Psychology 304h: Brain, Mind, and Behavior

Fall, 2009

Tuesday & Thursday 2:30 - 3:45 pm 520 Tobin Hall  email: psych304h-kcave@courses.umass.edu

Instructor: Kyle Cave office: 432 Tobin phone: 5-2787 Office hours: Wednesday 2:00-3:00 or by appointment

(This page last updated 12 Nov, 2009)
 

The outline and the list of sources for the paper are not due until noon on Monday, 16 November.

There will be no class on Nov. 19, and Chapters 24 and 25 are no longer part of the assigned reading.

New Assignment: Post two exam questions and answers on the Spark discussion section.
One question from the material on Executive Function (chapter 23) by Thurs., 19 Nov.
One question from the material on Evolution (chap 26)by Friday, 20 Nov.

This course will cover Cognitive Neuroscience. We will explore how the brain provides a foundation for cognition, both in humans and animals. Much of the class will be devoted to recent research using EEG and MRI to measure brain structure and activity. Other evidence will come from behavioral studies, from studies of patients with brain damage, and from recordings of individual neurons. We will consider different aspects of cognition including memory and language, and make a detailed examination of visual cognition, including object recognition and attention. We will end with a consideration of human consciousness and the relationship between brain and mind.

Readings:

The textbook for this course is Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience by Purves, Brannon, Cabeza, Huettel, LaBar, Platt, and Woldorff, pubhlised by Sinauer. It should be available at the Textbook Annex, and you can get it from other sources as well. Used copies should be available. New copies will come with neuroanatomy software, which could be helpful, but is not required. Other readings will be added later.

Schedule:

Below is a schedule showing the topic, and readings from the textbook for each class. Be sure that you have completed the readings before class, so that you can understand the material presented during class and can participate in the discussion. If you are confused about any part of the reading, try to formulate questions and ask them at the beginning of class.

date

topic

reading

1	Sep 8	introduction
2	Sep 10	History of Cognition and Neuroscience	chapter 2

3	Sep 15	Neurons	chapter 1
4	Sep 17	Brain Organization	deadline for choosing presentation topic

5	Sep 22	Methods presentation: EEG and ERP Audrey Carr, Katie Murphy Commentators: Max Anderson, BreAnna Battiest	chapter 3
6	Sep 24	Perception	chapter 4

7	Sep 29	Visual Perception presentation: how auditory perception differs from visual perception Meghan Corkery, Laura Marshman Commentators: Audrey Carr, Katie Murphy	chapter 5
8	Oct 1	Object Recognition presentation: agnosia Toby Bennett, Jon Nichols Commentators: Amanda Winkler, Laura Marshman	chapter 6

9	Oct 6	Exam 1
10	Oct 8	Face Recognition presentation: the role of the Fusiform Face Area Brian Melanson Commentator: Meghan Corkery	chapter 7

	Oct 13	no class
11	Oct 15	Perception contd.	paper topic due

12	Oct 20	Attention presentation: neglect Marianne Musk, Tina Roth Commentator: Jon Nichols, Brian Melanson	chapters 10 and 11
13	Oct 22	Attention contd.	chapter 12

14	Oct 27	-- no class --	chapters 13 and 14
15	Oct 29	-- no class --	chapters 15 and 16

16	Nov 3	Memory presentation: Alzheimer's Disease Max Sigel, Celeste DiGloria Commentators: Tina Roth, Liz Mancevice	chapter 20
17	Nov 5	Language presentation: aphasia Mikaela Duprey, Rachael Stevenson Commentators: Marianne Musk, Max Sigel	chapter 21

18	Nov 10	Exam 2
19	Nov 12	Cerebral Lateralization presentation: split brain patients Caitlin Dillon, Amanda Winkler Commentators: Toby Bennett, Celeste DiGloria	paper outline and sources due

20	Nov 17	Executive Function	chapter 23
21	Nov 19	-- no class --

22	Nov 24	Evolution presentation: evolution of vision Jared Callaham, Adam Gentile Commentators: Rachael Stevenson, Andi Norton	chapter 26
	Nov 26	no class - Thanksgiving

23	Dec 1	Consciousness presentation: V1 and visual awareness Ron Wilburn, Mike Duval Commentators: Caitlin Dillon, Mikaela Duprey	chapter 28
24	Dec 3	Consciousness contd. presentation: neural correlates of consciousness Max Anderson, Liz Mancevice Commentators: Adam Gentile, Mike Duval	paper due

25	Dec 8	Consciousness contd. presentation: near-death experiences BreAnna Battiest, Andi Norton Commentators: Jared Callaham, Ron Wilburn	Zuboff: The Story of a Brain
26	Dec 10	Consciousness contd.	Churchland chapter on Spark

We may decide to change the schedule as the class progresses.

Communicating Outside of Class:

There is a World Wide Web site for this class with this syllabus, class notes, and other materials. The address for the Web site is at the bottom of this syllabus. There is also a Spark site for turning in papers and accessing grades.

The best way to contact me is through e-mail, using the address at the top of this syllabus, or to come by during office hours. You can also phone at the number above.

