Updated 8/15/2011
Neurobiology
Home
Course
URL:
http://www2.gsu.edu/~biopsk/bio6102
Fall
Semester 2011
Biol 6102 (CRN 80159) / Neur 6010 (CRN 86400)
Course
Description | Grading | Policies
|
Professor: Lecture
Time and Location: Book: Purchase
from the following places: |
Course
Description:
This
course provides an introduction to how the nervous system functions. It will be
tailored to master’s students in biology. It should be of interest to anyone
who wants to study how the brain works. The importance of understanding the
brain and nervous system goes beyond the quest for a general understanding of
ourselves and the animals around us. In order to keep apace of medical advances
for treatment of mental illness or to understand current research into the role
of genetics in determining behavior, a person must be well grounded in basic
neuroscience. The course discusses the facts about brain science, the history
of discoveries, and the methods used for making those discoveries. It also
tries to give a perspective on what the unanswered questions are.
The course
begins by explaining the molecular basis for signaling in the nervous system:
how action potentials are produced, how neurotransmitters are released, and how
they evoke their effects. The 2nd Unit is on the sensory
systems. The 3rd Unit of the
course is about the output of the nervous system (behavior). The final Unit deals with how the nervous
system changes during development, as a result of experience, and as a result
of evolution.
Students
will do quantitative exercises, perform literature searches, and read primary
research literature. There will be a
discussion component to the course as well.
Learning Outcomes
General Goals:
- Develop
problem-solving skills
- Develop
the ability to synthesize and integrate information and ideas
- Develop
the ability to apply principles learned to new problems and situations
- Develop
the ability to think holistically: to see the big picture as well as the
parts
- Develop
the ability to think creatively
- Develop
the capacity to think for yourself
Specific Goals:
- Acquire
specific knowledge about and technical approaches to:
- Neuroanatomy
- Neurophysiology
- Sensory Systems
- Motor Systems
- Sensorimotor Integration
- Learning and Plasticity
Grading:
Three Exams: 20%
each (60% total)
Final
Exam: 20%
Weekly
Assignments: 10%
Term
Assignment 10%
The tests
and exam are not graded on a curve. There is a certain amount of material that
you are expected to understand when you complete this course.
A+ > 95%
A 90-95%
A- 88-89%
B+ 86-87%
B 80-85%
B- 78-79%
C+ 76-77%
C 70-75%
C- 68-69%
D 60-67%
F < 60%
How to do well in this class:
Read the book,
attend class, and do the assignments!
The tests will
cover material gone over in class. The book will provide a more detailed
account of this material and should be used as a supplement for lectures. If
you do not read the book, you will be unlikely to do well on the tests. You
should read the book prior to coming to class for the lecture. Take notes in class. Read your notes and go over the chapter
again. Find a partner to study with. It
helps to quiz each other. The expectation is that you spend more time outside
of class learning the material than in the class.
Attendance:
Please arrive
in class prior to 1:00. It is disruptive to your classmates to have
people arriving late. Attendance will not be taken in class. However, the
tests will cover material presented in class, not all of which is in the
textbook. If you choose not to attend classes, then you will probably not do
well on the exams. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to make up
the missed material from classmates and from lecture notes on the
web. If you know in advance that you will have a legitimate
conflict with an exam, notify the professor as soon as possible. Make up
exams will not be the same format as the regular exam and may include essay
questions or an oral examination. Please read the University policy about attendance.
Academic honesty.
Please read the
University policy about academic honesty. When you hand in
an assignment to be graded, it is expected to be your OWN work. While it
is permitted to seek help for homework assignments, you are supposed to do the
assignment yourself. If your name is on the paper, then this indicates
that you have produced this work. If you sign your name to someone else's
work, you are making a false claim. If you copy or paraphrase someone
else's work and pass it off as your own work, you are committing
plagiarism. The penalty for plagiarism can be expulsion from the
university. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!!!!!
Special Accommodations
Students who wish to request accommodation
for a disability may do so by registering with the Office of Disability
Services. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office of
Disability Services of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible
for providing a copy of that plan to the instructor of all classes in which
accommodations are sought.
Cell
phones and pagers.
Please turn off
your cell phones and pagers while in class. If a cell phone rings, then
the professor reserves the right to answer it.
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