Psychology 323:

Behavioral Neuroscience

T, R 2:00pm to 4:50pm, SC 350 or 137

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Instructor: Kathleen Morgan

Office Hours*: M, 2-3pm & W, 2-3pm SC 152, ext. 3934 or by appointment
(or email me at kmorgan@wheatonma.edu)

*I am most often found somewhere in the vicinity of the Science Center!

Textbooks:

1.Kolb, B. & Whishaw, I.Q. (1999). Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology (4th Edition). W. H. Freeman and Company. (Required) (abbreviated "K&W" below)

2. Diamond, M.C., Scheibel, A.B, & Elson, L.M. (1985). The Human Brain Coloring Book. New York, NY: Harper Perennial. (Required) (abbreviated "CB" below)

3. Calvin, W.H & Ojemann, G.A. (1994). Conversations with Neil's Brain: The Neural Nature of Thought and Language. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. (Required). (abbreviated "C&O" below). Note: This book can be accessed on-line (that is, you need not buy a hard copy) by clicking on its name above.

You may also be asked occasionally to read additional material in the form of journal articles or book chapters. I will provide copies to you of these articles under those circumstances.

I will try to have copies of the texts put on reserve at the library.

Other Materials Required:

• Student dissecting kit (you may pair up with another student and share these)
• Colored pencils or water-based, colored felt-tip markers
• Subscription to class email list (this means you also need to check your email at least daily)

Course Goals: Psychology 323 is intended as an introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience, a branch of psychology that concerns itself with the relationship between the nervous system and behavior. As such, it focuses on more reductionistic explanations of mental and behavioral events. In this course, we will be reviewing what is known about the biological underpinings of human and nonhuman animal behavior. This review will be accomplished through a combination of lectures, dissections, case studies, computer tutorials, and classroom demonstrations. This course also meets the 300-level lab requirement for the Psychology major, so you will be asked in this course to think and work like a behavioral scientist. Specifically, if you make satisfactory progress in this course, you will:

• have a better understanding of what biological psychology is
• have a better understanding of the relationship between body and mind
• be able to diagnose some physical ailments by their behavioral effects
• learn the rules of thumb for understanding neuroscience
• have a better appreciation for and understanding of the brain

Course Expectations: This is a 300-level laboratory course in Psychology. You should expect to work at the 300-level or higher in this class. The prerequisites for this course include an introductory Psychology course AND some Biology background. I will not review in any detail some basic concepts from Biology such as what a gene is, how cells divide, etc. If it has been a long time since you had any Biology at all, you may find that the study approaches required to do well in this course are different from those that you have been using up to now. If this is the case, be sure to see me as soon as you detect any difficulty. You may also wish to order the study guide for your text from the campus bookstore, and to borrow an introductory biology textbook from one of your peers who has taken introductory biology.

The basic course meets in 2, 170-minute periods per week. At Wheaton College, the institution expects you to put in about 2 hours of work outside of classtime for each 50-minute period that you spend in class. Thus, in order to make satisfactory progress in this course, you should be spending a minimum of 12 hours a week on the material--reading, writing, reviewing your notes. If you wait until the last minute to do this work, (say, until the weekend of the first exam), then you will have 36 hours of work to do in the 48-hour weekend, even before you attempt the exam. Don't make this mistake. College should be your full-time job. (That's why most colleges require that you live on campus.) If you don't treat it that way, you're wasting your time and money. Take all that you can get from here! And that especially includes KNOWLEDGE!! If you are not being asked to work this much in any of your other courses, you are getting ripped off. Demand more from your professors. It's your future that you're paying for now. Be sure to get what you pay for!

Other Expectations: I expect you at all times to treat me, your fellow students, the biological specimens and the animals that we study in this class with respect. For example, I expect you to abide by and uphold the Wheaton Honor Code. I expect you to be quiet in class unless called on to answer or ask a question. I expect you to handle gently and humanely any animals you might be asked to work with in this course, and to report to me any injuries or ill treatment that you see. And I expect you to provide me with due notice if you are unable to complete an assignment or exam on time.

