The course builds on foundational knowledge learned in BSC 110. Although these courses handle many of the same topics, BCS 153 looks behind the textbook knowledge to understand some of the original experimental work that provides us with our current understanding of cognitive neuroscience. As such, the texts, lectures, and writing assignment serve as an introduction to the primary literature. By the end of this course, students will:
be able to articulate, with supporting experimental examples, key concepts in cognition such as perception, attention, recognition, memory, and control
understand, at a basic level, the causes and effects of many common neurological diseases
be exposed to the creative experimental designs and methods of cognitive neuroscience
improve their writing skills through a writing assignment
have an opportunity to be creative. Through the writing assignment, students will think critically about the primary literature in a topic of their choice and attempt to identify a crucial question as yet unanswered by the field.
Course Materials
Text: Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the Mind, by M. Gazzaniga, R. Ivry, and G. Mangun. 2008. 3rd Edition, W.W. Norton Publishers
Text: Essentials of Human Memory, by A. Baddeley. 1999. Psychology Press.
Other Readings: All other readings indicated on the schedule will be provided on the class blackboard site.
Grading and Course Requirements
If you anticipate any conflicts with the schedule, talk to me well before the conflict has occurred.
Attendance and Participation
Not strictly monitored, but to your advantage to attend everyday. Really.
Readings
Reading is due the day it is indicated on the syllabus. For example, if the syllabus cites CN Ch 5 on Jan 20th, this means you should have competed this reading before this date.
Exams
4 exams, non-cumulative
Each exam is worth 20% of your grade,
Mostly simple format (T/F, multiple choice, fill-in, etc.), with some short written answers
Paper
Purpose: Plainly, this purpose of this paper is reading, thinking critically, and intelligently summarizing complicated knowledge rather than writing skills. As such, writing quality will not be a large percentage of the grade. However, it is nearly impossible to communicate an idea well if it is not written well, especially complicated ideas.
Assignment: a 1250 word essay on a cognitive neuroscience topic of your choice. The outcome of this exercise should be the thoughtful consideration of 8 original research papers and some creative ideas about the crucial problems facing the field and/or identifying some potential next steps the field should take. The most successful papers will contain three elements: 1) a (very) brief introduction, 2) review and comparison among papers, and 3) your thoughts on the current or future themes, questions, or perspectives on your chosen topic.
Smart advice: This is really not the long of a writing assignment. Thus, you will probably have to do some careful thinking and writing to get your information to fit in such a small word limit.
March 20th: Hand in a one page document describing your chosen paper topic in a sentence or two and list of 8 references that will be used in your paper. These references should all be original research articles and not review articles. Of course, you can read review articles as they may help you organize your thoughts and you may cite them in your paper (and you should, if they have helped you articulate your ideas), but they will not count toward the 8 original research articles required. At this stage you will received feedback on your chosen topic and references.
April 24th: Hand in paper in class, hard copy.
Academic Honesty
We expect that all the work which you claim is your own. Plagiarism and academic dishonesty are not accepted at the University of Rochester or in the "real world". In line with school policies on academic honesty, failure to maintain honesty will result in a formal report. However, we recognize that in some situations the answer to what academic honesty means may not be obvious; if you have questions about a particular behavior, ask the instructors or TA, or consult the University of Rochester page on academic honesty. Lastly, we anticipate that some students will unintentially violate academic honesty through improper citation of materials in the writing requirement. Don't let this happen to you! If you have questions about how to properly cite within writing, please contact a TA for assistance.
Additional Academic Support
The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the College Center for Academic Support provide tutoring services at CCAS in Lattimore 312. Help with writing can be found the College Writing Program. If you are struggling during the semester, please get in contact with myself, a TA, or one of these programs.