Psychology 2220B-001 FW21

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.

 

Revised Jan 12, 2022

 

WESTERN UNIVERSITY

LONDON               CANADA

Department of Psychology

2021 - 2022

 

Psychology 2220B   Section 001

Introduction to Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience

 

 

  • CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

 

An introduction to the structure and function of the nervous system in relation to behaviour in humans (cognitive neuroscience) and other animals (behavioural neuroscience). Topics covered include brain anatomy, neuronal function, drugs & addiction, research methods, sensory perception & motor actions, learning & memory, cognition, and neurological & psychiatric disorders.

 

Antirequisite: Neuroscience 2000, Psychology 2221A/B

 

Prerequisite: A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level.

A background in biology is strongly recommended

 

3 lecture hours; Course Weight: 0.5

 

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: Roberto Limongi                                                                                                

 

Teaching Assistant: Riya Sidhu                           

Office: Robarts Research Institute (Room 1232C)                       

Office Hours: Friday 2-3 pm (first come, first served)                  

Email: rlimongi@uwo.ca                                                           

 

       Time and Location of Classes: Tuesdays 2:30 – 5:30 pm SEB 1059 (synchronous)

       Delivery Method:  In-Person

 

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness @Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ 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

 

Biological Psychology by Kerry Lambert, Oxford University Press

 

4.0  COURSE OBJECTIVES & LEARNING OUTCOMES

Course objective (overview)

 

The mind is an inference machine that engages in “active inference” to help us navigate (behave) and adapt to the uncertain environmental changes. The less uncertain our minds are about the environment the more chances we have to adapt and survive. The brain is the physical implementation system that embodies the mind. The main goal of this course is to understand the basic structures and functions of the brain covered under the general principles of cognitive and behavioural neuroscience.

 

 

 

Learning Outcome

Learning Activity

Assessment

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.

  • Describe the relationship between psychological sciences and the neurosciences
  • Describe the differences between behavioural and cognitive neuroscience
  • Identify the components of the central and peripheric nervous system
  • Describe the essential functions of the nervous system
  • Explain how the functions of the nervous systems mediate flexible adaptation to the environment

Lectures

Readings

 

Exams

Knowledge of Methodologies.

  • Differentiate direct and indirect methods in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience
  • Establish the relationship between psychological and neuroscience methods in cognitive and behavioural neuroscience

Lectures

Readings

 

Exams

Application of Knowledge.

  • Explain observed behaviours and cognitive process in terms of the basic principles of behavioural and cognitive neuroscience

Lectures

Readings

Newsletter: “The Diverse and Inclusive Brain”

Communication Skills.

  • Explain in lay written language the principles of behavioural and cognitive neuroscience within the context of equity, diversity, and inclusion

 

Lectures

Readings

Newsletter: “The Diverse and Inclusive Brain

Awareness of Limits of Knowledge.

  • Identify the limitations of current cognitive and behavioural neuroscience methods
  • Identify the disciplinary limits of behavioural and cognitive neuroscience in the context of the psychological sciences

Lectures

Readings

Active Inference in Epistemic writing

Autonomy and Professional Capacity.

  • Identify the behavioural and cognitive neuroscience knowledge, methods, and skills that a psychologist can contribute to interdisciplinary teams

Lectures

Readings

Newsletter: “The Diverse and Inclusive Brain”

 

 

5.0  EVALUATION

 

If you are to learn the basic behavioural and cognitive neuroscience principles that govern how the brain embodies the mind and exerts active inference, it is congruent to expect that the ways to assess your knowledge also rely on the same principles. The course comprises three means of evaluations: epistemic writing, the “diverse brain” newsletter, and exams. Each of these means assesses the level of precision and uncertainty that you have regarding the course content.

 

Epistemic writing (25% of final mark).

 

Writing is the best way to learn because while writing we increase the precision about a given course content. Therefore, writing is active inference in practice, and we refer to it as “epistemic writing”. In the course, epistemic writing takes the form of a short reaction/position paper that you must write in Microsoft word format and upload to OWL. On a weekly basis, you will select one thematic concept covered in the class and write a paper about your impressions and doubts (i.e., uncertainties).

Papers will be analysed via computational linguistic and “active inference” models (c.f., machine learning algorithms) to estimate a quantitative measure of your conceptual organization (or precision) about the chosen thematic concept. This conceptual organization score is believed to reflect your learning stage. More importantly, the conceptual organization score also reflects your inherent uncertainty on the chosen concept.

