Course Syllabus

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Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience

Syllabus for Psychology 230 – Winter 2018

The University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Note: Syllabus updates may be on Canvas. Always check Canvas for most recent version of syllabus.

                                          

Professor Kent Berridge                                                                                               Lecture:   Mon & Wed 11:30-1:00

Office: 4014 East Hall - Psychology Department                                Lecture Room: 1324 East Hall

Email: berridge@umich.edu     Phone: 763-4365                                                          (McKeachie Auditorium)

Office Hours:   Wed 2:00-4:00 or by appointment

 

  

DISCUSSION SECTION LEADERS (GSIs):

Dr. Gideon Rothschild              Email: gid@umich.edu

Sofia Carrera                            Email: scarrera@umich.edu

Erin Naffziger                          Email: erinnaff@umich.edu

Pavlo Popov                            Email: ppopov@umich.edu    

Caitlin Posillico                                   Email: ckpos@umich.edu

Rosemary Bettle                      Email:  rbettle@umich.edu

Patricia Delacey                       Email:  pdelacey@umich.edu

Ileana Morales                         Email:  ileanamo@umich.edu

Danny Siu                                Email:  dsiu@umich.edu

           

DISCUSSION SECTIONS:

Section             Day &Time                             Room                                     GSI                 

002                  W        3 - 4 PM                      2347 Mason Hall                     Ileana Morales

003                  W        5-6 PM                                    1506 East Quad                                    Sofia Carrera

004                  W        6-7 PM                                    1068 East Hall                         Caitlin Posillico

005                  W        7-8 PM                                    1060 East Hall                         Caitlin Posillico

006                  Th       8-9 AM                                    1505 East Quad                        Sofia Carrera   

007                  Th       9-10 AM                      1505 East Quad                        Sofia Carrera

008                  Th       11-12 AM                    3265 USB                                Erin Naffziger

009                  Th       3-4 PM                                    3866 East Hall                         Danny Siu

010                  Th       4-5 PM                                    1512 East Quad                        Erin Naffziger

011                  Th       5-6 PM                                    1505 East Quad                                    Erin Naffziger

012                  W        4-5 PM                                    3088 East Hall                        Patricia Delacey

013                  F          10-11 AM                    B247 East Hall                         Gideon Rothschild

014                  F          9-10 AM                      1505 East Quad                                   Pavlo Popov

015                  F          10-11 AM                    1508 East Quad                                    Pavlo Popov

016                  F          11-12 AM                    1508 East Quad                                    Pavlo Popov   

017                  F          12-1 PM                      1508 East Quad                                    Rosemary Bettle

018                  F          1-2 PM                                    1505 East Quad                                    Caitlin Posillico

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Behavioral Neuroscience or Biopsychology studies how psychological processes relate to brain mechanisms and how those processes have evolved. The behavioral neuroscience side of biopsychology studies how brain processes cause psychological processes and behavior, and with how psychological events are encoded in the brain. The comparative psychology side of biopsychology studies how psychological processes have been shaped by evolutionary pressures, and how human psychology compares to psychological processes in other animals.

Specific topics this semester include the evolution of psychological and social traits, the structure and function of neurons, neurotransmitter signals and interactions with psychoactive drugs, neuroanatomy of brain structures, and brain mechanisms of perception, motivation, learning and cognition. Some basic familiarity with psychology (introductory psychology) and with biology concepts (high-school or introductory college level) is recommended, but other biology courses are not prerequisites for this course.

 

READING:      A required text for the course is the paperback The Selfish Gene by R. Dawkins. An additional (highly) recommended textbook for 80% of the course is Brain and Behavior: a cognitive neuroscience perspective by Eagleman and Downar. Additional required readings are posted online in the Readings folder in Resources on Canvas.

GRADING:      There will be three exams, containing both multiple-choice and short-answer questions, which contribute a total of 70% of your course grade (see schedule on page 6).   Discussion sections contribute the remaining 30% of your grade. The first exam will be in class Wednesday February 7th, and the second exam will be in class Wednesday March 14th. The third exam is Wednesday, April 25, 4:00 pm - 6:00 (LSA schedule assignment for final exam period). The three exams are not cumulative, and are worth, respectively, 20%, 25%, and 25% of the course grade.

