Psychology 2220B-001

Introduction to Behavioural and 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

Structure and function of the nervous system in relation to behaviour. The physiological basis of the major aspects of behaviour in human and other animals (principally mammals) will be covered, including: sensorimotor control, sleep and waking cycles, reproduction, ingestion, aggression, learning, memory, communication, and behavioural disorders. Some background in biology is desirable. This course is the normal prerequisite for Psychology 3285F/G.

 

Antirequisite: Neuroscience 2000, Psychology 2221A/B

 

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.

 

Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 level Psychology course. The former Psychology 1200 and/or a background in biology is strongly recommended.

3 lecture 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:                                                    Dr. Jody Culham

Office and Phone Number:                           Natural Sciences Centre, Room 207

Office Hours:                                               By appointment.

Email:                                                          jculham@uwo.ca (Please include scoltman@uwo.ca “2220” in the e-mail subject line)

 

Teaching Assistant:                                      Ysabel Domingo

Office Hours:                                               By appointment.

Email:                                                          bdomingo@uwo.ca

 

Time and Location of Lectures:                     Tuesdays, 12:30-2:20 Thursdays, 1:30-2:20

Talbot College 141


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  BRAIN MODEL AND TEXTBOOK

Purchase of small brain model is required. These will be available at the Western Bookstore.

https://www.learningresources.com/product/brain+anatomy+model.do

 

Purchase of the following textbook is OPTIONAL.

 

Breedlove and Watson: Behavioral Neuroscience (8th edition) or Biological Psychology (7th edition and earlier)

Sinauer Press

ISBN: 978-1-60535-418-7 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-1-60535-642-6 (looseleaf version for 3-ring binder)

 

The current, full-priced 8th edition is available at the campus bookstore and on Amazon.ca (~$145). Cheaper looseleaf and eBook versions are available from the publisher’s web site (http://www.sinauer.com/behavioral-neuroscience-862.html). If you decide to buy the textbook, it is not necessary to buy the current edition. You can also find affordable older editions on sites like Amazon and eBay.

 

Let me repeat: THE TEXTBOOK IS OPTIONAL. You can buy it or not. You can read it or not. There will be no exam questions that come from the book but not the lectures. You could get 100% in the course without even glancing at the textbook (but you would have to attend every lecture and learn actively). Students who attend classes regularly will likely still benefit from reading the text to reinforce the concepts discussed in class. Students who miss a lot of classes will struggle to extract the material from the slides alone and the text may help to learn some (but not all) of the material covered in class.

 

Up-to-date course material will be posted on https://owl.uwo.ca. Lecture slides will be posted on OWL by

~8 pm the night before the class. Slides tend to have many images and not too much text (to encourage you to come to class, pay attention, and learn actively). Links to relevant websites will also be posted on OWL.

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course will address the structure and function of the nervous system and how it controls behavior. The course will begin with foundational material, including neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, brain evolution, and brain development. Subsequently, we will examine specific neural systems and the effects of neural dysfunction. Although the course will require some  memorization of information, there will be an emphasis on understanding general principles of biopsychology, applying them to new situations, and thinking logically and critically about the links between brain and behavior. Because the course is only one semester (but there is enough material for a two-semester course), for some topics we will only discuss the most important or interesting aspects of the material.

 

Goals:

  • Learn how the nervous system works at the macro (anatomical) and micro (neural) level
  • Learn how the nervous system evolves and develops
  • Learn how the brain can be studied and linked to behavior
  • Get an introduction to the role of the brain in a variety of sensory, motor and cognitive functions
  • Get an introduction to some of the ways that behavior can be affected by brain dysfunction
  • Develop an appreciation for the wonder, beauty and sophistication of the brain

   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Identify the key structures of the nervous system and their critical functions.
  2. Describe and explain how the units of the nervous system (neurons and synapses) code and process information.
  3. Describe, communicate, and apply the major principles of biopsychology including.
    1. Nervous system organization results from a long history of evolution of species as well as the experiences of individuals during development and through learni
    2. Sensory systems bring information from the world to the nervous system.
    3. The motor system sends information from the nervous system to the world (via the body).
    4. Intermediate (association) systems transform information to enable sophisticated cognitive skills and even consciousness.
    5. 6. Brain function (or dysfunction) can be used to explain a broad range of human and animal behaviors (including dysfunctional behaviors).