You can expect me to do my best to treat you with respect as responsible adults. I promise to do my best to answer all of your questions and respond to all of your suggestions so that we can be effective partners in learning.

Grading. Grading is non-competitive, and students are encouraged to study and discuss materials together. In some cases, you will be explicitly asked to turn in work as part of a team. In others, however, the work you will be asked to submit must be yours and yours alone. In either case, it will be made clear in the assignment what expectations are. You will be provided with and asked to sign a copy of the Wheaton Honor Code on the first day of class, and all submitted assignments require your signature below a statement that states your compliance with that Code. Violations will not be tolerated. In the past, I have found plagiarism to be a particular problem in this class. Please consult the webpage on plagiarism that describes this Honor Code violation in detail. If you have any doubts about what you are writing and whether or not it constitutes plagiarism, please consult mebefore you turn in that work. A first offense will be not be graded. A second offense will result in a zero for that asssignment. A third offense will result in an "F" for the entire course. Remember: If in doubt, check it out --with me BEFORE you turn it in.

Your grade will be comprised of a combination of lab practicals, case study homeworks, the lab journal, and take-home exams. Points are distributed over these evaluation forms as follows:

Take-home Exams: Your exam grade will be based in part on three noncumulative, take-home exams of equivalent weight. These exams will be comprised of a combination of multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, matching, short, and long-answer essay questions. They may also include information obtained through lab experiences. For help with take-home tests, consult the webpage handout partnered with this syllabus. In each case, you will receive the take-home exam on a Thursday, and it will be expected back on the following Tuesday. Thus, you will have five days to complete each exam. Exams are open-book and open-note. You may also work on exams with others in the class. However, if you do so be sure to indicate the names of your collaborators on your exam, so you are not penalized for plagiarizing.

The final exam, taken during exam week, will be a cumulative exam, covering material from the entire course. It will be organized into four, discrete sections, representing the material covered in the four exams taken during the semester. If your grade for any of these four sections of the final exam exceeds the grade that you received for the semester exam that covered the same material, I will replace your semester exam grade for that material with the grade that you earned on the final exam. Thus, the final exam offered during exam week is a way for you to better your grade, and is optional, unless you have missed one or more of the semester exams. A missed exam will be treated as your lowest score, and your grade on the final for the material covered on the missed exam will be what you are given as a grade for that exam. An exam will be considered as "missed" if it is handed in late, as well as if it is not handed in at all. Exams are due by 2:00pm IN CLASS on the date indicated on the syllabus, unless otherwise indicated by the instructor in class. Late exams will not be accepted--NO EXCEPTIONS. Absolutely no make-ups will be given. If you know in advance that you will be unable to attend class on the day that an exam is due, PLEASE let me know. Other arrangements can be made.

Exam questions will cover material from the texts, from any additional required reading or guest lectures, from films and videotapes seen in class, and from lecture material. There will be some lecture material that will not be available in the text, and similarly, I will not review all of the text material in class. None-the-less you will be held responsible for all information presented, no matter what the format.

Case Study Homeworks: Every few weeks, you will be given a case study or several to read and think about. In these cases, you may be asked to diagnose the person in the case, and to explain your diagnosis. Or, you may be asked to describe what tests you'd conduct on this person, and why. Finally, you might be asked to prescribe a treatment, again justifying your prescription. We will practice these cases in class, and you'll see some on your exams, as well. Cases will be graded on the basis of their accuracy and thoughtfulness. They must be TYPED, double-spaced, with adequate margins for comments. References, if any, should be in proper APA format. Cases are due by 2:00pm on the dates indicated on them, unless otherwise indicated in class. A late case will be penalized one point per day that it is late, including weekends. An example of a model case study homework can be found here.,

Web Project: Your major project for this course will be to develop a website on a neurological disorder of your choice, from a menu of choices you will be offered on the first day of class. You will be given a template to use in the development of your site in which the minimum requirements for the site will be detailed. All sites receiving a grade of B+ or higher will be mounted on the Wheaton server, and will be used as resources by students in this class in future years. We'll spend some time talking about website design and other material relevant to this project throughout the course.

