Psychology 4295G 001 FW24
Special Topics in Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience: Origins of the Social Brain
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
Western University
London Canada
Department of Psychology
Winter 2025
Psychology 4295G Section 001
Special Topics in Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience:
Origins of the Social Brain
1 Calendar Description
This course operates as a collaborative seminar where we explore the social behaviour of humans and other animals from neurobiological, developmental, and evolutionary perspectives.
Antirequisites: n/a
Prerequisite(s): One of Psychology 2220A/B, Psychology 2221A/B, or Neuroscience 2000, PLUS registration in fourth year Main Campus Honours Specialization in Psychology, fourth year Honours Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, fourth year Honours Specialization in Neuroscience, or fourth year Honours Specialization in Animal Behaviour. Fourth year Main Campus Psychology students and Main Campus Psychology Special Students who receive 70% in the prerequisite course may enrol in this course.
3 lecture/seminar 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 Course Information
Instructor: Dr. Morgan Gustison (Pronouns: she/her)
Office & Phone: SSC 9232
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: mgustiso@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: TBA
Office:
Office Hours:
Email:
Time and Location of Classes: see Student Centre Time Table
For courses that include an online component, students must have a reliable internet connection and computer that are compatible with online learning system requirements.
3 Course Materials
Readings on specific topics will be provided through the course web site.
4 Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
This course surveys empirical work and theoretical advances in the study of social behaviour, with an emphasis on brain mechanisms. This is a rapidly growing and multidisciplinary field, and as such, readings will emphasize current research from the primary literature. We will read articles that focus both on human and non-human study systems to address three main questions: (1) How do neurobiological mechanisms regulate social behaviour? (2) How do brain systems that support social behaviour develop across the lifespan? (3) Why have complex forms of social behaviour, and their brain mechanisms, evolved in some species over others? By the end of the class, students will able to read, understand, and critique empirical research papers.
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge · Understand key concepts and research findings on social behaviour from neurobiological, developmental, and evolutionary perspectives |
Course Readings
Lectures
Class Discussion
Assignments |
Class Participation
Synthesis Papers
Reflection Papers
Final Project
|
|
Knowledge of Methodologies · Understand data collection approaches used to study social behaviour from different biological perspectives |
Course Readings
Lectures
Class Discussion
Assignments
|
Class Participation
Synthesis Papers
Reflection Papers
Final Project
|
|
Application of Knowledge · Use online databases to locate current empirical research · Evaluate research results and develop testable hypotheses |
Class Discussion
Assignments |
Leading Discussion
Reflection Papers
Final Project |
|
Communication Skills · Clearly communicate complex ideas in written and spoken formats |
Class Discussion
Assignments |
Class Participation
Leading Discussion
Synthesis Papers
Reflection Papers
Final Project |
|
Awareness of Limits of Knowledge · Learn to assess the strengths and limitations of current research on the biological basis of social behaviour |
Course Readings
Class Discussions
Assignments |
Class Participation
Leading Discussion
Reflection Papers
Final Project
|
|
Autonomy and Professional Capacity · Learn how to formulate complex ideas and communicate these ideas to others |
Class Discussion
Assignments |
Leading Discussion
Final Projects
|
5 Evaluation
Class Participation 30%
Leading Discussions 20%
Synthesis Papers 10%
Reflection Papers 10%
Final Project 30% (15% for an oral presentation; 15% for a written essay)
Class Participation & Leading Discussions
Students are expected to attend class and reading assigned materials. Participation is marked on the basis of student engagement during all class activities. Participation can consist of asking or answering questions about the assigned readings and class topic, contributing additional information from other courses, resources, or similar involvement in classroom lectures and seminar-style discussions. Each topic discussion (weeks 3-10) will be led by a team of two or more discussion leaders. Discussion leaders will choose their topic papers (1-2 papers per person) at least a week before class from a pre-selected list or by finding a new paper. Discussion leaders will provide an introduction to the assigned reading material, raise questions about research ideas and findings, and lead the class in synthesizing and critiquing the reading material.
Synthesis and Reflection Papers
Synthesis Papers are short (300-500 words) informal essays that summarize the assigned reading material, and also, propose 3 thoughtful questions that students wish to discuss in class. Students should summarize the reading material in their own words. Reflection Papers are short (300-500 words) informal essays that review the in-class discussion along with the student’s unique critique of the research and ideas brought up in class. Students can also include comparisons to other papers, proposals for future research, ideas discussed in other courses, or similar relevant material.
Final Project
The Final Project is composed of two parts – an oral presentation and a written essay – on a research topic chosen by the student. Students will choose a social behaviour that interests them, develop a research question and hypothesis(es), and review literature that addresses their hypothesis(es). The presentation and essay components will be on the same topic and research question. Oral presentations are 15 minutes in length. Written essays are ~10 double-spaced pages (2500 words) that follow the APA Style.
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives
Policy on Missing Coursework
Late assignments will incur a 5% per day deduction in the grade for the assignment.
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.
The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
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
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.
6 Assessment/Evaluation Schedule
There are no tests or examinations in this course.
