BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
PSYCHOLOGY 361 – SPRING 2008
Tues & Thurs 8:30am-10:20am,
BGC B10
INSTRUCTOR: William M. Struthers
OFFICE: BGC M246
PHONE: 752-7046 (office);
752-5773 (lab)
EMAIL:
William.M.Struthers@wheaton.edu
OFFICE HOURS: M 9:30am-10:30am, 11:30-12:30, TR 1:15-3:15pm
COURSE WEBPAGE: www.wheaton.edu/psychology/undergrad/faculty/wms/courses/psyc361.html
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Biological Psychology, Klein and Thorne, 1st Ed. Worth Publishers. 2007.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The goal of this course is to provide instruction and expose students to neuroanatomy, neuroendocrinology,
functional neurobiology and the neurochemical basis
of behavior. Students will be provided with a solid background in the
fundamentals of neuroanatomy, cellular and molecular
processes in neural action, and current methods in brain research and how
neural activity underlies behavior.
These topics will be used to demonstrate how our knowledge of behavior
is informed by each of these levels of analysis of the nervous system. In addition, emphasis will be placed on how
external sensory stimuli impact the organism and how that information is
processed and acted on. As part of this
training, this course will involve lectures and labs although class sessions
may occasionally have a seminar format.
It is important to note that any competent psychologist maintains a
working knowledge of the central and peripheral nervous systems at the micro-,
macro- and functional levels.
INTEGRATION:
While a variety of integration frameworks exist within the context of psychology and theology, the process of integration utilized by the instructor will be based on the following assumptions:
1. Jesus Christ is the Maker of all that is, seen and unseen.
2. The Holy Spirit actively works to transform, heal and minister to our entire being.
3. Scriptural Truth (big “T” truth) maintains a position of authority over all other epistemological methods (including the scientific method) whenever it speaks specifically to any issue.
4. While Scripture speaks with a variety of voices on a variety of issues, it was not intended to be read as a scientific text. Therefore, we should neither read it as such nor require it to be a science textbook.
5. Knowledge (or little “t” truth) obtained through the natural and social sciences is part of an ongoing process utilizing probabilistic evaluation of theories. Theoretical deduction and empirical induction are rooted in the empirical observation of Creation.
6. Christians have been given the responsibility to care for and study Creation as part of our worship of our Maker.
7. Christian theology can be either a priori or a posteriori. Examples of a priori theology include the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. The Wheaton College Statement of Faith is another example. A priori theology deals with first order assumptions about the nature of God. A posteriori theology involves the testing of theological matters and is, therefore, similar to the science of psychology. Utilizing induction and deduction, truth claims are posited and then evaluated. The principles of reliability and validity apply to both the science of psychology and the science of theology.
8. The nature of the integrative process varies widely within the discipline of psychology. Specifically, integration of many Biblical and theological subjects occurs with little difficulty in the applied and clinical areas of psychology. Integration in the more empirical and biological areas of psychology is rooted more in the a priori assumptions of the scientific method and may not yield clearly empirical, or what we might expect to be overtly Christian, hypotheses.
9. Within the context of this class, integration is based more in development of a Christian worldview, and less in the descriptive and functional analysis of the central nervous system.
The process of integration in class will generally take the form of discussion of relevant issues within the areas studied from a Biblical and Christian theological perspective. Students are also encouraged to raise issues in theology or Biblical interpretation during class discussion which are relevant to the material being covered.
CLASS STRUCTURE, STUDENT
RESPONSIBILITIES, AND GRADING:
Class will begin promptly at 8:30am and will end at 10:20am. There will be one 10 minute break during each lecture session and instruction will begin promptly after ten minutes. Students are expected to have completed the readings prior to coming to the lecture session they were assigned for.
In-Class Exams: There will be four objective tests covering material from the readings, lectures, and labs. These exams will be short answer/fill in the blank questions and multiple choice. Exams will be given at the beginning of the lecture session will be no more than 2 hours in duration. Each test will be worth 125 points (500pts total). Each exam will be a sectional exam with questions only taken from the chapters assigned prior to that exam . After the first exam each following exam will primarily be on material covered during that section, but will require/assume an understanding of basic principles and structures from the earlier exams. Exam #2 will also include a sheep brain and rat atlas lab practical component. More information on these will be provided in class.