Quizzes: Between exams, you will be given a short, 20-question multiple choice quiz in class. Quizzes will be based on material covered in class and in the text readings since the time of the last quiz. Thus, it behooves you to keep up on the reading, and to review your lecture notes regularly. Quiz dates are indicated on the syllabus. A missed quiz cannot be made up. If you know in advance that you will be unable to attend class on the day of a quiz, PLEASE let me know. Other arrangements can be made.

Minute Papers: Occasionally I may ask you to respond to a few questions in class, or to solve a problem as part of a "think team." These papers will not be graded, but will be returned to you with comments. They are a way for both you and I to see how well we're doing in communicating with one another. Completion of 80% or more of the minute papers will be worth 1 point of extra credit (see below) at the end of the semester.

Computer Work: Periodically throughout the course of the semester I will ask you to review one of several programs in the Psychology folder in ACC Software in the Computer Center. These programs are tutorials in neuro- and sensory anatomy and physiology. Some of the questions on your exams or quizzes may come from these programs. Alternatively, I may ask you to answer some short questions about your experiences of these programs.

Extra Credit: Periodically throughout the semester you may be given the option to do a short homework. The homework may ask you to attend a lecture on campus and answer a question about what you heard, or to do some research and write up a brief report on what you discover. The research for each of these homeworks should take no more than an afternoon to complete, and must be presented in the form of a short report (no more than one page). These are not mandatory projects. They are optional only, to be used as a way to broaden your knowledge and obtain extra credit. These assignments will be worth a varying number of points, and will be graded as to their thoughtfulness and accuracy.

No more than about 6 points of extra credit will be given to any one person. Extra credit cannot raise your grade more than1/3 of a grade step (for example, more than from a C+ to a B-), no matter how many points you earn.

What Do I Have to Do to Get an A?

Grades will be assigned on the percentage earned of the total number of points possible to earn (500) as follows:

The following criteria will be used to grade more subjective assignments:

I. "A" Work: work of consistently high standard, showing distinction in such qualities as organization, accuracy, originality, understanding, insight.

II. "B" Work: Work that is decidedly above average. "B" grades generally imply that the student: a) exceeds average requirements, b) is usually alert and active in class discussions and gives evidence of some critical attitude and good judgement, c) exercises noticeable care in preparing assignments, and gives evidence of doing some independent reading, d) is eager to learn and willing to profit from direction and criticism, e) has some ability to transfer the general principles of the course to other situations.

III. "C" Work: Work that fulfills essential requirements in quality and quantity, and meets the acceptable minimum standard for satisfactory progress at Wheaton College. A "C" grade of some kind implies that the student: a) performs the required assignments regularly from day to day, b). is attentive during class and gives adequate answers, c). is usually careful, neat, and accurate in all work, d) masters the facts of general significance, e). uses at least occasionally material from preceeding sources, when appropriate, but needs additional assistance.

IV. "D" Work: Work that falls below the minimum standard acceptable for satisfactory progress at Wheaton College.

V. "F" Work: Work that is unsatisfactory.

The instructor reserves the right to grade on a curve if the class distribution requires it.

Materials That You Will Need for This Class:

For this course, you will need to bring something to write with every day. From time to time, you may be asked to complete a brief "minute quiz" in class, or to conduct some other exercise that requires you to write. So be sure to bring plenty of your favorite writing instruments!

You will find that I give many, many, MANY handouts. Thus, you might find it easier to keep your notes for this class in a 3-ring binder. That way, you can keep all your handouts together with the notes to which they apply. The bookstore sells a 3-hole punch that fits a 3-ring binder, to make your task easier in keeping all of your handouts in the correct place in your notebook.