 

Papers must include a title and be between 300 and 350 words in length (excluding the title). Papers not meeting this criterion will get a mark of 0 percentage points. Provided the length criterion is met, papers will be graded conforming to a set of content criteria leading to a conceptual organization score between 0 - 1. I will use the active inference models (programs) to help me assess the cohesion/coherence (i.e., how sentences logically relate to each another and with the whole text) and analytic thinking (i.e., how well organized your ideas are in the text). The outcome of the assessment will be the conceptual organization score of your writing. Note that grammar will not be directly assessed. However, it will affect the cohesion/coherence and analytic thinking of your paper, having an effect on the conceptual organization score.

 

Among all papers submitted a given week, the paper with the highest conceptual organization score will get a mark of 2.5 percentage points. Marks of all the other papers will be scaled relative to this highest-score paper. Each paper will receive a succinct yet effective qualitative feedback. You are welcome to discuss your score/feedback with me (or the TA) during office hours. Detailed examples of papers that would lead to high conceptual organization scores will be available on OWL. Also on OWL, you will have access to explanations on how the computer programs will help me assess your papers.

 

“The Diverse Brain” newsletter (10% of final mark).

 

You are supposed to join a group of six students and collaboratively and inclusively create a newsletter about fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) via dissemination of cognitive and behavioural neuroscience knowledge. The newsletter should be uploaded to OWL not later than the day of the last lecture. Rubric-based averaged peer evaluations of contributorship (discarding the maximum and minimum scores) will constitute the grade. The instructor will review the peer evaluations for consistency and fairness The format and rubric relevant to this activity are on OWL.

 

Exams (65 % of final mark).

 

There will be mid-term (30 % of final mark) and final (35% of final mark) exams. The exams comprise multiple-choice and true/false items. Each item embeds a level of objective (external) and expected subjective (i.e., yours) uncertainty. For example, true/false statements have 50% of objective uncertainty (i.e., if you responded by guessing!) whereas four-choice items have 25% of objective uncertainty. In addition, items vary in subjective uncertainty -by varying the similarity between choices. This means that the higher your conceptual organization is on a given topic the higher your chance of accurately responding items with high level of subjective uncertainty. Marks’ weights depend on the balance between objective and subjective uncertainty (item wise). Examples of items with different levels of subjective and objective uncertainty are available on OWL.

 

 

5.1 POLICY ON MISSING COURSEWORK

 

Provided the appropriate documentation, makeups will be scheduled for exams. Late epistemic-writing submissions will not be accepted. However, you can miss one epistemic writing before the mid-term exam and upload a makeup writing (before the exam date) and miss another epistemic writing before the final exam and upload another makeup writing before the date of the final exam. You can work on the newsletter from the first week of the semester to the due date. Therefore, no late submission will be accepted.

 

The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:

 

70%      1000-level to 2099-level courses

72%      2100-2999-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

 

Note that in the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.

 

Policy on Grade Rounding: Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered. To maximize your grade, do your best on each and every assessment within the course.

 

6.0  ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE

 

Date

Assessment

18-Jan

Epistemic writing 1

25-Jan

Epistemic writing 2

01-Feb

Epistemic writing 3

08-Feb

Epistemic writing 4

15-Feb

Epistemic writing 5

01-Mar

Mid term

08-Mar

Epistemic writing 6

15-Mar

Epistemic writing 7

22-Mar

Epistemic writing 8

29-Mar

Epistemic writing 9

05-Apr

Epistemic writing 10, Newsletter

TBA (April 10 -30)

Final exam

 

7.0  CLASS SCHEDULE

 

Week

Date

Topic

Readings

Assessment

 

1

11-Jan

Biological Psychology and the Development of Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience

Lambert Chapter 1

 

2

18-Jan

The Nervous System and the Integration of Environmental and Bodily Information

Lambert Chapters 2, 3, & 4

Epistemic writing 1

 

3

25-Jan

Evolving Brains: Neural Development, Neuroplasticity, and Recovery of Function

Lambert Chapter 5

Epistemic writing 2

 

4

01-Feb

Sensation, Perception, & Adaptation

Lambert Chapter 6

Epistemic writing 3

 

5

08-Feb

Movement & Action

Lambert Chapter 7

Epistemic writing 4

 

6

15-Feb

Maintenance & Motivation

Lambert Chapter 8

Epistemic writing 5

 

7

22-Feb

Reading Week

8

01-Mar

Mid-term exam (online)

Lambert Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7

Mid term

 

9

08-Mar

Sleep, Wakefulness, & Conscious Awareness

Lambert Chapter 9

Epistemic writing 6

 