Exams:

	Read this carefully. Ask me if there is any part you do not understand.
	There will be two exams during the semester and a final exam at the end.
	The exams will cover both material from class and material from the reading.
	Each exam will cover all the material that has been presented up to that point, including material that may have been on previous exams.
	The exams may include multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and matching questions, along with short answer/essay questions requiring answers between one sentence and half a page.
	No make-up exams will be given. Any missed exams can be made up with a paper.

Presentations:

Many of the classes will include a student presentation. Most of the presentations will be given by a pair of students working together, and each student will contribute to one presentation.

	Your presentation should be based on sources beyond the textbook. You can look for references to relevant sources on the class web pages and in the textbook.
	Most presentations will be given by two students working together, although presentations by one or by three students are possible.
	The topic of your presentation should be something related to the class topic for that day. The slots for presentations are indicated on the schedule above. Suggested topics for presentations are included, but you can work out a different topic with me if you prefer.
	Sign up for your presentation topic on Spark. The topics are first come, first served. Be sure to sign up for a topic by class time on Sep. 15.
	Two weeks before your presentation, you should send me a list of your sources. If you find other sources after you send me the list, you are free to include them as well.
	Each presentation should be about 20-30 minutes long.
	As part of your presentation, you should prepare a file with displays to use during your presentation, and should turn that file in to me on the day of your presentation via Spark. Part of your grade will be based on your class displays, and this file will be available to other students in the class.
	If you use a format other than PDF or Powerpoint for your display file, please work that out with me in advance.

Commentary:

You will write a commentary on at least one of the other student presentations. In the commentary, you will present your own insights on the topic, point out issues on which you agree or disagree with the presenter, and expand on the material that was presented. Your comment should be between 120 and 400 words, and should be posted in the "Discussions" section of the Spark site within 72 hours of the presentation.

You will be assigned one particular presentation to comment upon, but you will be free to comment on all the presentations, and other students will also be able to comment on your assigned presentation. Only your assigned commentary will be graded.

See the Guide to Writing the Commentary.

Paper:

You will write a paper on some topic within Cognitive Neuroscience. Your paper must show a good deal of research and thought. Consult with me about appropriate topics before you start. It should be no more than 5000 words. Papers can be turned in at any time before Dec 3. When the paper is done, turn it in electronically through Spark, which will route it through TurnItIn.

You have the option to write a double-length paper. If you do, your paper will replace either Exam 1 or Exam 2. If you select this option, be sure to inform me that you are doing so before you hand in your paper.

Your paper can be on a topic related to that of your presentation. It should be written independently of the other student that you work with on your presentation. You can include ideas that came from your presentation partner, as long as you give appropriate acknowledgement.

See the Guide to Writing the Paper.

Other Assignments:

There may be other assignments throughout the class. They could include your written thoughts and questions about one of the readings or a class discussion, other short written assignments, and perhaps an occasional short quiz. I may encourage you to discuss these assignments with other students (except, of course, the quizzes). However, unless I specifically say otherwise, the work you turn in for the assignments must be entirely your own.

Extra Credit:

By participating in experiments done within the Psychology Department, you can learn first hand how experimental psychology is done, you can contribute to the advancement of the field, and you can improve your grade through extra credit.

	You can sign up to participate in experiments at http://umasspsych.sona-systems.com.
	You will receive one credit for each half-hour of experimental participation. Each credit will add one-half of one percent to your total number of points.
	If you sign up to participate in an experiment and do not show up, you lose one credit for each credit you would have received.
	The total amount of extra credit you can receive is 8 credits, which will take 4 hours, and will add 4% to your point total.

You can also receive extra credit by designing a new experiment or series of experiments and presenting it in a short "grant proposal".

	The proposal should explain the questions that the experiment will answer, and why these questions are important to Cognitive Neuroscience.
	The proposal should also explain the methods that will be used to collect the data, which will likely include EEG, MRI, PET, TMS, or some other method used in Cognitive Neuroscience experiments.
	You should speak to me about your proposal before you start writing.
	The proposal should be no more than 1000 words (about 3 pages). If the ideas are well thought out and well presented, you will receive a maximum of 4% added to your point total.

Here are the limits on extra credit, whether it is earned by participating in Psychology Department experiments or writing a proposal for new experiments.

	The maximum extra credit that you can receive is 4% of the total possible points.
	All extra credit must be completed by Dec. 8.
	Extra credit cannot make a failing grade into a passing grade.

Avoiding Plagiarism:

All students are expected to adhere scrupulously to the University policy concerning academic honesty.  If you fail to follow these rules, you could receive a failing grade for the class and be reported to the Academic Honesty Office. For more information on the University's academic honesty policy, check this web site:

http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/codeofconduct/acadhonesty/

Also, this website from Indiana University provides examples to help you understand how to avoid plagiarism.

Disabilities:

If you need special accommodations because of a documented disability, please bring me the official letter by Sep. 21.

Final grade:

exams 1 and 2: 15% each
paper: 20%
presentation: 15%
presentation display file 10%
commentary and other assignments: 5%
final exam: 20%

extra credit is available through experimental participation. See above.  

An updated version of syllabus is available on the World Wide Web at: http://courses.umass.edu/psych304h-kcave/

Psych 304h: Mind, Brain, and Behavior Kyle Cave Psychology Dept. U. Mass.