Not only doctors, even cognition science holds answer to psychological disorders

Bengaluru: How does the brain function? What causes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? How to deal with schizophrenia? One needn't be a medical professional to assess psychological trauma, analyze behavioural disorders or come up with remedies for patients with motor disabilities. Studying cognition science, a not-so-popular subject in the country yet, can help one decode the brain's processes.
Thirty students from 24 institutes across India willing to conduct research on cognition science are in for a holistic experience at the centre for neurosciences at Indian Institute of Science (IISc). They are participating in the Bangalore Cognition Workshop, which kicked off on June 22.
Supratim Ray, assistant professor, centre for neuroscience, told TOI: "The workshop is divided into five focused modules - vision, brain signals at multiple scales, attention, motor systems and memory and spatial navigation. Each module consists of seven lectures and a panel discussion on open challenges. There are four lab sessions on psychophysics, electroencephalogram (EEG), brain imaging and neurophysiology to enhance the scope of research among students."
While about five universities in India offer a specialized course on cognition science, of which neuroscience is a discipline, the professors at IISc have seen a considerable increase in numbers. Of the 230 applications received this year, 30 have been shortlisted.
Goldy Yadav, a PhD student from IIT Gandhinagar who is specializing in cognition science, attended the workshop. She said, "Cognition science answers what the brain does, be it behavioural patterns, one's decision-making ability, perception or attention capacity. We conduct experiments to see how money manipulates a person's decision- making skills." "The subject also enables us to study various motor disabilities and device better rehabilitation strategies for patients with Parkinson's disease or stroke," she added.
Nilambari Hajare, project assistant at National Brain Research Centre in Gurgaon, said: "We know how to integrate auditory and visual information and learn the causes behind illusions. Our experiments help us come out with solutions for schizophrenia, and optical and auditory illusions. We collate our research data on computers."
"Students like me who are not willing to join medicine but have immense interest in psychology and philosophy can easily take up this subject for specialization. Cognition science not only widens the scope of science but also provides students with a new career possibility," she added.
In a nascent stage
In India, cognition science is still in a nascent stage. We need more foreign intervention to enable us come up with innovations, both in terms of education and opportunities. The workshop a platform which brings together neuroscientists and professors from India and abroad, who provide enriching insights into the subject
Varsha Vasudevan, PhD student, IISc
All-in-one discipline
Cognition science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind and intelligence, which embraces philosophy, psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, linguistics and anthropology.