NEUROPSYCHOLOGY

Psychology 222

Winter 1996

Meeting Times: MWF: 9:00-9:50 (Class) Laboratory: R: 8 - 11 AM or 1 - 4 PM

Instructor: John H. Krantz

Office: Science Hall 112 Office Hours: TBD by class

Phone: x7307

E-mail Address: krantzj@hanover.edu

Text: Our principle text will be Physiology of Behavior, 5th ed. by Neil R. Carlson. There is a report from the Hastings Center on reserve at the library that will serve as a background for our discussion/debate on the handling, care and use of animals in the laboratory. Other readings will be handed out as necessary.

Objectives:

The central nervous system, composed of the brain and spinal chord, is the control center of the body; however, it is a jelly-like mass encased in fluid-filled sacks again encased in bone. How do these buried structures carry on the tasks of learning about the environment around us, controlling our movements so precisely, helping us survive individually and as a species, causing us to experience finely-tuned emotional reactions, learning, remembering, speaking so well? That is the goal of this class: To bring some light to this greatest of all human mysteries. Our answers are at best tentative, but we have learned much and the hints at the final answers are, I find, exciting. In this course I will use the most common way of thinking about the brain: as a very sophisticated computer. This represents the information processing approach and is the mainstay of neuropsychology today. Don't get too caught up in the computer analogy. While we understand that the brain does not operate in the same way as the PC or Macintosh on your desk, it is helpful to use some of the terminology from computer functions to understand brain functions, e.g., input for bringing in information about the outside world.

The goals of the laboratory portions of the class are: (1) to gain first-hand knowledge of neuroanatomy, (2) to gain experience in the handling, care, and proper use of laboratory animals, and (3) to acquaint you with some of the behavioral methods used to study brain-behavior relations.

Course Outline:

Material covered in any course that you take here at Hanover College represents more than a collection of facts or ideas loosely held together by the course title. There is an intricate structure to what is included and what is not which makes that course content distinct from other courses. I find, however, that in the heat of a term, students and faculty get caught up in the particulars of the day's lecture and sometimes lose sight of how the specifics of the day's lecture fit into the overall structure of the course. It is a "lose sight of the forest for the trees" type of phenomenon. In order to help you understand and keep track of the overall structure of this course, I have prepared the following course outline. The reading assignments below have the outline numbers next to them so that you can refer back to this outline and understand how a particular topic relates to the whole area of learning. In addition, during the class periods I will refer each lecture back to this outline. Study this outline. It will be of great help in studying for the examinations and especially the comprehensive portion of the final examination where I will ask you questions that will cross several portions of this course.

Book Assg Dates Days

I. Overview: Philosophical Issues of Neuropsychology Ch 1 Jan 8-10 M,W

II. Structure and Function of the Nervous System

A. Small Scale Structures

1. Structure Ch 2: 20-29 Jan 12 F

2. Transmission within a Neuron Ch 2: 30-44 Jan 15 M

3. Communication between Neurons Ch 3: 47-70 Jan 17 W

4. Psychopharmacology Ch 3: 70-74 Jan 19,22 F,M

B. Large Scale Structures of the Central Nervous System Ch 4 Jan 24-26 W,F

C. Physiological Methods in Neuropsychology Ch 5 Jan 29 M

Before this test you are required to complete the neuron and brain structure tutorials and quizzes found at

http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/neurtut220.html

Failure to do these tutorials will affect your final grade (maximum - 1/2 letter grade). Constructive Comments will be given extra credit.

Test #1, Wednesday, January 31

III. The Input and Output of the Nervous System

A. Input (Sensory Systems)

1. General Issues of Sensory Coding Feb 2 F

2. Vision Ch 6 Feb 5-9 M,W,F

As part of your reading assignment please check the Receptive Fields Tutorial at

http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/sen_tut.html

3. Audition Ch 7: 182-197 Feb 12 M

4. Mechanical and Chemical Senses Ch 7: 198-223 Feb 14 W

B. Output (Motor Systems) Ch 8 Feb 16-19 F,M

Test #2, Wednesday February 21

IV. Basic Motivated Behaviors

A. Behaviors Necessary for Individual Survival

1. General Model and Thirst Ch 12 Feb 23 F

WINTER BREAK FEB 23 TO MARCH 3 - HAVE FUN!!!

2. Hunger Ch 13 Mar 4 M

3. Sleep Ch 9 Mar 6-8 W,F

B. Behaviors Necessary for Species Survival

1. Sexual Behavior Ch 10:291-322 Mar 11 M

2. Maternal Behavior Ch 10:324-330 Mar 13 W

V. Higher Functions

A. Emotional Reactions (Not typically called a Ch 11 Mar 15-18 F,M

higher function, but seems to fit for our purposes.)