You will also need a composition notebook (one of those with a sewn-in (not spiral!) binding to use as your lab journal. Colored pencils or markers are needed for your completion of the coloring book. And a small dissecting kit may come in handy.

Ten Ways to Get the Most Out of This (and any other) Course:

1. READ EVERY DAY (Even if it is only for ten minutes!)

2. TAKE NOTES ON WHAT YOU READ.

3. KEEP COPIES OF ANY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I ASK YOU TO GENERATE. YOU MAY SEE SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS AS QUIZ OR TAKE-HOME TEST QUESTIONS.

4. TURN IN YOUR WORK ON TIME.

5. ACTIVELY INTEGRATE THE MATERIAL YOU READ WITH OTHER MATERIAL THAT MIGHT BE RELEVANT (I.E, OTHER AREAS OR IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY, OR OTHER DISCIPLINES).

5. BE AN ACTIVE CLASS PARTICIPANT--SPEAK OUT IN CLASS.

6. MAKE ME WORK FOR YOU--IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, STOP ME AND ASK FOR CLARIFICATION.

7. COME TO CLASS EVERY DAY!

8. DO THE EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS.

9. PUT ASIDE YOUR TROUBLES AND ALLOW YOURSELF TO WONDER AT THE WONDER OF THE MIND

10. RELAX AND ENJOY THE COURSE!

CLASS SCHEDULE

*K&W: Kolb & Whishaw; CB: Coloring Book; C&O: Calvin & Ojemann

DAY	DATE	TOPIC	READING*	In-Class	DUE THAT DAY
T	30-Jan	Introduction to the course: The Biologizing of Behavior Links to check out: Basic Neural Mechanisms in Behavior (Karl Lashley's 1930 repudiation of the biologizing of behavior) Milestones in Neuroscience Research. Eric Chudler's excellent timeline of relevant historical events. Diagnostic Tests used by neuroscientists	K&W: ch. 1, 26; C&O: ch. 1
Th	2-Feb	GROUNDHOG's DAY! Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology Links: Neurons and Impulses: a tutorial HTML for Dummies Links: W3C's tutorial pages Creating a student webpage	K&W: ch. 4; C&O: ch. 2; CB: ch.2.1-2.3
T	6-Feb	Cells of the Nervous System, contin. Links: The Biological Neuron	C&O: ch. 3; CB: ch. 2.6		1st Case Homework
Th	8-Feb	The Biochemistry of Behavior Links: The Biochemistry of Neurotransmitters Neural Transmission Review Nervous System Overview	K&W: ch. 5; C&O: ch. 4; CB: ch. 2.4-2.5		1st draft, web project
M	12-Feb	DARWIN's BIRTHDAY! Stop by the Vivarium at 2pm for some birthday cake!
T	13-Feb	Biochemistry of Behavior, contin. Links: Physical Facts Behind the Action Potential Neurotransmitters The Chemistry of the Nervous System	C&O: ch. 5; CB: ch. 2.7-2.8	QUIZ 1
W	14-Feb	VALENTINE's DAY! Send a valentine to the one who drives your limbic system wild!
Th	15-Feb	Biochemistry of Behavior, contin. Links: The Nerve Impulse	C&O: ch. 6
T	20-Feb	Development and Organization of the Nervous System Links: Human Neuroanatomy Online Neural Anatomy and Function Tutorial Brain Directions and Planes	K&W: ch. 8, 21; C&O: ch. 7; CB: ch. 1.1-1.6; 5.29-5.31
Th	22-Feb	Development and Organization,, contin. Links: Nervous System Gross Anatomy Atlas of the Sheep Brain	C&O: ch. 8; CB: ch. 3.1-3.12, 8.1-8.4, 6.1, 6.9-6.16, 6.21-6.26	Receive 1st Take-Home Test
T	27-Feb	Principles of Cerebral Asymmetry Links: Neuroanatomy Review Neuroanatomy lab Handedness and Brain Asymmetry	K&W: ch. 9, 10; C&O: ch. 9