10

15-Mar

Emotional Expression & Regulation

Lambert Chapter 10

Epistemic writing 7

 

11

22-Mar

Affiliative & Reproductive Strategies

Lambert Chapter 11

Epistemic writing 8

 

12

29-Mar

Learning, Memory, & Decision Making

Lambert Chapter 12

Epistemic writing 9

 

13

05-Apr

Mental Illness & Summary (Closing) Lecture

Lambert Chapter 13

Epistemic writing 10 Newsletter

 

14

TBA (April 10 -30)

Lambert Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, & 13

Final exam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.0  Land Acknowledgement

 

We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron peoples, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum.

 

With this, we respect the longstanding relationships that Indigenous Nations have to this land, as they are the original caretakers. We acknowledge historical and ongoing injustices that Indigenous Peoples (e.g. First Nations, Métis and Inuit) endure in Canada, and we accept responsibility as a public institution to contribute toward revealing and correcting miseducation, as well as renewing respectful relationships with Indigenous communities through our teaching, research and community service.

 

 

9.0  STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

 

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence 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 offences. 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).

 

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

 

In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.

 

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

 

10.0      POLICY ON THE USE OF EXAM PROCTORING SOFTWARE

 

When examinations and tests cannot be given in person (e.g., in courses coded as Distance Studies; in the event of a lockdown order), they may be conducted using either a monitoring platform such as Zoom or a remote proctoring service, such as Proctorio. If Zoom is used for exam invigilation, you will be required to keep your camera on for the entire session, hold up your student card for identification purposes, and share your screen with the invigilator if asked to do so at any time during the exam. The exam session using Zoom will not be recorded.*

If a remote proctoring service is used, the service will require you to provide personal information (including some biometric data). The session will be recorded. The instructor will alert you to the use of this software as close as possible to the start of the term, however, in the event that in-person exams are unexpectedly canceled, you may only be given notice of the use of a proctoring service a short time in advance. More information about remote proctoring is available in the Online Proctoring Guidelines. Please ensure you are familiar with any proctoring service’s technical requirements before the exam. Additional guidance is available at the following link: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/onlineproctorguidelines.pdf

 

* Please note that Zoom servers are located outside Canada. If you would prefer to use only your first name or a nickname to login to Zoom, please provide this information to the instructor in advance of the test or examination. See this link for technical requirements: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us  

 

11.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES

 

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

 

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:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. 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 must be submitted before the exam/coursework deadline in order to be valid. It 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:

 

https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.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 hoursafter the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence

 

Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term.

 

 

 

12.0 Contingency Plan for Return to Lockdown: IN-Person & Blended classes

 

In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence or any other event that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online, as determined by the course instructor.

 

13.0      STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE

 

In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to honour the following rules of etiquette:

  • please “arrive” to class on time
  • please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet)
  • please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material
  • to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise
  • In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak
  • In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable
  • Unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen in the meeting

 

The course instructor will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following:

  • If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question.
  • Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking.
  • Self-identify when speaking.
  • Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise).

 

General considerations of “netiquette”:

  • Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course.
  • Be courteous toward the instructor, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing.
  • Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate.
  • Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately.

 

Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct.

 

14.0 OTHER INFORMATION

 

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

 

Student Development Services: 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

- 2021-2022 Calendar References

 

If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf

Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).

 

Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos 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 any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.

 

Policy on the Recording of Synchronous Sessions: Some or all of the remote learning sessions for this course (if scheduled) may be recorded. The data captured during these recordings may include your image, voice recordings, chat logs and personal identifiers (name displayed on the screen). The recordings will be used for educational purposes related to this course, including evaluations. The recordings may be disclosed to other individuals participating in the course for their private or group study purposes. Please contact the instructor if you have any concerns related to session recordings. Participants in this course are not permitted to privately record the sessions, except where recording is an approved accommodation, or the student has the prior written permission of the instructor.

 

15.0. COURSE DELIVERY WITH RESPECT TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Although the intent is for this course to be delivered in-person, the changing COVID-19 landscape may necessitate some or all of the course to be delivered online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience).  The grading scheme will not change.  Any assessments affected will be conducted online as determined by the course instructor.

When deemed necessary, tests and examinations in this course will be conducted using a remote proctoring service.  By taking this course, you are consenting to the use of this software and acknowledge that you will be required to provide personal information (including some biometric data) and the session will be recorded.  Completion of this course will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the technical requirements for this service.  More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca