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Simone Grant

Professor Ethan Whittet

Advanced Writing in the Discipline

The Cognitive Neuroscience Society as a Discourse Community

The Cognitive Neuroscience Society, CogNeuro for short, is a discourse community

dedicated to exploring recent neuroscience discoveries, relating to a wide variety of

neuroscience-related disciplines that center upon the brain. Cognitive neuroscience is a wide

field, and topics discussed typically include subjects that focus on one or more section of

neuroscience relating to everyday life, with an emphasis on behavior. These topics are presented

in an informal manner as shown by the language of the news articles and twitter speak. The

cognitive neuroscience society is an informal gathering or hub, used to quickly share the newest

developments in neuroscience relating to everything from attention to biases to poverty, and it

communicates with an annual meeting that allows for communication between neuroscientists

regarding the discoveries recently made.

Upon first navigation to the website, the most attention grabbing images are the news

articles, and these range in content. Some of the featured stories are "We're Hard Wired for

Cranberry Sauce: Why Color Matters for Nutrition" and "A Cortical Cartographer's Journey:

Q&A with David Van Essen". These and other news articles are also linked to in the twitter feed

on the side of the page. Clicking either the home page news stories or the twitter links at the ends

of tweets leads to an assortment of other sources, but does not tend to include primary sources

such as journal articles. Instead, the links provided lead to interviews between the cognitive

neuroscience society professionals and professionals outside of CNS, or simplified

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interpretations of the information that has been obtained from primary research articles. The fact

that these news articles are the forefront of information upon first navigation to the CogNeuro

website indicates that researchers are likely interested in only the most up-to-date information,

and that those in this discourse community value new research developments and expansions

onto previous knowledge.

The language also seems to vary between different parts of the website, with the most

formal and professional language being used to describe the nature of the annual meeting,

requirements for joining the society, and the deadlines for obtaining a ticket to the annual meet.

Language is more down to earth in the interviews between CNS members when describing their

interests. For example, in an interview between the Lisa M.P. Munoz, she asks why shared

memory and individual differences in memory are important? and receives the following

response: The goal of science is to describe the whole world. That means we are not only

interested in how one individual persons memory works; we also should be explaining how

people compare to each other, and how their interactions with each other shape their memories.

(Chen). The text becomes more informal still when browsing the twitter feeds, as seen in one

tweet: Expression of explicit negative racial attitudes has dropped over the last 50 yrs, yet

#implicitbias still persists (CNS News) In this case, the CogNeuro society simplifies the

concepts of implicit bias in the context of a sentence without scientific terms, and is easily

understood by those who have not studied implicit bias specifically. The vocabulary is easy to

understand but not overly simple; for example, there are frequent references to anatomical terms

that the news sources make no effort to define, such as references to neurons or brain lobes.

Information regarding the release of certain chemicals called neurotransmitters is provided,

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which is likely present for those who are in the process of learning neuroscience but have not

completed their education.

The organization of the website seems to cater to those who have already joined the

society and also to those who have just discovered the society and want to learn more about its

focus, mission statement, and the benefits and costs of its membership. At the top of the page

upon entering the website, there are tabs that lead to the statement of the society and tabs that

describe how it is possible to join the society, and these are useful to the audience that would like

to join it. There is also a search bar in the top right corner of the website for those who have

trouble finding the information they need about the society. There is another section that allows

for the CNS to be contacted, and it appears to be available to be used by everyone who comes

across the webpage. The text is accessible to those who have first discovered the website, with

the important sections for learning about the organization right above the news stories, which

may be used for gathering interest in the topics that the society discusses.

There are other tabs at the top of the page describing the annual meeting, as well as a

"MyCNS" page which is restricted to members only. Both of these tabs are intended to be used

by those who are already members of the cognitive neuroscience society, and relay information

regarding events and programs that can be used by them. There is also an Annual Meeting tab,

which contains information about the cognitive neuroscience society meeting time, location, and

information. This is a useful resource for those who are already a part of the CNS and want to

contribute ideas in discussions and also to watch keynote speakers, participate in symposia,

present posters, and connect with colleagues. There are announcements of the annual meeting

frequently referenced throughout the text of the website as well, with announcements appearing

on the home page and under the news/press page. There is an accompanying piece of artwork at
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the top of the page of the golden gate bridge each time the annual meeting is announced. This

could in some ways be seen as an advertisement, especially with the friendly artwork and

encouraging language and the link to the Top 20 Attractions in San Francisco but it also serves

to be the primary way for members of the society to communicate at once outside of social

media or news feeds. The annual meeting seems to be intended to be used by neuroscientists who

are currently in the CogNeuro society, as a way to communicate their findings and engage in

discussion with their colleagues. This proves that the information presented on this website is not

limited to those who are attempting to join the society, but is also intended to be used for those

who are already a part of the society, and to encourage the gathering and sharing of new ideas.

The information and news stories on this website are presented in a basic form for those

who are new to the field of neuroscience, but not necessarily those who have no scientific

background at all. This indicates that the website may be intended for undergraduate or graduate

research scientists who have a background in neuroscience. The CNS may also be used by

professionals in other field who are interested in topics that they do not actively pursue, as the

journal article sources are present in each link that is shared between the CNS, and the language

is easily understood by those who have had a background in scientific concepts.

In closing, the cognitive neuroscience society is an informal hub used to quickly share the

newest developments in neuroscience, with an annual meeting that allows for more

communication regarding these discoveries and the opportunity to connect with colleagues in

neuroscience. This discourse community values up-to-date, relevant information and is used by

those with a background in neuroscientists, primarily neuroscience research scientists and those

who are training to become researchers.

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Works Cited

Munoz, Lisa, and Janice Chen. "CNS Home." Cognitive Neuroscience Society. Cognitive

Neuroscience Society, 23 Jan. 2017. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

CNS News. "Expression of explicit negative racial attitudes has dropped over the last 50

yrs, yet #implicitbias still persists" Twitter. CogNeuro News, 16 Jan. 2017. Web. 02 Feb.

2017.
"CNS." Cognitive Neuroscience Society. Cognitive Neuroscience Society, 1995-2015. Web.

02 Feb. 2017.

Acknowledgements

Id like to acknowledge Trevor Wind, Jiaxin Fan, and Professor Whittet for help in consolidating

my thoughts and defining this discourse community.