School of Design, Engineering & Computing

New degrees Master the effects of ageing

10 May 2011

Effects of aging provide the focus of two new Masters degrees to be offered by Bournemouth University.

The way our brains function and respond to normal and abnormal psychological processes and behaviours is the focus of two new Masters degrees to be offered by Bournemouth University.

The degrees in Lifespan Neuropsychology and Ageing, Neuropsychology and Cognition respond to the need for researchers and other qualified practitioners to help us understand the normal and abnormal changes that occur in the human brain during our lifetimes. Perhaps, more importantly, the two courses directly address the issues associated with these changes as well as considering the wider social and psychological effects of ageing.

Students of the MSc in Lifespan Neuropsychology will work with a small group of researchers to examine the neuropsychological and cognitive changes that occur during human development from birth through childhood into adulthood. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of mental illness and neurological injury and will learn to use neuropsychological tests to accurately assess cognitive deficits.

Those taking the MSc in Ageing, Neuropsychology and Cognition will gain an in-depth knowledge of our thought processes and the effects of neurological impairments on these processes in old age. Students will also focus on the prevention of health problems known to be associated with ageing including the prevention of falls and adaptation to chronic illness, as well as the emotional side of facing retirement, loneliness and social isolation.

“Both of these new degrees will engage students in experimental psychological research to help them better understand the way we think and behave, and the way our thought processes develop and change throughout our lives,” said Dr Simon Thompson, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology and Acting Head of the Psychology Academic Group, Psychology Research Centre at Bournemouth University.

“Understanding the latter period of our lives is particularly important as recent predictions see the UK’s population of over 65’s increasing rapidly in the decades to come,” he added. “This demographic change alone will place added strain on society and the economy as we attempt to adjust and cope.”

BU’s Psychology Research Centre brings together researchers in clinical and health psychology, cognition and neuroscience, developmental psychology and education, information and communications technology, and environmental psychology.