Test #3 Wednesday March 20

B. Rational/Cognitive Functions

1. Learning and Memory Ch 14, Ch 15 Mar 22-25 F,M

2. Cerebral Asymmetry Ch 16: 512 Mar 27 W

3. Left/Right Hemisphere Functions Ch 16:513-540 Mar 29 F

VI. Variations and Development of the Brain

A. Development and Variations in Development

1. General Principles of Brain Development Apr 1 M

2. Visual Development/Abnormalities Apr 3 W

B. Brain Trauma and Misfunction

1. Neural Basis of Mental Disorders Ch 17,Ch.18 Apr 5-8 F,M

2. Brain Damage and its Recovery Apr 10-12 W,F

Readings from the last section of the course will come from The Whole Brain Atlas which is an online

resource. The sections will be assigned later. You wil find The Whole Brain Atlas from a link on

http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/neurtut220.html

Exam Week Apr 15-19 Final Exam on Final Exam Day

LABORATORY SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS.

Week Outline: Topic/Assignment

I I.B: Sheep Brain Dissection I

II I.B: Sheep Brain Dissection II It might help to review the brain tutorials at

http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/neurtut220.html

III I.B: Sheep Brain Practicum/Handling and Care of

Laboratory Animals - Hastings 4-19

IV IV.B: Learning and Shaping I

V IV.B: Learning and Shaping II

VI IV.B: Learning and Shaping III

VII IV.B: Learning and Shaping IV

VIII I/0: Open Field Behavior I/Laboratory Report 1 due

IX I/0: Open Field Behavior II

X I/0: Open Field Behavior III

XI IV.B: Cerebral Asymmetry I/Laboratory Report 2 due

XII IV.B: Cerebral Asymmetry II

XIII Laboratory Report 3 Due

Examinations:

There will be four examinations. In a course of this type, all later information builds upon the foundation developed in earlier parts of the course. Therefore the course is cumulative and so are the examinations. Each examination will cover material from all previous sections of the course. Since later examinations will be covering more material they will be worth more points. The value of the examinations are as follows:

Exam 1 50 points

Exam 2 100 points

Exam 3 150 points

Exam 4 200 points

The first three examinations will be one hour in length and the final will be twice as long since it is the course ending examination.

Laboratory Reports:

Lab reports are required for the three experiments that will be conducted as part of the lab course. Each report is due one week after the lab is completed at the beginning of the lab period. For each day that the lab report is late, you will lose one letter grade. More information regarding how these reports are to be prepared will be given to you on the lab day on which we discuss the lab reports.

Laboratory Grading:

For the first laboratory, the sheep brain dissection, there will be a practicum worth 150 points. The first laboratory report will be worth 50 points and only covers part of the full laboratory report. The second laboratory report will be worth 100 points and the final laboratory report will be worth 150 points. Thus the laboratory portion of the course will be worth 450 points.

Network Use Assignments:

Hanover College has established a computer network that is local to the campus and established links to the Internet which stretches around the world. The implications and possibilities of such computer communications strikes me as staggering and to a great extent unrealized. However, I find it important that you begin gaining experience with at least some aspects of the network because it will alter many aspects of at least your work lives, by providing access to information not previously available, and probably your home lives in the context of the information highway. Therefore, I have designed a few small assignments to give you experience on the network in ways that I believe will shape the future of Neuropsychology.

Assignment 1: All of you have been set up e-mail accounts. You need to go to one of the computer laboratories (I don't care which) with a disk and have the laboratory assistants set you up an e-mail disk and show you how the e-mail works. Then e-mail me a message. The message is irrelevant. (10 points) Due end of first week.

Assignment 2: Create a file in a word processor of your choice. Save the document as a text file and include that file to me in another e-mail message (this is a second message). I will cover the specifics for this assignment in a laboratory class. Both assignment 1 and 2 must be completed one week before the first laboratory report is due as you will use these techniques to submit your laboratory reports. (20 points) Due end of second week.

Assignment 3: The first two assignments will allow you to communicate with friends around the world if they have e-mail. However, we have just scratched the surface of the network. There are many ways to get information off the network. The easiest way is to use the web browser called Netscape. In the computer labs you will be taken to the Hanover College Home page. From there click on the button that says Departmental Servers. There you will find a link to the Psychology Department. From here you will have a base to explore psychological information around the world. One way science may be changed by the internet is by the use of electronic journals. On the psychology home page is a link to a page with a list of electronic journals. Explore these and find a complete article having to do with the brain and behavior and print it out and hand it in. (20 points). Due end of third week.

Class Participation and Miscellaneous Grades:

To help ensure that students actively participate there is a participation grade. In addition I reserve the right to give other small assignments and quizzes as I see fit to best benefit the quality of the class experience. The points for this section is 150 points. At least 100 will be participation. Up to the other 50 points could be short in class quizzes, or other network assignments or perhaps a reading assignment. These will be clearly announced with their point value. What ever is not used in these assignments will be part of the participation grade..

Grading:

There are a total of 1200 points in this class, the grades will be assigned as follows:

A 1150 - 1035

B 1034 - 920

C 919 - 805

D 804 - 690

F < 690