 

DISCUSSION SECTION:

            Discussion sections are used for several purposes. In discussion section, your section leader will supplement the lecture with additional detail on a few topics that are especially interesting or controversial (for example: human psychological disorders, the evolutionary basis of human behavior). These topics plus neuroanatomy will form the basis of the Discussion Quiz. Also, when we cover brain structure (neuroanatomy) in lecture, you will have an opportunity to examine brain structure for yourself in discussion section. Led by your GSI, you will be able to dissect a sheep brain and compare its structure to that of a human brain (in small groups). Participation in the dissection is optional but you will be expected to know about brain structures and to be able to recognize them on the Quiz. The Quiz will be held in discussion during the week that will be specified in section. Your section leader will describe discussion section activities in more detail in your first meetings.

            Discussion Grading: Your discussion section contributes 30% to your final course grade.

This part of your grade is based on 3 sources:

  • Quiz based on material presented during discussion sections, and will occur in your regular discussion section around the middle of the semester [worth 15%])
  • A ‘Reaction Essay’ (4 pages on topic selected from below; worth 5% of your final grade, essay due to your GSI via Canvas on Wednesday January 17th by the start of lecture)
  • Depth Topic Project: either one Term Paper (10 pages; due by Monday April 9th) or one Group Presentation (10-15 min per group) on a topic chosen from the list on class website or a different topic approved by your GSI (presented in discussion section near the end of the semester). Your section leader will describe the quiz, reaction essays, and depth project options in detail during your discussion section. Your depth project will be worth 10% of your final grade.

Options for Depth Topic projects:   You will choose your format (group presentation /term paper) and topic, and prepare an outline, in consultation with your section GSI. A list of potential topics is posted on the Canvas site. You can develop a topic not on the list if you get approval from your section leader. Oral presentations may be done with one or two partners and your section GSI can help you find a partner. Regardless of format, you should find and read 2-5 articles related to your topic. Some relevant articles are listed in each textbook chapter. Your section GSI or Prof. Berridge can also direct you further if you need help. By midsemester, you will make a brief outline of your topic and sources. Outlines must be turned in to your GSI for approval.   Toward the end of the semester you will turn in your paper or present your oral project (late papers may be assessed a penalty). Presentations will be scheduled during discussion sections. Oral groups should also hand in a 1 page 'Group Resume' listing the members and the particular contributions made by each member on the day of their presentation. Honor code: In all assignments, we aim for scholarly integrity and we do our own original work. It is fine to quote previous work with citation or to acknowledge points gained from a reading or lecture, but word-for-word plagiarism is not acceptable, nor presenting the work of others as our own.

 

Reaction Essay Topics (Choose 1 from below)

  1. Are psychological processes like thoughts, sensations, and emotions identical or reducible to brain processes? Or do psychological processes have an irreducible mental property, which is always “left over”, and is essentially different from a brain process?   (Eagleman/Downar pp. 4-17 in Chapt. 1; pp 262-266 in Chapt 8)
  2. Is it ever ethical to use animal studies to improve our understanding of human brain function and disorders, or develop drug therapies? Are there particular conditions or rules that would determine whether your answer is yes or no? (Coursepack web 2-5; Eagleman/Downar Chapter 16)
  3. Are there ethical constraints that should limit the use of drugs to treat psychological problems? For example, is it okay to administer psychotherapeutic drugs against a person’s will? Or administer preventively to large populations? Or administer to young children deemed to be at risk? Are there additional constraints for other procedures, such as gene therapy or diagnostic neuroimaging?   When drugs or biochemical therapies fail, is it ethical to use electroconvulsive shock therapy or psychosurgery? (Coursepack web: Farah; Eagleman Ch 16)
  4. Can evolutionary principles that explain social behavior in animals (e.g., selfish gene, kin selection, reciprocal altruism, sexual selection) also be applied to human behavior? Is human culture also a product of these principles? Or is human culture exempt from ‘selfish gene’ selection, kin selection, and other principles of evolutionary psychology?   (Dawkins Ch 11)

 

 

Note: Details of reading assignments are announced in lecture slides. Readings listed below are for general guidance.

