Faces, and Scenes; Perception Motion and Action; Auditory perception – sound localization and speech perception.  Basic psychophysics and Signal Detection Theory.

Physiological correlations of Arousal; Factors affecting consciousness; Sleep: Stages and Rhythms of sleeping and waking, neural basis of biological clocks, neurophysiological mechanisms of REM sleep and dreaming and waking, Disorders of sleep.

Kalat, J. W. (2019). Biological psychology. Cengage.

Matlin M W (2013). Cognitive Psychology. 8th Edition. John Wiley & Sons.

Galotti, K.M. (2017). Cognitive Psychology In and Out of the Laboratory. 6th Edition.SAGE Publications, Inc.

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he willhave to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with an overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks to be eligible to write the ESE. 

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course. (CIA+ESE)

This course will blend classroom teaching and a seminar mode to engage with classic and current literature to develop an understanding of theories, models and current methodological approaches.

Evolution of the brain and Adaptive specializations of structure and function, its implications for Cognition; Lifespan perspectives of Piaget & Vygotsky; Brain development and Critical Periods. Influence of Genes and Environment.

Neuronal changes and cortical development, Nutrition and brain, Perceptual and Motor development, Attention & Memory; Language and learning.

Brain maturation process; Hormones and their influence on motivational and cognitive systems; Reasoning and decision making; Emotion processing

Aging processes in the brain, Attention, Memory, Language & Problem Solving; Arousal and Awareness.

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with an overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks to be eligible to write the ESE. 

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course. (CIA+ESE)

This course introduces the learner to social and personality development across the lifespan. Key aspects of the development of social and individual factors across different life stages will be explored. 

Introduction to major theories of understanding human development; Prenatal development; Social and Personality development at infancy and the pre-school years; Development of the theory of mind.

Psychosocial and Moral development in middle childhood and adolescence; Self-concept, Self-esteem, Sexuality and identity development during adolescence, Building friendships, Family life

Friendship and Romantic relationships, Marriage, Parenthood, Career Development; Mid-life crisis, Families in middle adulthood

Relationships in late adulthood; Elder abuse; Death and dying across the lifespan; Confronting death; Grief and bereavement

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with an overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks to be eligible to write the ESE. 

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course.(CIA+ESE)

This course has been conceptualized in order to inculcate awareness about legal and ethical aspects of practicing Neuropsychology in India. It highlights the commonly encountered ethical dilemmas in clinical practice and facilitates ethical decision-making in a multicultural context.

Course Objectives: This course will help the learner to gain familiarity with foundations of ethics, historical violations of ethical principles in research and practice, commonly encountered ethical dilemmas in research and clinical practice. It will help the learner gain awareness about different codes of ethics and develop a personal ethical decision-making model to resolve ethical dilemmas. 

History of ethical principles in Psychology; General Ethical Principles: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence; Fidelity and Responsibility, Integrity, Justice, Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity; Ethical standards; Resolving Ethical Issues, Competence, Human Relations, Privacy and Confidentiality, Advertising and Public Statements, Record Keeping and Fees, Education and Training, Research and Publication; Assessment, Therapy, Ethics in the Indian context

Ethics and the personal context: Morals, Virtues, Emotions; Developing a personal model for ethical decision making; Multiple relationships and Boundary issues, Close Encounters, Attraction, & Sexual Misconduct; Developing a contract: Informed consent, confidentiality and guidelines for contacting; Ethics related to confidentiality in digital age, Ethics in online assessment and intervention

 Ethical issues in working with children; persons with intellectual disability; persons with acquired and developmental cognitive deficits

Mental healthcare act 2017; Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016; Representing clients in court of law RTI Act, Consumer Protection Act

Ethics in Neuropsychology (2016). Retrieved from https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/sites/journalofethics.ama-assn.org/files/2018-06/joe-1612.pdf

The Mental Health Care Act. (2017). Retrieved from http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2017/175248.pdf

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with an overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks to be eligible to write the ESE.  

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course. (CIA+ESE)

This course provides an introduction to quantitative research methods and its application in Neuropsychology. It gives a comprehensive overview of the different types of research designs, sampling methods, and methods of data collection. The process of quantitative research with special emphasis on experimental design and designs pertinent to Neuropsychological research is covered through this course. 

