BCS 204: Course Outline
Only students who are enrolled in the course may access the readings online. You must be logged
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- 8.30.11 - Week 1 No class!
- Readings for 9.6.11 are available on Blackboard and in the class textbook.
- 9.6.11 – Week 2
- Location: RCBI Conference Room (RCBI Room 2-A224)
- Readings:
- Owen, A.M., Coleman, M.R. Boly, M., Davis, M.H., Laureys, S., & Pickard, J.D. (2006). Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State. Science, 313 (5792), 1402. Including Supplemental Online Materials.
- Chapter 1: An Introduction to fMRI (Huettel, Song, & McCarthy)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Schiavo_case
- Due: Questions/Comments from readings
- Class Agenda:
- Discussion of Owen et al (2006). What do Owen and colleagues' findings mean for what is happening in people who are in a vegetative state? What can we conclude about what is going on in their minds? Do these data motivate a different approach to dealing with people in this condition?
- Lecture: What is Cognitive Neuroscience? What are the goals of this science? What types of questions does it seek to answer? What are the methods it uses? What do fMRI brain maps tells us about how the brain works? What do fMRI maps tell us about what is going on in the mind of the subject?
- Organization of the class, discussion of requirements, and organization of student groups.
- 9.13.11 – Week 3
- Lecture PDF
Location: RCBI Conference Room (RCBI Room 2-A224)
- Readings:
- Chapter 6: From neuronal to hemodynamic activity (Huettel, Song, & McCarthy)
- Chapter 8: Spatial and temporal properties of fMRI (Huettel, Song, & McCarthy)
- Suggested further Readings: Chapter 7: BOLD fMRI (ibid)
- Due: Questions/Comments from readings
- Class Agenda
- fMRI data analysis in class: From raw data to maps. We will go through all analysis steps of fMRI data, starting with the files as they come off of the scanner, through to statistical contrast maps of brain activation.
- Discussion of what is involved in preparing data for publication (literature search, the structure of an empirical report, statistics refresher). A dataset is distributed for at- home analysis and student-initiated literature reviews.
- New Assignment: All students are to conduct background research on previously published and similar studies and to construct a reasoned interpretation of the dataset. Half of the students (Group A) will give oral presentations (on 9.20.11) and half will do written reports (3- 4 pages due 9.20.11; Group B).
- 9.20.11 – Week 4
- Location: RCBI Conference Room (RCBI Room 2-A224)
- Readings:
- Chapter 10: Statistical Analysis (Huettel, Song, & McCarthy)
- Your own literature search on the topic of your paper/presentation.
- Due: Power-point presentations (Group A) with typed bibliographies and written reports (Group B) are due before class begins. Presentations and reports should make explicit reference to Chapter 12 in order to justify all analyses.
- Class Agenda
- Student presentations (Group A).
- Visit to the RCBI MRI scanner.
- 9.27.11 – Week 5
- Location: Meliora 111
- Due: Questions/Comments from readings
- Class Agenda
- Sheep Brain Dissection.
- Comparative Anatomy.
- 10.4.11 – Week 6
- Location: RCBI Conference Room (RCBI Room 2-A224)
- Readings:
- Caramazza, A. (1984). The logic of neuropsychological research and the problem of patient classification in aphasia. Brain & Language, 21, 9-20
- Goodale, M.A., Milner, A.D., Jakobson, L.S., and Carey, D.P. A neurological dissociation between perceiving objects and grasping them. Nature, 349, 154-156.
- Suggested further Readings: Chapter 7: BOLD fMRI (ibid)
- Due: Questions/Comments from readings
- Class Agenda
- Discussion of the effect of brain damage on cognitive function. How do you test a brain damaged patient in order to ascertain the type of cognitive impairments they might have? Particular emphasis will be given to the interplay between cognitive theories and patterns of spared and impaired performance on different cognitive tasks.
- Guest lecture by Dr. Jorge Almeida (University of Lisbon) on dissociations between perception and action in brain damaged patients and healthy individuals.
- 10.11.11 – Week 7 No class! Fall Break
- 10.18.11 – Week 8
- Location: RCBI Conference Room (RCBI Room 2-A224)
- Readings:
- Caramazza, A., & Hillis, A.E. (1991). Lexical organization of nouns and verbs in the brain. Nature, 349, 788-790.