Class Participation 30%: 15% up to February 12; 15% from February 26 until the last day of class. This course component uses flexible assessment – students can miss one class (or part of class) without penalty, as long as this absence is not during a class when the student will lead discussion or during final project presentations. All other full or partial absences must abide by accommodation policies in Section 10.
Leading Discussion 20%: Students will choose which dates they will lead discussion for classes held between January 22 and March 19.
Synthesis Papers 10%: Papers are due weekly on Tuesdays (by 11:55pm on OWL) prior to the nine classes held on Weeks 2-6 and Weeks 8-11. This course component uses flexible assessment – grading will be based on the top 7 of 9 papers. This means that students may miss two papers without penalty.
Reflection Papers 10%: Papers are due weekly on Fridays (by 11:55pm on OWL) following the nine classes held on Weeks 2-6 and Weeks 8-11. This course component uses flexible assessment – grading will be based on the top 7 of 9 papers. This means that students may miss two papers without penalty.
Final Project 30%: The final project presentation (15%) is given on March 26 or April 2. The final project essay (15%) is due April 2. Supporting documentation is required for academic consideration following policies in Section 10.
7 Class Schedule
|
Week |
Date |
Topic |
Example Readings (Reading list is flexible and adapted based on student interests) |
|
1 |
Jan 8 |
What is social behaviour? |
n/a |
|
2 |
15 |
Levels of analysis |
• Tinbergen (1963) On aims and methods of ethology • Krakauer et al (2017) Neuroscience needs behavior: Correcting a reductionist bias • Decety & Cacioppo (2010) Frontiers in human neuroscience: The Golden Triangle and beyond |
|
3 |
22 |
Social attachment |
• Escobar et al (2013) Attachment patterns trigger differential neural signature of emotional processing in adolescents • Moutsiana et al (2014) Making an effort to feel positive: insecure attachment in infancy predicts the neural underpinnings of emotion regulation in adulthood • Topal et al (2005) Attachment to humans: A comparative study on hand-reared wolves and differently socialized dog puppies |
|
4 |
29 |
Parental care |
• Cerrito & Burkart (2023) Human amygdala volumetric patterns convergently evolved in cooperatively breeding and domesticated species • Danoff et al (2023) Father’s care uniquely influences male neurodevelopment • Rilling et al (2021) The neural correlates of grandmaternal caregiving |
|
5 |
Feb 5 |
Pair bonding |
• Acevedo et al (2020) After the honeymoon: Neural and genetic correlates of romantic love in newlywed marriages • Coan et al (2006) Lending a hand: Social regulation of the neural response to threat • Kinreich et al. (2017) Brain-to-brain synchrony during naturalistic social interactions |
|
6 |
12 |
Group living |
• D’Onofrio et al (2022) The anatomy of friendship: Neuroanatomic homophily of the social brain among classroom friends • Fox et al (2017) The social and cultural roots of whale and dolphin brains • Testard et al (2022) Social connections predict brain structure in a multidimensional free-ranging primate society |
|
7 |
19 |
Reading Week |
|
|
8 |
26 |
Communication |
• Gold et al (2013) Lifelong bilingualism maintains neural efficiency for cognitive control in aging • Nagasawa et al (2015) Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds • Zhao & Kuhl (2016) Musical intervention enhances infants’ neural processing of temporal structure in music and speech |
|
9 |
Mar 5 |
Motivation & Reward |
• Kilford et al (2023) Associations between age, social reward processing and social anxiety symptoms • Sherman et al (2018) What the brain ‘Likes’: Neural correlates of providing feedback on social media • Tomova et al (2020) Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger |
|
10 |
12 |
Cognition & Cooperation |
• Decety et al (2004) The neural bases of cooperation and competition: a fMRI investigation • Nguyen et al (2020) The effects of interaction quality on neural synchrony during mother-child problem solving • Samuni et al (2018) Social bonds facilitate cooperative resource sharing in wild chimpanzees |
|
11 |
19 |
Empathy |
• Burkett et al (2016) Oxytocin-dependent consolation behavior in rodents • Goldstein et al (2018) Brain-to-brain coupling during handholding is associated with pain reduction • Levy et al (2019) The neural development of empathy is sensitive to caregiving and early trauma |
|
12 |
26 |
Final project presentations |
|
|
13 |
Apr 2 |
Final project presentations |
|
8 Academic Integrity
Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.
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.
Statement on Use of Electronic Devices
Computers and tablets are admitted in class so that students can access digital reading materials and notes. Use of electronic devices are limited to these functions during classtime. Use of these devices for other purposes will impact participation assessment.
Plagiarism Detection Software
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. 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.
Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.
9 Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education
View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link.
Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western. If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information. Email: aew@uwo.ca Phone: 519 661-2147
10 Absence & Academic Consideration
View Western’s policy on academic consideration for medical illnesses this link
Find your academic counsellor here: https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain academic considerations. Students must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence.
Medical Absences
Submit a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for Academic Consideration.
Nonmedical Absences
Submit appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Religious Consideration
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.
11 Other Information
- Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
- Student Development Services: sdc.uwo.ca
- Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html
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.
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 in writing 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.
12 Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton. Nations, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. This land continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) whom we recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors of our society.