Course objectives: This course will help the learner 

●Understand the importance of scientific enquiry in Neuropsychological practice

●Gain familiarity with the process of Quantitative research 

●Provide an overview of the different designs commonly used in Neuropsychological Research

History of scientific research in psychology; Definition of research; Purpose and need of research in Neuropsychology. Experimental, Exploratory and descriptive research; Ethical issues in Neuropsychological research

Causality and experimentation; Definition and nature of variables; operationally defining variables; Independent variables; Dependent variables; formulation of research problems and hypothesis; Different types of hypothesis; Experimental manipulation and control of variables; steps in quantitative research

Types of experimental design based on subjects and factors; Within-subjects, between-subjects, single-subject, single factor, and factorial design; Mixed design; Longitudinal studies, Cohort Studies, Case studies

Population and sample; Basic assumptions Sampling techniques: probability and non- probability sampling; Methods of data collection 

Gravetter, F. J., & Forzano, L.-A. B. (2018). Research methods for the behavioral sciences (Edition 6. ed.) [still image]. Cengage.

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with an overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks to be eligible to write the ESE. 

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course.(CIA+ESE)

In this course, students will be involved in supervised community service. Students are encouraged to work alongside NGOs or other professional bodies. Students will engage in activities such as children, adolescents, and youth teaching/tutoring, community organization, psychological assessment, and mental health awareness. Reflections on their interactions are an integral part of this course. Student engagement will be assessed by a supervisor. 

Course objectives: This course will help the learner: 

●To build awareness about the requirements of society. 

●To identify the needs of underprivileged communities. 

●To create mental health awareness among children, adolescents, and youth.

Community service: The concept, Objectives, and Scope; Need for community and Academia (University) interface. The role of psychologists in community service. Outcomes of community service: Personal outcome; Social outcome, Learning outcome, and Career outcome.

Students in groups will partner with various NGO’s and organizations working in the areas of education, development, interventions, and mental health. As part of the course requirement the students will be involved in the community-oriented activities of the organizations they affiliate with. The NGOs or Organizations along with the faculty coordinator will be responsible for the process delivery. These placements will offer students hands-on experiences in working with various issues in the community and facilitate meaningful learning

Reflection is a core component of Community service. It is a period of critical thinking performed by the student and is based on a specific or overall experience of the student. It guides students towards greater personal development by coming to a better understanding of their own values, opinions, and assumptions. The types of reflection which can be used are, class discussion, brainstorming, sharing of critical personal and group incidents, directed writings, experiential research paper, student portfolios and so on. The students are expected to discuss in groups at the end of this course using the following guidelines. Reason for choosing the organization • The planning phase of service-learning initiatives • Logistics for the initiative of the action • Stakeholders/beneficiaries • Execution of the action initiative • Specific learning outcome • Evaluation 

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 20 marks

CIA 2: 25 Marks

Class participation & Attendance: 5 marks

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with an overall CIA mark of 25/50 to pass the course.

In this course the students are required to identify an area of research relevant to the field of Neuropsychology. This course intends to help the learner identify a research problem and  develop a research proposal which would effectively address the identified problem. 

Identifying a problem;  Review of literature; Developing a problem statement- Identifying a research gap, the need, and significance of the study; Developing research objectives, questions and hypotheses.  

Development of methods; ethical consideration; submission and presentation of the proposal; IRB documentation

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 20 marks

CIA 2: 25 Marks

Class participation & Attendance: 5 marks

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with an overall CIA mark of 25/50 to pass the course.

This is an advanced course that introduces the student to the neurobiological basis of higher cognition and affect.  This is a continuation of paper 1 in the first semester.

Emotion Motivation &  Social Cognition - psychology & neurobiology of emotions, the influence of emotions on cognition; Motivation and Drives; Social Cognition.

Memory -  Cells to systems, Memory Systems - Declarative and Nondeclarative,  Working Memory.

Symbolic Representations -  Language production & comprehension, Time (circadian rhythms, interval timing) and Numerical Cognition.

Executive Processing - Executive Control Systems; Reasoning, Problem Solving and Decision Making;  Theories and methodologies.

Eysenck M.W. and Keane M.T. (2015). Cognitive Psychology: A Student's Handbook. 7th Edition. Psychology Press.

Kalat, J. W. (2019). Biological psychology. Cengage.

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with a minimum overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks, to be eligible to write the ESE. 

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course.(CIA+ESE)

This is a foundational course to neuropsychology highlighting the advent of neuropsychology as a discipline. This course offers a background to the course on ‘Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention’ offered in Semester III. The primary objective of the course is to provide a fundamental understanding of key aspects in Neuropsychology.

An introduction to Neuropsychology; Historical Background of Neuropsychology; The emergence of Neuropsychology as a discipline; The scope of Neuropsychology

Invasive techniques; Electrical procedures; In-vivo imaging: Structural and Functional; Neuropsychological Assessment

Head Trauma, Vascular Disorders; Degenerative disorders; Toxic conditions; Infectious processes; Neoplasms; Oxygen deprivation; Aphasia

Comparison standards for deficit measurement- normative and individual standards; measurement of deficit- direct and indirect; the deficit measurement paradigm

Lezak, M. D. (2012). Neuropsychological assessment (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. 