 

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/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

Midterm Exam #1 (25%)

Tuesday Feb. 6, 1 hour, in class (TC 141). Covers material from first ~1/3

 

Midterm Exam #2 (25%)

Tuesday March 13, 1 hour, in class (TC 141). Covers material from second ~1/3

 

Final Exam (50%)

Scheduled by Registrar during exam period (April 14-30), 2 hours

Covers all course material from entire semester, with emphasis on last ~1/3

 

Exam format: Multiple choice. All exams are closed-book with no aids or electronic devices allowed. Do not sit beside friends or study partners during the exam.


The professor has a policy never to adjust grades at the end of the term because students “need” a particular grade (for example for program admissions). Students who are experiencing problems in the course should contact the professor at the first signs of trouble to discuss strategies for improving performance.


7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

 

DAY

DATE

TOPIC

CH.

WT.

1

Tues.

2018-01-09

Course Introduction and Expectations: Why are brains

1

 

 

 

 

fascinating? How can we learn about brains?

 

 

2

Thurs.

2018-01-11

What are brains? (Neuroanatomy)

2

 

3

Tues.

2018-01-16

How are brains organized? (Neuroanatomy)

2

 

4

Thurs.

2018-01-18

How are brains organized? (Neuroanatomy)

2

 

5

Tues.

2018-01-23

How do neurons work? (Neurophysiology)

3

 

6

Thurs.

2018-01-25

How do neurons communicate? (Neurochemistry)

4

 

7

Tues.

2018-01-30

How do drugs modify neural communication? (Drugs)

4

 

8

Thurs.

2018-02-01

How do hormones affect brain and behavior?

5

 

 

 

 

(Hormones)

 

 

 

Tues.

2018-02-06

MIDTERM #

 

25%

9

Thurs.

2018-02-08

Tutorial/Demo

 

 

10

Tues.

2018-02-13

How do brains evolve? (Evolution)

6

 

11

Thurs.

2018-02-15

How do brains evolve? (Evolution)

6

 

 

Tues.

2018-02-20

READING WEEK

 

 

 

Thurs.

2018-02-22

READING WEEK

 

 

12

Tues.

2018-02-27

How do brains develop? (Development)

7

 

13

Thurs.

2018-03-01

How do brains develop? (Development)

7

 

14

Tues.

2018-03-06

How do brains take in information? (Senses)

8-10

 

15

Thurs.

2018-03-08

How do brains take in information (Senses)

8-10

 

 

Tues.

2018-03-13

MIDTERM #2

 

25%

16

Thurs.

2018-03-15

How do brains send out information to control the

11

 

 

 

 

body? (Motor Control)

 

 

17

Tues.

2018-03-20

How do brains remember? (Memory)

17

 

18

Thurs.

2018-03-22

How do brains remember? (Memory)

17

 

19

Tues.

2018-03-27

How do brains perform cognitive functions?

18, 19

 

 

 

 

(Cognition)

 

 

20

Thurs.

2018-03-29

How do brains perform cognitive functions? (Cognition)

18, 19

 

21

Tues.

2018-04-03

What can go wrong with brains? (Psychopathology)

16

 

22

Thurs.

2018-04-05

What can go wrong with brains? (Psychopathology)

16

 

23

Tues.

2018-04-10

How can brains be conscious? (Consciousness)

18

 

 

 

TBD

FINAL EXAM (Apr 14-30)

 

50%

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://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2017/pg954.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
- 2017 Calendar References

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