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Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten why? Struggled to remember a fact for an exam you know you studied? Or wondered how we forget where we kept our keys but remember a childhood song perfectly? Our memory is the very fabric of our identity, yet it is not a perfect recording device鈥攊t is a dynamic, fallible, and fascinating construction of the brain.
But how does it actually work? Is memory a single video file in your head, or is it something far more complex? Is a memory made of chemical molecules in our brain? Is it stored in a single region, or is it a pattern of connections spread across your mind? What biological changes occur when you learn something new? This course will provide the answers, transforming your abstract curiosity into concrete understanding.
The Memory Lab is a live, interactive course that puts you in the shoes of a cognitive scientist. You will not just learn about memory鈥攜ou will build the tools to experiment on it. You will not just learn the facts鈥攜ou will discover how to use this knowledge to study smarter, not harder. Blending psychology, neuroscience, and real-world application, this course will change how you think about thinking. The course also explores the all-time-favorite legendary case study of patient H.M., a man who could not form new memories, and discover how his story unlocked the secrets of explicit, implicit, semantic, and episodic memory.
The course will culminate with a capstone project: where you will code classic memory experiments and run them on yourselves and your classmates, using PsychoPy, the same software used by professional researchers. As part of this project, you will design your own experiment on false memory, create an evidence-based study guide, and gain powerful insights into eyewitness testimony and effective learning techniques you can use immediately.
What鈥檚 more? Top students will also achieve an extended opportunity to visit the Ashoka Virtual Reality Lab and observe and conduct cognitive science research experiments.
This course is for high schoolers studying Psychology or considering it for higher education. It is also for students interested in interdisciplinary fields of psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science and health sciences . It is ideal for those keen on delving deeper into the intricacies of brain function.
Prerequisites: High proficiency in written & spoken English. You will be required to submit your latest mark sheet in the application form.聽
By the end of the programme, you will:
1. Design and build simple behavioural experiments using beginner-friendly PsychoPy software.
2. Understand the architecture of memory through the story of patient H.M.: explicit vs. implicit, semantic vs. episodic.
3. Discover the brain鈥檚 memory maestro鈥攖he hippocampus鈥攁nd the concepts of amnesia and consolidation.
4. Apply cognitive principles to real-world scenarios like studying for exams and understanding eyewitness reliability.
5. Design your own original experiment on false memory.
6. Create a published 鈥滳ognitive Science Study Guide鈥� poster with evidence-based techniques.
| Week | Lecture Module | Project Module |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Your Brain鈥檚 RAM: The Short-Term Memory
Is memory one thing or many? How many items can it hold? Is Dive into the science of |
PsychoPy Builder Workshop: Designing Experiments
Jump right into the tools of the trade! Code through classic STM experiments. Example: a serial position effect task or a span task in PsychoPy. Run the experiments and collect your own data. |
| Week 2 |
Librarian of the Brain: Patient H.M. and the Many Types of Memory Meet patient H.M., our most important teacher. Through his story, we explore the hippocampus, amnesia, and the critical differences between explicit (semantic & episodic) and implicit memory. |
Diagnose the Case: A Neuropsychological Puzzle
Peer Collaboration Activity: Work in teams to role play becoming cognitive detectives. Analyze summaries of other famous historical case studies (e.g., K.C., Clive Wearing) and use your knowledge to 鈥漝iagnose鈥� their memory profiles. |
| Week 3 | Memory on Trial: The Science of False Memory
How reliable is eyewitness testimony? Explore the malleability of memory, how suggestions can create vivid false memories, and the real-world consequences in the justice system. |
Design Your Own False Memory Experiment
Building on PsychoPy skills – Design your own experiment protocol to test a question about false memory. *This will be the first step of your capstone project. |
| Week 4 | Study Smarter, Not Harder: The Cognitive Science of Learning
Why do we forget? Apply cognitive science to learning. Discover evidence-based techniques like spaced repetition, retrieval practice, and elaborative interrogation that make studying more effective. |
Create Your 鈥滳ognitive Study Guide鈥� Poster
Peer Collaboration Activity: Synthesize your learning into a visually compelling poster that explains key cognitive principles and provides practical study tips. The best posters will be published in a digital booklet for all students! |
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颁辞耻苍蝉别濒濒颈苍驳:听 Get a chance to ask questions to the faculty and the mentor and get their answers and perspective.聽 You are encouraged to ask questions to the faculty around the following aspects:
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Mentoring: You are encouraged to ask questions to the mentor around the following aspects:
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Your capstone project is a two-part journey into applied cognitive science:
1. The Experimental Psychologist: You will formalize the experiment you designed in Week 3 and build it using the PsychoPy software. You will write a brief report outlining your hypothesis and method, and if time allows, pilot it with classmates. This demonstrates your ability to move from a concept to a testable digital experiment.