Stirling, J. D. (2001). Introducing neuropsychology. Routledge.

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with a minimum overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks, to be eligible to write the ESE. . 

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course.(CIA+ESE)

This course covers the domain of psychopathology. The scientific bases of contemporary theories and research regarding psychological disorders with emphasis on deficits in specific cognitive domains will be studied, with a goal of helping the student recognize and conceptualize the disorders. Students will learn about the classification systems, types and causes of mental disorders, their assessment, and treatment.

Classification systems: Conceptions of Psychopathology; Etiological models

Neurocognitive disorders: Delirium, Dementia, Amnesic disorder TBI, Epilepsy: Clinical picture and etiology; Schizophrenia: Clinical Picture, etiology

Substance use Disorders: Common features of addiction, Commonly used drugs: Nicotine, Cannabis, Cocaine, Opiates, Amphetamines, Alcohol; Anxiety disorders: Panic disorder, & GAD: Clinical Picture, etiology; Trauma and stressor-related disorders: PTSD, OCD & Tourette Syndrome

Neurodevelopmental disorders: Learning disability, Intellectual disability, Autistic disorders; ADHD; Mood disorders: Major depression & bipolar disorders: Clinical Picture, etiology

American Psychological Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th.ed.)(DSM-5). Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (Pvt) Ltd

Carlson, N.R. (2004). Physiological of behaviour (8th .ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with a minimum overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks, to be eligible to write the ESE. 

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course.(CIA+ESE)

This course extends the learning in Quantitative research methods in Psychology by introducing students descriptive and inferential statistics. Students will be given opportunity in this course to carry out statistical analysis. Students will be trained in software packages such as SPSS, Excel & other open-source statistical packages. The central objective of the course is to provide an exposure to quantitative analysis techniques.

Scales of measurement; Definition and purpose of psychological statistics; Probability distribution and normal curve; Measures of central tendency and variability; Graphical representation of data 

Confidence interval and odds- ratio; Levels of significance, type – I and type – II errors, one-and two-tailed tests; Parametric and nonparametric tests of significance; 

Correlation: product-moment, point-biserial, phi, biserial, tetrachoric, spearman’s correlation coefficients; Regression, Mediation, Moderation; Excel, SPSS & open-source statistical packages - Data entry and Descriptive statistical analysis, Reporting Statistics

Statistical analysis of single - sample study: testing a sample mean by t-test; Statistical analysis of two sample experiments: the independent samples t-test, the dependent sample t-test; Statistical analysis of complex experiments: analysis of variance – F test (computing and interpreting one-way, two-way ANOVA and their logic);MANOVA and Post-hoc tests; Non parametric tests - within and between group;  Inferential statistical analysis using EXCEL, SPSS & open source statistical packages , APA 7th edition style of report writing 

Garrett, H.E (2005). Statistics in Psychology and Education. Paragon international Publishers.

Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (2002). Essentials of statistics for the behavioral sciences (4th ed.). Wadsworth/Thomson Learning

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with a minimum overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks, to be eligible to write the ESE. 

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course.(CIA+ESE)

This course provides students with an opportunity to develop skills in assessment, administration, scoring and interpretation of psychological test (clinical rating scales, projective and semi-projective measures)

Sacks Sentence Completion Test (SSCT); Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM A), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS)

Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), Childhood Autism Rating Scale- 2nd edition (CARS2), Conners 3rd edition 

Kaplan, R.M & Saccuzzo, D. P (2009). Psychological testing: Principles, Applications and Issues. 7 th Edition, Wadsworth.

End semester examination (ESE) - 30%   

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 30 marks

CIA 2: 30 Marks

Class participation: 5 marks

Attendance: 5 marks 

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with a minimum overall CIA mark of 33/65 including class participation marks, to be eligible to write the ESE.  

End Semester Examination (ESE)

The passing grade for the ESE is 40%

An overall grade of 50% is required to pass the course.(CIA+ESE)

The course aims at consolidation of the service-learning initiative begun in the first semester. Course Objectives: The course helps the learner engage with the community, conduct psychodiagnostic testing in the community and screen for mental health issues.

In this course students will spend two hours a week or a total of 30 hours during the semester involved in supervised community service. Students will carry out psychological assessments and screen for mental health concerns in the community.

Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA)

CIA 1: 20 marks

CIA 2: 25 Marks

Class participation & Attendance: 5 marks

All CIAs are must pass assessments with a passing grade of 50%. If a student does not meet the passing grade for CIA, s/he will have to repeat the CIA again before moving to the next CIA. The student must pass all the CIA components with an overall CIA mark of 25/50 to pass the course.