Psychology 3441F-001

Frontal Cortex and the Development of Cognitive Control

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

An in-depth theoretical and methodological examination of the association between the development of cognitive control and age-related changes in prefrontal cortex structure and function.

Antirequisite: The former 347G if taken in 2006

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit.  So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.

Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810, and one of Psychology 2040A/B, 2410A/B, 2220A, 2221A, or Neuroscience 2000

3 lecture/seminar hours, 0.5 course

Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.


2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor: J Bruce Morton

Office: Westminster Hall, Room 324 East

Phone: 519-661-2111, Ext. 84795                  

Office Hours: By appointment: please e-mail instructor        

Email: bmorton3@uwo.ca

 

Teaching Assistant:                                     

Office:                                                        

 Office Hours:                                              

Email:                                                         

 Time and Location of Classes:   Tuesdays, 12:30-3:30 pm, UCC 65

If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you.  Please visit:  http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

There is no textbook for this course. Readings will be posted on-line through the course webpage located through OWL.

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

Cognitive control follows a protracted developmental trajectory, showing continued development into early adulthood. This course will critically examine hypotheses concerning cortical, genetic, and experiential influences on the development of cognitive control through an examination of primary research findings. The goal of the course will be to introduce students to the central theoretical debates, empirical methods, and findings pertaining to these research questions.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, the successful student should be able to:

Learning Outcome

Learning Activities

Assessment 

Knowledge and Understanding

Identify (I), describe (De), and explain (E) concepts related to the development of prefrontal cortex and cognitive control.

Reading.

 

Class discussion.

 

Group presentations.

Examinations (IDeE)

 

Group presentation (DeE)

 

Term paper (DeE)

Abilities   

Critique and apply knowledge of developmental research methods.

 

Critique and apply knowledge of developmental theory.

 

Seek, find, and evaluate primary developmental research literature

 

Connect topics in basic science to one’s own experience.

Reading.

 

Class discussion.

 

Group presentations.

 

Term paper

Examinations

 

Group presentation.

 

Term paper.

 

 

 

 

 

Attributes

 

Communicate (Co) ideas and research-based evidence orally and in writing.

 

Distinguish (Di) cognitive and neurophysiological explanations of behaviour

 

Critical thinking (Ct)

 

Collaborative interactions (Ci)

Group presentation.

 

Class discussion.

 

Term paper.

 

Writing assignment (Co, Di, Ct)

 

Examinations (Co, Di)

 

Group presentation (Co, Ci, Di, Ct)

 

 

5.0     EVALUATION

MIDTERM EXAM 1 = 30%

MIDTERM EXAM 2 = 30%

TERM PAPER = 25%

CLASS PRESENTATION = 15%

 

Exams will be mixed format MC and SA questions. Exams will not be cumulative. Exams will be based on readings and lectures. Term paper will be a 20-page critical examination of a primary research paper of the student’s choosing on the topic of cognitive control and the development of the prefrontal cortex. Class presentations will involve groups of 3- to 5-students. One group will present per week at the beginning of class. Presentations will be on a topic of the group’s choosing, and can range from a debate to discussion of an applied topic related to course content.


Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:


70%     1000-level and 2000-level courses
72%     2190-2990 level courses
75%     3000-level courses
80%     4000-level courses
   
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):

A+  90-100      One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A    80-89        Superior work that is clearly above average
B    70-79        Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C    60-69        Competent work, meeting requirements
D    50-59        Fair work, minimally acceptable
F    below 50    Fail



6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

Tuesday, October 18, 2016, 12:30pm to 2:30pm IN CLASS

Tuesday, November 29, 2016, 12:30pm to 2:30pm IN CLASS


7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Date

Topic

Readings

 

Sep 13

Introduction

 

 

Sep 20

 

 

Development of Cognitive Control: a Role for Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)?

 

Diamond, 2002

Morton & Munakata, 2002

 

Sep 27

 

 

PFC & Cognitive Control: Lesion & Imaging Evidence

 

Milner, 1963

Diamond & Goldman-Rakic, 1989

Egner & Hirsch, 2005

Miller & Cohen, 2001

 

Oct 4

 

 

Protracted Development of PFC

 

Sowell et al., 2001

 

Oct 11

 

 

PFC Hypothesis Critically Examined

 

Cole & Schneider, 2007

Fair et al., 2007

Zanto et al., 2010

 

Oct 18

 

 

IN-CLASS MID-TERM EXAM

 

**Term paper assigned**

 

Nov 1

 

Genetics & Training

 

 

Friedman et al., 2008

Karbach & Kray, 2009

 

Nov 8

 

 

Gene-Environment Interaction

 

Scarr & McCartney, 1983

 

Nov 15

 

 

Development of PFC: Why so Protracted?

 

**Term paper DUE**

Dehaene-Lambertz et al., 2002

Thompson-Schill et al., 2009

 

Nov 22

 

 

Executive functioning & Education

 

TBA

 

Nov 29

 

 

IN-CLASS MID-TERM EXAM

 

 

 

Dec 6

 

 

Review

 

 

8.0     STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link:  http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com

Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.



9.0    POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/pg117.html

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html


10.0        OTHER INFORMATION

Office of the Registrar web site:  http://registrar.uwo.ca

Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca

Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:

    http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html

- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2016 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.