Advanced Physiological Psychology Syllabus Page 1

Advanced Physiological Psychology

Psychology 473, Spring 2003, T/Th 10:35am – 11:50am

Instructor: Bill Griesar, Ph.D. ([email protected])

Office hours: Tuesdays before class, and on review days (and any time by e-mail)
Book: Phantoms in the Brain, by V.S. Ramachandran

Objectives: The primary objectives of this course are to:

(1) Teach you to gather, evaluate and present scientific information; and
(2) Provide you with a better understanding of the nervous system through
discussion and presentation of current topics in neuroscience research.

We will concentrate on three topics: Memory, Drugs, and Emotion. I will provide
one review article or book chapter for each topic, and you will find one additional
article about each topic for group discussion in class. Your articles can come
from scientific journals, magazines, book chapters, or the internet.

You will also learn more about the nervous system by writing a research paper on
a neurological disorder of your choice, presenting a poster reflecting your research
on this disorder, and by reading and discussing the book by V.S. Ramachandran.

Grades: Grades will be based on a 90% = A, 80% = B, 70% = C, and 60% = D scale.
Course points (which will total 100) are accumulated in the following ways:
1. Basic brain review exam (10): From material covered in lectures.
2. Ramachandran questions and participation (5): You should e-mail at least one
question about the book chapters to be discussed 24 hours before class. You will
receive points for these question(s) and for class participation each day.
3. Ramachandran presentations (10): Students will form six groups, and each group
will orally present a series of chapters from the book (10 points per student).
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4. Ramachandran exam (10): From material covered in the V.S. Ramachandran book.
5. Article summaries (15): For each of the three topics, you will write a
summary of an article you select (3 x 5 points). A copy of the article must be
submitted with your summary. Your summary must do four things: (a) state
the objective of the article (i.e., Why did the author(s) write the article? What
questions were they trying to answer?); (b) describe the techniques that were
used; (c) summarize the main points or findings; and (d) evaluate/critique
the article. You should e-mail the title of the article 24 hours before the
article summary is due.
6. Memory exam (10): From material covered in lectures and discussion.
7. Drug exam (10): From material covered in lectures and discussion.
8. Emotion exam (10): From material covered in lectures and discussion.
9. Research Paper (20): You will write a research paper on a nervous system
disorder of your choice (10). As preparation for writing a good paper, you will:
(a) submit research articles on your topic (2); (b) submit an outline, or summarize
how you will organize your paper (3); and (c) present a poster on your topic (5).

ASSIGNMENT POINTS DUE DATE(S)

Basic brain review exam 10 February 4

Rama. questions/participation 5 February 6 - 27

Rama. chapter presentation 10 February 6 - 25

Ramachandran exam 10 March 4

Article summaries (3) 15 March 11, April 1, April 17

Memory exam 10 March 27

Drugs exam 10 April 10

Emotion exam 10 April 29

Research paper* 20 Due: May 1

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*Submit article(s) for paper (2) February 27

*Submit paper outline (3) April 1

*Poster presentation (5) May 1

*Research paper (10) May 1

TOTAL POINTS 100

CLASSES:

Basic brain review

1. Introduction (1/14): introductions, course information, syllabus, how to use

Medline and other on-line databases, library resources at WSU and elsewhere

2. The Neuron (1/16): neuronal (and glial) structure/function, electrical

properties of neurons, resting potential and action potentials, role of myelin

3. The Synapse (1/21): chemical transmission, neurotransmitters, network

architecture, video segment (excerpt from “Fast, Cheap and Out of Control”)

4. Gross Anatomy (1/23): anatomical terminology, basic structures, cortex

versus nuclei, central role of the thalamus, brainstem

5. The Cortex (1/28): basic structure and function (lobes, sulci, gyri), sensory vs.

association, Brodmann areas, motor/somatosensory gyri, language areas, etc.

• READ “The columnar organization of the neocortex,” by V. B. Mountcastle

6. Review and brain dissection video (1/30)

7. Basic brain review EXAM (2/4)

Phantoms in the Brain, by V.S. Ramachandran

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Students divided into six groups: Each group presents one set of chapters…

(Use overheads, handouts, and draw on related research articles from PubMed…)

8. Chapters 1, 2 (2/6): student presentations and discussion

9. Chapters 3, 4 (2/11): student presentations and discussion

10. Chapters 5, 6 (2/13): student presentations and discussion

11. Chapters 7, 8 (2/18): student presentations and discussion

12. Chapters 9, 10 (2/20): student presentations and discussion

13. Chapters 11, 12 (2/25): student presentations and discussion

14. Ramachandran discussion and review (2/27)

15. Ramachandran EXAM (3/4)

Memory

16. Memory (3/6): memory is inherent in the structure of neural networks, Hebb

and cell assemblies, the hippocampus, long term potentiation (LTP), does LTP

underlie memory?, what causes LTP?, behavioral LTP, a smarter mouse?

17. Memory (3/11): H.M. and selective memory deficits, mirror drawing and

priming, declarative versus procedural memory, animal models of amnesia,

DNMS, Morris water maze, radial arm maze, relational memory theory.

18. Memory (3/13): latest research articles and discussion

19. Memory (3/25): latest research articles and discussion

20. Memory EXAM (3/27)

Drugs

21. Drugs (4/1): drugs interfere with synaptic transmission, abuse, dopamine

pathways, mechanisms of action, tolerance, dependence, withdrawal, treatments

22. Drugs (4/3): latest research articles and discussion

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23. Drugs (4/8): latest research articles and discussion

24. Drugs EXAM (4/10)

Emotion

25. Emotion (4/15): what are emotions?, history of emotion research, stability of

expressions, voluntary versus spontaneous expression, hypothalamus and

homeostasis, emotions and “rational” decision-making

26. Emotion (4/17): Papez circuit (rationale and anatomy), Kluver-Bucy

syndrome, limbic system, amygdala, medial forebrain bundle, the hippocampus

(emotions and memory)

27. Emotion (4/22): latest research articles and discussion

28. Emotion (4/24): latest research articles and discussion

29. Emotion EXAM (4/29)

30. Research POSTER SESSION (5/1): student poster presentations