OBJECTIVES:

This course will provide a broad survey of the research orientations and findings in the major areas of behavioral neuroscience. We will begin with an examination of the fundamental aspects of neuroscience and build to the consideration of highly integrated behaviors.  The human brain contains about 100 billion neurons.  Each of these make between 1 thousand and 10 thousand connections, or synapses.  It' s been calculated that the number of potential brain states the permutations and combinations of synaptic elements can create is higher than the number of atoms in the known universe.  Parsimony indicates that this internal complexity gives rise to every element of our loves, fears, morality, aesthetic choices, religious feelings, and personality; we have quite a bit to cover!

CLASS ATTENDANCE:

You are responsible for all announcements made in class, you may be tested on any lecture material, and you (or someone dear to your heart) paid a bunch of money so you could take this class. I feel no need to impose additional contingencies for missed lectures. My procedures for dealing with missed exams are described below.

TESTING-GRADING:

Read Ahead Quizzes:

This course incorporates Read Ahead Quizzes.  You will be given light and lively quizzes almost every week that are intended to assess whether you have read each chapter at least once.  They will consist of five questions per chapter (2 points per question) from the assigned readings for that week.  With one exception (see schedule) quizzes will be taken during the first 5-7 min of Tuesday classes (don't be late).  The lowest score for quizzes covering chapters for each exam will be dropped and the remaining quiz points added to the total points earned on each exam before scores on that exam are curved. 

Grades: 

The results of each test will be "curved" (see below) on a 4.67 point scale. Typically, the top grade on each defines "4.67." Chance performance (that which could be earned merely by stabbing a pencil at the answer sheet) defines "0.0". For each test, additional raw scores will be announced that determine "1.0", "2.0", "2.67", "3.67", and "4.67". You can calculate your precise curved score by interpolation. For example, if 40= 2.67, 45 = 3.67, and you earned a score of 44 on Exam I, then your curved test score would be 3.47 (that is 2.67 + 4/5 = 3.47).  If you are unsure about what your grade is, or question if you calculated it correctly, come visit.

Note: My curve is not based on number of people, rather, on percentage of earned points. Therefore, there is no limit to the proportion of students who can earn A's (or any other grade).

At the end of the course, your final grade will be converted from averaged number to letter grade based upon the numeric values of letters in calculating the GPA. For example, a B+ = 3.33 and an A- = 3.67; therefore, the A- range would be from 3.67 to 3.99. A grade of A would be earned for a course average of 4.0 and above. The 3.47 you received in the earlier example would be a B+, leaving you .2 below the A- range and .14 above the B+ range.

This grading procedure may at first glance seem a bit complex, but it is to your benefit. You know precisely what grade you have at any given point in the course--you don't have "about a B+," rather, you have a 3.47. Once you've gotten an exam back, you've got a grade that you can put in the bank, not an approximate value that may shift based on a final "mystery" grade distribution that won't come into existence until the end of the semester. Knowledge is power.

Numbers to Letters:

For each exam you will receive a grade that ranges from "0.0" to "4.67", such as the 3.47 mentioned above. You can convert these numeric grades to letter grades using the following table.  On the table below, a 3.47 equates to a grade within the B+ range:

Overall Testing Procedure:

There will be 3 semester exams and a comprehensive final. All students must take the final in its entirety. Examinations will be given during the designated class periods, no exceptions. Your overall examination grade will be defined by these tests--67% for the semester exams and 33% for the final.  There will be no extra credit assignments, nor will there be any make ups for midterms. Should you miss a midterm, the procedure outlined below will allow you to replace this grade. Do not miss the final.

Tests will consist of: text figures, your reproductions of drawings, multiple choice, fill-in, and very short answer essay questions drawn from both lecture and ALL assigned readings. Students should not overlook the latter source of information.  NOTE WELL, there will be comprehensive components to exams 2 and 3.  As the semester progresses, I will identify material that is so fundamental to the course that it may appear on every subsequent exam.  By the end of the course, this fundamental information should be second nature to you.  The net effect of this Rolling Thunder cumulative testing procedure is that it will make the overall course much easier because you will remain fluent in the basic concepts necessary to understand all course content.  Trust me, you'll like it!