Th	1-Mar	Occipital Lobes and Vision Links: Anatomy of the Eye Cells of the Retina	K& W: ch. 6 (pp. 99-109) and ch. 11; CB: ch. 6.6-6.9 C&O: ch. 10		1st Take-Home Test
M	5-Mar	Field Trip! Annual Meeting of the Boston Area Neuroscience Group (B.A.N.G.)	Bring $10-15 for admission (includes pizza dinner, usually), and train fare Meet at SC Greenhouses at 4:30pm!
T	6-Mar	Vision, contin. Links: How we see Seeing More than Your Eye Does	C&O: ch. 11
Th	8-Mar	Vision, contin. Links: Central Visual Pathways The Joy of Visual Perception	C&O: ch. 12	Receive 2nd Case Homework
T	13-Mar	SPRING BREAK!	Enjoy!
Th	15-Mar	SPRING BREAK!
T	20-Mar	Temporal Lobes and Audition Links: Virtual Tour of the Sense of Hearing Vestibular Disorders	K&W: ch. 6( pp. 109-113) and ch. 13; CB: ch. 6.17-6.20
Th	22-Mar	Audition, contin. Links: Auditory Physiology Inner Ear Primer Physiology of Hearing	C&O: ch. 13		2nd Case Homework
T	27-Mar	Olfaction and Taste Links: Tutorial on the sense of smell Review of Olfaction Smell and Taste Disorders The sense of smell Taste The Chemical Senses The Vomeronasal Organ	K& W: ch. 6 (pp. 116-119); C&O: ch. 14; CB: ch. 6.5	QUIZ 2
W	28-Mar	Psi Chi Lecture: Dr. Kim Saudino, Boston University	Mary Lyon Hall, evening
Th	29-Mar	Somatosensory Systems and Spatial Perception Links: Somatosensory systems Touch and other somatosensory perception Touch Perception The Brain and Pain	K&W: ch. 113-116, ch. 19; CB: ch. 5.34	Receive 2nd Take-Home Test	2nd Draft, web project
T	3-April	Putting it All Together: Parietal Lobe Function Links: Parietal Lobe Function Executive Function and the Frontal Lobes Links: Frontal Lobe Function	K&W: ch. 12, 14
Th	5 April	Movement and the Spinal Cord Links: Motor lab  Perception of Motion	K&W: ch. 7; C&O: ch. 15; CB: ch. 4.1-4.13, 5.12-5.15, 5.24-5.25, 7.1-7.6		2nd Take-Home Test
T	10-April	Rhythms and Sleep Links: The sleep site	C&O: ch. 16	Receive 3rd Case Homework
Th	12-April	States of Consciousness  Links: Can neurobiology tell us anything about consciousness? Online papers on Consciousness Drugs and Behavior Links Drugs, Brain, and Behavior: An online text	C&O: ch. 17
T	17-April	Learning & Memory Links: Classical Conditioning How animals learn Glossary of learning terms Pleasure systems in the brain	K&W: ch. 16, 22		3rd Case Homework
Th	19-April	Learning & Memory, contin. Links: Memory and the brain How do we remember what we know? Anatomy of memory Changes in neural structure induced by learning Memory Long-term working memory	C&O: ch. 18	QUIZ 3
T	24-April	Emotional Processes Links: The Limbic System: Center of Emotions The Neurobiology of Depression Mood Disorders	K&W: ch. 18
Th	26-April	Sex and Reproduction Links: Sex Differences and the Brain Reproductive systems tutorial		Receive 3rd Take-Home Test
T	1-May	Psychiatric Disorders Links: Abnormal Psych tutorial Links on Disorders Differentiating Disorders	K&W: 25		WEB PROJECT DUE
Th	3-May	Neurological Disorders Links: Neurological Disorders Brain Injury Guide	K&W: ch. 23, 24	Receive Optional Final	3rd Take-Home Test
OPTIONAL FINAL		DUE IN MY OFFICE BY  5pm, last day of finals

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