2. The Science Communicator: You will complete and refine your 鈥淐ognitive Science Study Guide鈥� poster from Week 4. This poster will translate complex research on memory encoding and retrieval into clear, actionable, and effective study strategies for students. The most outstanding guides will be compiled into a digital publication and shared with the entire cohort, providing a valuable and practical takeaway from the course.
Dipanjan Ray is a clinician-turned-cognitive neuroscientist and psychologist, currently serving as faculty at 51茶馆. He leads the Mind Brain Body Society Lab (MBBSlab), where his work spans brain dynamics, mental health, and human鈥搕echnology interaction. His research focuses on understanding core cognitive processes such as perception, memory, and motor control in mental health and other clinical conditions. He uses a range of neuroimaging and experimental tools鈥攊ncluding fMRI, EEG, MEG, DTI, eye tracking, VR, and TMS鈥攖ogether with advanced statistical and computational methods to probe the dynamics of the human brain.
Originally trained as a clinician, Dipanjan earned his MBBS from National Medical College, Kolkata and MD from Medical College, Kolkata, Asia鈥檚 first medical college. He later transitioned into cognitive neuroscience, completing postdoctoral fellowships at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), India, and the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), San Sebasti谩n, Spain.
Grading, Assessments, Certification and much more
All Ashoka Horizons courses offer a certificate on satisfactory completion of the course.聽
Class participation will be assessed based on your active engagement in live sessions, contributions to discussion forums, and involvement in Teaching Fellow-led activities.聽
Achieve More鈥ith Horizons:
*For select students, subject to the discretion of the faculty
This programme is administered through an online platform. Students are expected to have a foundational understanding of computer usage, including but not limited to sending emails and conducting Internet searches. Consistent access to the Internet and a computer that aligns with the are also requisite for participation in the programme.
Have a question about Ashoka Horizons Achievers Programme? Write to us on horizons@ashoka.edu.in
The certificate I received, along with my grades and letter of academic appreciation will help me put forward an impressive SOP when I apply to colleges. Also, I鈥檝e gained a lot of information which will help me in my study further with the subject of psychology.
…helped me overcome my inhibitions to interact with a group of unknown participants who share a common interest in psychology . Hearing everyone鈥檚 views & expressing my own made the communication process really dynamic . It indeed enriched me & I always looked forward to the next weekend eagerly .
Prof. Simantini Ghosh
Assistant Professor of Psychology, 51茶馆
Ph.D. University of Rochester
Schedule:May 23, 2026 (Saturday) – June 14, 2026 (Sunday)*
Alok Bhattacharya
Professor of Biology, 51茶馆
Ph.D. Jawaharlal Nehru University
Sandeep Ameta
Assistant Professor of Biology, 51茶馆
Ph.D. Heidelberg University
Schedule:To be announced
Prof Dipankar Bhattacharya
Head of the Department, Physics,
Sunanda and Santimay Basu Professor of Astrophysics, 51茶馆
Ph.D. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Schedule:To be announced
