Brain and Behavior, V55.0306 Mike Hawken Spring 2010 This is a MAP course which satisfies the Natural Science II requirement. The lectures are scheduled for 2:00-3:15, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Room 207 in the Silver Building. Required Text: Biological Psychology Breedlove et al. Sinauer, 2007, Fifth Edition Lab manual and folder for assignments is required Testing: There will be 2 exams (midterm and final). Labs: The purpose of the labs is to give you hands-on experience related to the class material, and provide a deeper understanding of the material than is likely from the lectures alone. They also give you an opportunity to learn about how science works. You will have to write up each lab to catalog the lab experience, record notes, and express ideas. The particulars of your lab notebooks will be discussed in the first lab meeting (in the second week of the class). Lab sections are 1 hour and 40 minutes each. Some labs will involve the use of animal tissue or living animals. Lab reports will be handed in at the end of lecture on Thursday. Class reports: Each week, on Tuesday and Thursday, in lecture we will discuss some topic of general interest or work related to one of the the lecture or lab themes presented during the current week. During the class you will be asked to complete some work on the topic we have covered. This work will be handed in at the end of the class on Thursday. We also require that you keep a copy of your work and bring it to the lab session the following week where it will be the focus of a discussion at the beginning of each lab session. Keep your reports in a loose folder with all the other class reports. Grading: Grades will be based on performance in all aspect of the class. Breakdown: Exams 50% (25% each for Midterm and Final), Labs 35%, Class reports 15%. Lab Times and TA s: You must be registered for a lab as well as the lecture. There are six lab sessions for this course. Lab Sessions Monday 11:00 12:40 Monday 1:00 2:40 Monday 3:00 4:40 Monday 5:00 6:40 Tuesday 9:00 10:40 Tuesday 11:00 12:40
Contact Information: Mike Hawken Lauren Grattan mjh2@nyu.edu Rm 809 Meyer Ph: (212) 998-7777 Lauren Grattan <lg1166@nyu.edu> Sarah Alexander Sarah Alexander <sa1633@nyu.edu> Kim Feltner Kimberly Feltner <kf42@nyu.edu>
Brain & Behavior Syllabus V55.0306 Instructor Mike Hawken Spring 2010 Week 1 INTRODUCTION 1/19 Lecture 1 Introduction and History of Neuroscience early influences Reading: Chapter 1, pp 3 20 1/21 Lecture 2 History of Neuroscience later influences Reading: Chapter 1, pp 3-20 Week 2 1/25 Lab 1 Introduction to the Laboratory: The Scientific Method Developing a Hypothesis 1/26 Lecture 3 Building a Brain: Neurons and Glia - Cells and Synapses, structure, properties, cell types Week 3 Reading: Chapter 2, pp 23-56 CELLS and SYNAPSES 1/28 Lecture 4 The Language of Neurons: Electrical Properties - resting potential, synaptic transmission, integration, graded potentials, action potentials Reading: Reading: Chapter 3, pp 59 87 2/1 Lab 2 Organization of the Brain I: Sheep Brain Dissection 2/2 Lecture 5 Synaptic transmission; release and receptors Reading: Chapter 4, pp 89 117 2/4 Lecture 6 Synaptic transmission: neurotransmitters and neurochemical modulation Reading: Chapter 4, pp 89 117
Week 4 2/8 Lab 3 Organization of the Brain II: Build Your Own Human Brain STRUCTURE and DEVELOPMENT 2/9 Lecture 7 Evolution and Brain Development Reading: Chapter 6, pp 151 178 2/11 Lecture 8 Growth, Development and Plasticity Reading: Chapter 7, pp 181 214 Week 5 2/15 President s Day: No Class PERCEPTION and ACTION 2/16 Lecture 9 General Principles of Sensory & Motor Systems Reading: Chapter 8, pp 217 224; Chapter 11, pp 321 331 2/18 Lecture 10 Vision - the visual brain, visual perception and seeing Reading: Chapter 10, pp 285 319 Week 6 2/22 Lab 4 Neuronal Visualization 2/23 Lecture 11 Audition - auditory brain and hearing; balance - vestibular system Reading: Chapter 9, pp 249 268 2/25 Lecture 12 Touch, Pain, Taste and Smell Reading: Chapter 8, pp 228 247; Chapter 9, pp 270 283 Week 7 3/1 Lab Midterm Review 3/2 Lecture 13 Motor Systems I: Muscles, motor units, reflexes Reading: Chapter 11, pp 321 352 3/4 Midterm Exam