The Final:

The final examination will be subdivided into 4 major sections. Three of the sections will correspond to materials covered in each of the 3 semester exams, the 4th section will deal with material covered since the third exam. Your curved grade for the final will be defined by the total number of correct answers on the test overall. In addition, curved scores will be calculated for each of the 3 subsections of the final that dealt with semester exam material.

The Challenge Option:

You may opt to challenge (i.e., replace) one and only one semester exam grade with the appropriate curved score from the final. The midterm and final sub-part grades will be compared and the HIGHER used in calculating your course grade. Therefore, the challenge option cannot lower your score. If you have missed a semester exam, you must use your challenge to replace this grade.

ASSIGNED READINGS:

Unless specifically assigned, you will not be tested on information that is contained ONLY in a figure or table.

NOTE:  YOU MUST CHOOSE AND COMPLETE ONLY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TWO ASSIGNMENTS.

Grading:

These assignments will be graded on a pass/no pass basis (not passing doesn't happen, but it would result in a lowering of your overall course grade by 1.0). For those of you who don't know how to create a web page, help will be provided by the TA or myself.

Kids Judge: 

If you choose this option, you will only be required to annotate/react to two articles and meet with me for 10 minutes (For details on how to annotate/react see below.).

On Saturday, November 18th, the University will sponsor its seventh Kids Judge Neuroscience event.  Girl Scouts will come to campus for a festive day of (typically) hands on presentations relating to neuroscience.  Kids Judge is partially funded by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center NEPA AHEC).   This event won first place in the Education category in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Nonprofit & Community Assistance Center Awards for 2005.  The Girl Scauts will grade your presentations (The grades they assign to you, however, don't affect your grade; it's all good fun.) and the winning presentation will receive and award at the end of the day.  Individuals, or teams of up to 5 students, may prepare these presentations and related web support materials in lieu of the following individual assignment.  You must let me know if you will be doing Kids Judge by October 7th.

Annotated Bibliography with Reactions: 

During the course of the semester you will choose, or be assigned, a topic upon which to prepare either a web page or a posting on the Blackboard Discussion Board that presents an annotated bibliography (at least 8 citations) mostly journal articles (not articles from the "popular press") but it may include a sprinkling of annotated links from the World Wide Web.  After each annotation, write a brief summary of your "reaction" to this article.  These bibliographies should evolve during the semester and must be complete by 3:00 pm on Friday, November 17. You should retain complete copies of all journal articles and bring them to our meeting. After submitting your bibliography, you will choose a 20 minute period from those I will have posted outside of my office in order to schedule a non-threatening collegial discussion of the research area in which you have developed some expertise.

To maximize your enjoyment and educational experience, choose a topic that interests you. Typically (but it's not a rule), your first citation will be chosen from those referenced in your text. Be certain to have your topic and key reference approved prior to beginning any substantial library work.

You will not be responsible for obtaining any articles through inter-library loan. You must make use of the library's databases to obtain some of your citations. If needed, I'd be happy to help you get started with your computerized literature searches, just ask.

BLACKBOARD-BASED-THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE EXAM QUESTIONS:

No exam is perfect and I hate to think that you've labored to master some difficult concept only to find that the concept doesn't/didn't show up on an exam.

Within 48 hours after each exam, you will put  in the appropriate discussion board thread a fully formed question (multiple choice questions should include options) that you wish had been asked. Include the correct answer and relevant text page(s), if appropriate. I'll browse through the above questions and use as many as possible on relevant exams. Of course, your peers can also browse through them, knowing that some of these questions will be on the exams.

Failure to meet these deadlines will result in a reduction in relevant exam grade by .2 for each class day.

Weekly, you should find a link to a news story on the web that relates to some aspect of Neuroscience.  There will be threads on the Discussion Board for your link postings.  Please include a very brief (2-3 sentence) description of each link.  These postings will be considered part of class participation and we will discuss a few each week.  Postings should be made before noon each Friday. Be sure to post something that hasn't already been posted and don't wait until the last minute!

 Failure to meet these deadlines will result in a reduction in relevant exam grade by .2 for each class day.