Psychology 4295F-001
Special Topics in Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience
"Sensory Systems in Enriched and Impoverished Environments"
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
Selected topics of current interest in BCN Psychology.
Psychology 2220A/B, 2221A/B or Neuroscience 2000, and registration in third or fourth year Honours Specialization in Psychology, Honours Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Honours Specialization in Neuroscience, or Honours Specialization in Animal Behaviour.
Other Psychology students and Psychology Special Students who receive 70% in the prerequisite course(s) may enrol in this 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.
3 seminar hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Blake Butler
Office and Phone Number: WIRB 6126, (519) 661-2111 x 85831
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: bbutler9@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Thursdays 1:30pm-4:30pm, WIRB 1160
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
There is no textbook for this class. Instead, a list of required readings will be posted to the OWL site. Each
reading will be available through the library either as a physical copy or digitally, accessible through a
search mechanism such as PubMed or Google Scholar.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of this course is to extend your conceptual and theoretical knowledge of sensorysystem development to include exceptional circumstances. A secondary aim is to help develop the skills
necessary to appraise the available literature, and to adopt and defend a position either through writing or
oral presentation. Topics will include the influence of enriched and deprived experience on sensory
development, the relationship between sensory representations of our environments, and how sensory
experience may influence non-sensory behaviours. Students will have the opportunity to present research
in an area that interests them, and to engage their classmates in debate on open topics. Course work and
evaluation will consist of individual written assignments, an oral presentation, and in-class participation.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning Outcome Assessment
Demonstrate a clear understanding of
the influence of experience on
sensation & perception
In-class participation that reflects an
advance reading of material and
effort to understand details therein
Develop the capacity to summarize and
critically appraise scientific literature for
a generalist audience
Seminar-style presentation of an
assigned reading to peer group
Develop the capacity to prepare and
deliver careful criticism
Debate preparation and participation
Demonstrate mastery of a specific topic
by integrating and extending upon
current literature
Written final examination
5.0 EVALUATION
Evaluation is based on class participation (15%), an oral presentation to the class outlining one of the
assigned readings (20%), reflections on the readings/presented material in a blog format (10%),
participation in a debate on open topics (20%), and a take-home comprehensive review paper (35%) in
which you will analyze and summarize available literature, and discuss theoretical implications thereof.
PLEASE NOTE: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay
component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least
50%.
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
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 Western's 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 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE
There is no examination in this course. Instead, students will complete a writing
exercise (35%) in which they will analyze and summarize available literature, and
discuss theoretical implications. The timeline for this paper will be discussed in class.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Below is a general outline of the topics that will be discussed each week. In advance of
each class, a short list of applicable readings (2-3 papers per week) will be available on
OWL. Students are expected to have read each of the papers posted, and be ready to
comment.
Date Topic Assignments
Week 1 (Sept 5) Introduction
Week 2 (Sept 12) Auditory System – Deafness
Week 3 (Sept 19) Auditory System – Musical Training
Week 4 (Sept 26) Auditory System – Therapeutic Intervention
Week 6 (Oct 3) Visual System – Blindness Auditory Blog Post Due
Week 7 (Oct 10) Visual System – Video Games
Week 8 (Oct 17) Visual System – Therapeutic Intervention
Week 9 (Oct 24) Sensory to Non-Sensory Transfer I Visual Blog Post Due
Week 10 (Oct 31) Sensory to Non-Sensory Transfer II
Week 11 (Nov 7) No class – Reading Week
Week 11 (Nov 14) Synesthesia Transfer Blog Post Due
Week 12 (Nov 21) Debate Preparation
Week 13 (Nov 28) Debate
Week 14 (Dec 5) Summary & Essay Preparation
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/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf
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
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
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
- 2019-2020 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