 

OUTLINE OF LECTURE TOPICS

AND ASSIGNED READINGS FOR LECTURE

 

PART I - FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES

  1. Mind-brain relations: history
  2. The comparative approach
    1. Schematic behavioral understanding of other minds
    2. Brains and behavior as evolutionary products
    3. Mechanisms vs. Function
  3. Ethics of Experimentation
    1. Weighing ends and means
    2. Animal experiments vs. Computer models
    3. Contemporary laboratory conditions

 

Readings: (A) Eagleman/Downar Chapter 1

(B) Coursepack readings (Canvas web site): Mason - Psychology & animal behavior

(C) Ethics: Canvas coursepack readings 2 (3, 4 &5 optional; 6 optional for human ethics)

 

 

PART II - THE EVOLUTION OF BEHAVIOR

  1. Evolution
    1. Tenets of selection
    2. Directions and units of selection
    3. Evolutionarily Stable Strategies
  2. Inclusive fitness
    1. Altruism and kin selection
    2. Sexual selection
    3. Parent/offspring conflict
  3. Behavioral genetics
    1. Chromosomes, genes, and monogenic traits
    2. Polygenic traits and heritability
    3. Gene-brain-behavior relations & Epigenetic interaction

 

Readings: (A and B) R. Dawkins: The Selfish Gene, Chapt. Skim 1-3, Read 4-6; 8-9; (C) Canvas: Behavioral genetics article; Epigenetics: Eagleman/Downar Chapter 4  

 

 

PART III - NEURONS AND BRAINS

  1. Neurons
    1. Neuronal structure
    2. Resting potentials and action potentials
    3. Synapses and graded potentials
    4. Neurotransmitters and drugs
  2. Brain anatomy
    1. Terms and divisions: rhombencephalon, mesencephalon, diencephalon, and telecephalon
    2. Major afferents and efferents
    3. Internal structure: gross anatomy
    4. Differences among vertebrate brains: mammals, birds, etc.
    5. Brain Development

Readings: A: Eagleman/Downar Chapter 3. Eagleman/Downar pp 535-540 and 546-551 in Chapter 16 pp. 464-469 in Chapter 14; B: Eagleman/Downar Chapter 2 .

 

 

PART IV - ACTION

  1. Morphology
    1. Reflex, oscillator, and servomechanism
    2. Combination principles
  2. Neural Systems
    1. Pyramidal
    2. Extrapyramidal

Readings:   Online paper on action patterns; then Eagleman/Downar Chapter 7; Eagleman/Downar pp 242-247 in Chapter 8; pp. 524-534 in Chapter 16;

 

 

PART V - UMWELT: SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

  1. Comparative audition
    1. Neural mechanisms for auditory information in moths, frogs, and humans
  2. Vision
    1. Comparative color vision
    2. Neural mechanisms of form vision:
      1. Retinogeniculostriate system: projections, levels, and receptive fields
      2. Cortical visual functions
    3. Human disorders and visual development

Readings: Part A:   Eagleman/Downar Chapter 6             Part B: Eagleman/Downar Chapter 5

 

 

PART VI - MOTIVATION

  1. Sleep, arousal, and the caudal brainstem
    1. Brain controls of waking, slow-wave sleep, & REM sleep
  2. Specific motivations and the forebrain limbic system
    1. Hunger: LH and VMH embedded in a distributed system
    2. Sex
      1. Perinatal organization of the brain
      2. Preoptic and anterior hypothalamic nuclei
    3. Aggression: amygdala, septum, and hypothalamic interaction
    4. Reward

Motivation Readings:

Sleep & Arousal: Eagleman/Downar pp 253-262 in Chapter 8; all Chapter 10 (33 pages)

Thirst, Hunger & Sex: Eagleman/Downar 408-410 in Chapter 13; pp 439-445 in Chapt 14   (11 pages)

Fear & Aggression: Eagleman/Downar pp. 408-416 in Chapter 13; pp 445-446 in Chapt 14 (10 pages)

Reward: Eagleman/Downar pp 379-384 & 416-419 in Chapter 13; pp 447-463 in Chapter 14 (24 pages)

 

 

 

PART VII - LEARNING

  1. Pavlov's cortical model
  2. Lashley's maze test: mass action vs. redundant specialization
  3. Hippocampal lesions in rats and humans
  4. Learning in simple systems: mammalian spines, insect ganglia, and mollusk cells