- M. Zorzi, K. Priftis, and C. Umilta. (2002). Brain damage - Neglect disrupts the mental number line. Nature, 417, 138-139
- Samson, D. and Pillon, A. (2003). A case of impaired knowledge for fruit and vegetables. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 3/4/5, 373-400.
- Due: Questions/Comments from readings
- Class Agenda: Break up into groups, and discuss real data from patients currently being studied (Data to be distributed). The patient data relate to the readings. Each group will then present the results of their discussion to the rest of the class. What types of cognitive processes are impaired in the patient? What implications does the pattern of spared/ impaired abilities in the patient have for current models of cognitive function?
- New Assignment: Group A students will prepare written reports (3-4 pages) and Group B students will prepare power point presentations (due 10.25.11). The goal of these resentations/ reports is to situate the neuropsychological data in the context of your own review of the literature and present a reasoned argument to answer the questions outlined above.
- 10.25.11 – Week 9
- Location: RCBI Conference Room (RCBI Room 2-A224)
- Readings: Your own literature search on the topic of your paper/presentation.
- Due: Power-point presentations (with full bibliographies) (Group B) and written reports (Group A) are due before class starts (emailed to BZM and KD).
- Class Agenda: Student presentations (Group B).
- 11.1.11 – Week 10
- Location: Meliora 111
- Readings: Prasad, BC and Reed, RR. (1999). Chemosensation: molecular mechanisms in worms and mammals. Trends Genetics, 15(4):150-153.
- Due: Questions/Comments from readings
- Class Agenda: Perception in worms. Light touch, harsh touch, olfaction, taste, tap (vibration). Using dissecting microscopes, we will compare perceptual responses in wild type worms to those bearing genetic mutations that disrupt key signaling events. Data analysis, statistics and graphing will be reviewed. Students will work in pairs.
- 11.8.11 – Week 11
- Location: Meliora 111
- Readings: TBA
- Due: Questions/Comments from readings
- Class Agenda: Cog Psych and Psychophysical Experiments in Class: Stroop, Primacy/Recency, Iconic Memory
- New Assignment: Interpret the results of one cognitive experiment (from 11.8.11) in the context of your own literature search. Propose an fMRI experiment that could be done to test the neural correlates of the cognitive processes. Be as explicit as possible on all aspects of the proposed experimental design. Be sure to make specific reference to the logic of fMRI experimental design discussed in the chapter. The final written report (6-8) pages is due 11.22.11.
- 11.15.11 – Week 12
- Location: Meliora 111
- Readings:
- Selected chapters from Sniffy the Virtual Rat (TBA)
- Milner, B. Squire, L.R., and Kandel, E.R. (1998). Cognitive Neuroscience and the Study of Memory. Neuron, 20, 445-468
- Due: Questions/Comments from readings
- Class Agenda
- Lecture on Learning, Associative learning, studying learning and memory in different species, and molecular basis for learning and memory.
- Sniffy the Rat classical and operant conditioning simulations. Students will work in groups of three.
- New Assignments: 3-4 page write-ups of Sniffy the Rat simulations (due 11.29.11)
- 11.22.11 – Week 13 No Class! Thanksgiving Break
- Readings: Chapter 11: Experimental Design (Huettel, Song, & McCarthy)
- Due: Write-ups of Cog Psych Experiments (from 11.8.11) due (6-8 pages). Be sure to make explicit reference to Chapter 11 in justifying your proposed experimental design.
- 11.29.11 – Week 14
- Location: Meliora 111
- Readings: Rankin, C.H. Nematode Memory: Now, Where Was I? Current Biology, 15, R374.
- Due: Write-ups of Sniffy simulations (3-4 pages)
- Class Agenda: Associative learning in worms: pairing salt or chemical with starvation shifts response from attraction to aversion. Students will work in pairs.
- New Assignments: 3-4 page write-ups on associative learning in worms
- 12.6.11 – Week 15
- Location: Meliora 111
- Readings: none
- Due: Write-ups of associative learning (3-4 pages)
- Class Agenda: Additional Worm Behavior Analysis. Complex behaviors
- New Assignments: 6-8 page papers are handed back (with grades and comments) for revision (due 12.22.11)
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