Policy Regarding Make-up Exams: Make-up exams will only be given as a result of illness (verified by the health service) or death in the family. Make-up exams will be of the same format and number of questions, but different from the regularly scheduled exam.
Extra Credit: Five points extra credit will be given for a typed review (no more than 2 pages) of an article from a neuroscience journal dealing with a behavioral topic. Only one review may be submitted for a maximum of 5 extra credit points for the semester. This may be handed in no later than the last day of lecture (5/1). Additional opportunities for extra credit (i.e. participation in a psychology department experiment, attending a colloquium) will be announced in class.
Class Attendance, Participation and Out-of-Class Responsibilities: All students are encouraged to attend the lectures, although attendance will not be recorded. Students are expected to have read the assigned text and any other readings relevant to the topic(s) to be covered prior to coming to lecture. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of additional information covered in the lectures not found in the book as well as any changes in the syllabus announced in class. While participation in class discussion is not part of the grading criteria, it is my experience that students who actively participate in class generally attain a greater understanding of the material and its relevance.
Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism and Cheating: In this course, plagiarism and cheating cannot be tolerated. This policy can be found in the Psychology Department's Student Handbook which defines plagiarism as the "theft of paragraphs, sentences, phrases or ideas without giving proper credit to the person who originated them" (p. 7). In this course, cheating--that is, representing others' work as your own—is most often committed in the copying of assignments or exam answers. In addition, academic dishonesty may also be committed by sharing this information with another (i.e. allowing a classmate to copy your assignments, etc). Remember that a course grade or even your undergraduate career could be jeopardized by cheating and or plagiarism. Also, please read over the section on Academic Integrity contained in the current Wheaton College Catalog. Any student found to have committed academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade of zero (0) for the assignment/exam and may be subject to additional discipline based on the severity of the offense.
GRADING SCALE
|
GRADE |
POINTS |
|
GRADE |
POINTS |
|
A |
460-500 |
|
C+ |
390-399.5 |
|
A- |
450-459.5 |
|
C |
360-389.5 |
|
B+ |
440-449.5 |
|
C- |
350-359.5 |
|
B |
410-439.5 |
|
D |
300-349.5 |
|
B- |
400-409.5 |
|
F |
0-299.5 |
It is the responsibility of every faculty
member to disseminate to students an awareness of what constitutes honesty and
dishonesty in academic work. Faculty members are responsible to define in their
courses what they consider to be plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration,
violations of the conditions under which the work is to be done, fabrication of
data, unauthorized use of computer data, and excessive revisions by someone
other than the student. A faculty member
shall assign a grade of zero to any individual assignment or test in which a
student has been dishonest. In the case of a second instance of dishonesty, a
student will be dropped from that course with a grade of F and placed on a
disciplinary status up to and including dismissal (
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND DIVERSITY
As part of its mission
statement, the Wheaton College Psychology department is sensitive to issues of
culture and diversity in the training of students. We maintain a special concern for those
persons who have been marginalized by our society on any basis, including but
not limited to race, ethnicity, age, and social class. In this course, concern about individual
differences and diversity are addressed during sections of the course where we
examine the access to medical treatment, psychopathology, cultural
impact on the interpretation of neuroscientific
information, male/female differences, and the appropriate use of medication
across the life span.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Click on the lecture title for the in-class outlines and notes.
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Tuesday |
Thursday
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January 15 |
January 17 |
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January 22 |
January 24 |
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January 29 |
January 31 |
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February
5 |
February 7 |
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February 12 |
February
14 |
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February
19 |
February
21 |
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February
26 |
February
28 |
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March
4 |
March
6 |
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SPRING BREAK – NO CLASSES
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March
18 |
March
20 |
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March
25 |
March
27 |
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April
1 |
April
3 |
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April 8 |
April
10 |
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April
15 |
April
17 |
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April 22 |
April 24 |
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April
29 |
May
1 |
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FINAL EXAM (EXAM 4) - Tuesday, May 6 @ 10:30am |
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