 

Readings: (1) Eagleman/Downar Chapter 9; Alzheimer’s Eagleman/Downar pp. 517-520 in Chapter 16

 

 

PART VIII - COGNITION AND COMMUNICATION

  1. Comparative use of signal and symbols
    1. Orders of signal intentionality
    2. Dolphin vocal communication: failure on a second-order task
    3. Chimpanzee cognition: second-order relations, transitive and causal inference
  2. Brain and language
    1. Hemispheric specialization
      1. Visual and auditory feature analysis in domestic chicks, monkeys, and humans by the left and right brain
      2. Lateralization of vocal communication in songbirds and humans
    2. Neural aphasia in humans
      1. Broca's and Wernicke's areas
      2. Production, syntactic, and semantic deficits

Readings:       (1) Canvas paper: Tomasello & Herrmann; Eagleman/Downar pp 480-485                                                     (2) Eagleman/Downar Chapter 11

 

ADDITIONAL READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTION

Brain dissection reading:

Please read the “Sheep Brain Dissection” handout twice, both times before you do your sheep brain dissection & comparison to the human brain. You will enjoy and learn much more in the brain dissection if you the instructions first. The handout is posted in the Readings file on Canvas.

 

Discussion quiz topics

The following additional readings should be read in advance of the discussion section meetings in which your section leader will talk about the topics listed. You are responsible for their content: questions about them may be asked in the discussion section quiz (see discussion section syllabus for more details).

 

Lecture Schedule

 

Week

Date

Lecture

Reading (See above & slides or Canvas for detailed reading list)

1

W Jan 3

Introduction/History

E 1; C 1 (Mason)

2

M Jan 8

W Jan 10

Animal Ethics/Behavioral Evolution

Evolutionarily Stable Strategies

C 2(3, 4, 5, 6 optional)

D skim 1-3; read 4&5

3

M Jan 15

W Jan 17

MLK Day - No lecture

Kin & Sexual Selection (reaction essay due)

 

D 6, 8 & 9 (7 skim); C 7;

4

M Jan 22

W Jan 24

Gene Conflict & Behavioral Genetics

Behavioral Genetics & Neurons

C 7; E 4

E 4 & E 3

5

M Jan 29

W Jan 31

Neurons & information

Synaptic transmission

E3

E 4 &pp535-540, 546-551

6

M Feb 5

W Feb 7

Receptors & Drugs

EXAM

E pp464-469

 

7

M Feb 12

W Feb 14

Neuroanatomy & Brain

Action patterns           

E 2 ?DISSECTION WEEK?

C 8  

8

M Feb 19

W Feb 21

Brain Movement Systems

Perception & Audition

E 7 &pp242-247, 524-534     

E 6 ?DISSECTION WEEK?

9

M Feb 26

W Feb 28

No lecture – Winter Break

No lecture – Winter Break

 

 

10

M Mar 5

W Mar 7

Audition/Vision

Vision

E 6

E 5

11

M Mar 12

W Mar 14

Vision & Motivation: Sleep

EXAM

E 5; E 10

 

12

M Mar 19

W Mar 21

Motivation: Sleep & Thirst

Motivation: Thirst & Hunger      

E 10 & pp 253-262; pp408-410

E pp439-445, pp410-416, pp445-446

 

13

M Mar 26

W Mar 28

Motivation: Sex

Motivation: Sex, Fear & Reward

E pp379-384; pp416-419, pp447-463

E 9 & pp517-520

14

M Apr 2

W Apr 7

Reward & Learning

Learning

E pp379-384; pp416-419, pp447-463

E 9 & pp517-520

15

M Apr 9

W Apr 11

Learning & Comparative Cognition

Cognition & Brain

C 11

E pp 480-485;   E 11

16

M Apr 16

 

Cognition & Brain or review

y

E 11

 

FINAL EXAM   Exam

 

Wednesday, April 25, 4:00 pm - 6:00 (LSA schedule assignment)

 

Reading abbreviations: E= Eagleman & Downar; D = Dawkins book ;   C = Canvas readings

Reading numbers refer to chapter # for Eagleman/Downar book (or pp=pages) text, chapter # for Dawkins book, and article # for Canvas readings.

 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due