Psychology 3440F-001
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
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 introduction to the way in which genetic and experiential factors interactively contribute to the emergence of adaptive neural structures underlying visual processing, face perception, number processing, language, memory and executive functions.Antirequisite: The former 347G if taken in 2007
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, 2220A/B, 2221A/B, 2410A/B or Neuroscience 2000
3 lecture/seminar hours, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the requisites 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: Dr. J Bruce Morton
Office and Phone Number: WH324: 519-661-2111 x84795
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: jbrucemorton@gmail.com
Teaching Assistant: Mazen El-Baba
Office: WH215
Office Hours: TBA
Email: melbaba86@gmail.com
Time and Location of Classes: Tuesdays 12:30pm to 3:30pm, 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
Johnson, M. H. (2011). Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 4th Edition. Blackwell Publishing: Oxford: UK.4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course provides an introduction to the theoretical, methodological, and empirical foundations of the field of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.5.0 EVALUATION
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/handbook/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
MIDTERM EXAM = 30%
TERM PAPER = 30%
FINAL EXAM = 40%
Exams will be mixed format MC and SA questions. Term paper will be a 20-page write-up of an independent developmental cognitive neuroscience research proposal.
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
FINAL EXAMINATION: Scheduled by the Registrar’s Office
Exams will be mixed format MC and SA questions and will NOT be cumulative. Term paper will be a 20-page write-up of an independent developmental cognitive neuroscience research proposal.
Students who are unable to attend a MIDTERM examination and provide the necessary documentation to the Academic Counsellors in their home faculty will be given an opportunity to write a MAKE-UP examination. There will be one date and time for the MAKE-UP exam which will be determined after the MIDTERM exam date. The format of the MAKE-UP exam will be different than the format of the MIDTERM exam.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2015. Introduction to Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Tuesday, September 22, 2015. Theoretical Perspectives
Johnson, (2011). Chapter 1—The biology of change
Johnson, (2001). Functional brain development in humans. Nature Neuroscience Reviews, 2, 475-483.
Munakata, Casey, & Diamond (2004). Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: Progress and Potential. Trends in Cognitive Science, 8, 122-128.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015. Research Methods
Johnson, (2011). Chapter 2—Methods and Populations
Casey, B. J., Tottenham, N., Liston, C., & Durston, S. (2005). Imaging the developing brain: What have we learned about cognitive development? Trends in Cognitive Science, 9, 104-110.
Segalowitz, S. J., & Davies, P. L. (2005). Charting the maturation of the frontal lobe: An electrophysiological strategy. Brain and Cognition, 116-133.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015. Brain Development
Johnson, (2011). Chapter 4—Building a brain
Tuesday, October 13, 2015. Genetics
Lenroot, R., et al., (2009). Genetic and environmental influence on the human cerebral cortex associated with development during childhood and adolescence. Human Brain Mapping, 30, 163-174.
Rueda et al., (2006). Training, maturation, and genetic influences on the development of executive attention. PNAS, 102, 14931-14936.
Scarr, S. & McCartney, K. (1983). How people make their own environments: A theory of Genotype -> Environment effects. Child Development, 54, 424-435.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Language Development + REVIEW and Examination preparation
Tuesday, October 27, 2015. MIDTERM EXAMINATION 1 + TERM PAPER ASSIGNED
Tuesday, November 3, 2015. Focus topic 1: Development of executive functioning
Johnson, (2011). Chapter 10—Prefrontal cortex, working memory, and decision-making
Diamond A. Normal development of prefrontal cortex from birth to young adulthood: cognitive functions, anatomy and biochemistry. In: Stuss DT, Knight, R. T (ed.), Principles of Frontal Lobe Function. Oxford University Press, New York, 2002; 466-503.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015. Focus topic 2: Development of arithmetic proficiency
Johnson, (2011). Chapter 6—Perceiving and acting on the physical world, pp. 113-117
Rivera, S.M., et al. (2005) Developmental changes in mental arithmetic: evidence for increased functional specialization in the left inferior parietal cortex. Cereb Cortex 15, 1779-1790.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015. Focus topic 3: Face processing
Johnson, (2011). Chapter 7—Perceiving and acting on the social world, pp. 120-140
Tuesday, November 24, 2015. Focus topic 4: Social development—animal models
Suomi, S (2006). Risk, resilience, and gene x environment interactions in rhesus monkeys. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 1094, 52-62.
**TERM PAPER DUE**
Tuesday, December 1, 2015. Focus topic 6: Atypical development
Rossen, M., Klima, E.S., Bellugi, U., Bihrle, A., & Jones, W. (1996). Interaction between language and cognition: evidence from Williams syndrome. In J. H. Beitchman, N. J Cohen, M. M. Konstantareos, & R. Tannock (Eds.) Language, Learning, and Behavior Disorders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Green, L., Fein, D., Joy, S., Waterhouse, L. (1995). Cognitive functioning in Autism: An overview. In Eric Schloper and Gary Mesibov (Eds.), Learning and Cognition in Autism. New York: Plenum Press.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015. Applied topics in DCN; Integration and 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
The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/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
- 2015 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