Week 8 3/8 Lab 5 Electrical Potentials in Neurons 3/9 Lecture 14 Motor Systems II: Control of movements, walking, eye and head movements 3/11 Lecture 15 Sexual Behavior Reading: Chapter 11, pp 321 352 SEXUAL BEHAVIOR and RHYTHMS Reading: Chapter 12, pp 355 384 Week 9 Spring Break Week 10 3/22 Lab 6 Perception I: Reaction Time 3/23 Lecture 16 Neuroendocrinology - chemical control of temperature, fluids and eating Reading: Chapter 13, pp 387 416 3/25 Lecture 17 Sleep and Waking rhythms, dreaming, and cycles controlled by the brain Week 11 Reading: Chapter 14, pp 419 448 3/29 Lab 7 Perception II: Vision DRUGS and ADDICTION 3/30 Lecture 18 Drugs and Behavior Reading: Chapter 4, pp 103 117 4/1 Lecture 19 Drugs and the Brain Reading: Chapter 4, pp 103 117 Week 12 4/5 Lab 8 Perception III: Somatic Sensation COGNITIVE SYSTEMS 4/6 Lecture 20 Learning and Plasticity-developmental processes and adult learning Reading: Chapter 17, pp 513 541 4/8 Lecture 21 Learning & Memory - cellular and molecular mechanisms Reading: Chapter 18, pp 543 569
Week 13 4/12 Lab 9 Electrophysiology of the Touch Receptors of the Cockroach 4/13 Lecture 22 Language and Cognition Reading: Chapter 19, pp 571 610 EMOTIONAL SYSTEMS and MENTAL DISORDERS 4/15 Lecture 23 Emotion and Motivation Reading: Chapter 15, pp 451 479 Week 14 4/19 Lab 10 Animal Behavior: Rat Open Field Behavior including Ethics of Animal use in Behavior Research 4/20 Lecture 24 Monitoring Brain activity in Humans-functional imaging, PET and fmri Reading: Handout 4/21 Lecture 25 Mental Disorders I Week 15 Reading: Chapter 16, pp 481 510 4/26 Lab Final Exam Review 4/27 Lecture 26 Functional Disorders of the Brain 4/29 Lecture 27 Mental Disorders II Exam Week 5/11 Final Exam Introduction: The study of the brain and behavior has intrigued some of the greatest minds over the last 2000 years. What have we learned over this period about how behavior depends on the brain? Signals and Brain Structure: Chemistry and biology of neurons. The organization of neurons and of brain. How neurons send messages around the brain.
How neurons talk to each other and in groups, neuronal networks. Sensory Signals, Perception & Action (Moving around): How light, pressure, and chemical substances are detected by the body. How the signals from the senses are turned into perceptions we call seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling and maintaining balance.
Moving around: What do we need to move around, muscles and their biology. How do the signals from the brain control the muscle groups and joints to make different kinds of movements. Sexual Behavior and Rhythms There are lots of behaviors that have different time cycles. Many of the patterns or rhythms are maintained across species. How are these patterns controlled by the brain? Cognitive Behaviors: What parts of the brain are used for language, thought, decision making. How are memories made, stored and retrieved by the brain. Drugs, Behavior and the Brain: Drugs, prescription and illicit, can have powerful effects on behavior. How do these drugs interact with the brain to exert their effects. Can we understand anything about addiction from studying the effects of drugs on the brain? Learning and Plasticity: Young children acquire many new behaviors during their early life. How does the brain change during the early years? Can these changes be influenced by practice and training or are they a result of a genetic program? Emotion: Do we have separate brain regions that influence how we feel when we are angry, fearful, happy? What is the chemistry that influences these feelings? How do drugs affect the way we feel, how do they affect our perceptions and our movements? Brain and Behavioral Dysfunction: What happens if parts of the brain stop working normally? What happens if parts of the brain don t develop in the normal manner. There are numerous serious neural disorders that lead to major alterations in behavior such as schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. How does this happen? Are there ways to reverse these changes?