BCS 110: SyllabusFall 2011Time & LocationTuesdays & Thursdays, 9:40 AM-10:55 AM, Hutchinson Hall 141 PersonnelLectures will be given primarily by: Sarah Heilbronner (Course director) Four Teaching Assistants will work with the instructors:
About the CourseThe course provides an introduction to the brain, its structure and organization, and how it controls everything we do—our perceptions, actions, thoughts, and emotions. The early part of the course deals with communication in the brain, how it analyzes information. We review differences between human brains and animal brains, how we can learn what the brain does, and the kinds of properties that encourage us to think of the brain as an information processor. Then, we examine how the brain picks up information about the world through the senses and analyzes information about what we see, feel, hear, smell, and taste and how it uses this information to control movements of the body. Later parts of the course examine the control of sexual behavior and some of the differences between the male and female brains. We also explore how the brain regulates the internal state of the body and our eating, drinking, sleeping and waking and emotional behaviors and drives. Later, we examine how different functions are localized in different parts of the brain, and what we can learn from observing people and animals who have suffered damage to their brains. Finally, we look at how brain disorders lead to disordered behavior. OrganizationThe aim of the lectures is to introduce students to topics that can be followed-up through reading; lectures and readings are complementary, and neither alone provides all that students should expect to get from the course. Powerpoints from lectures will be made available on Blackboard the evening before class, so students can take notes directly on slides. Most readings are from the course book (see below). For some topics, the course book provides little information, and supplementary reading may be assigned. All students should have access to the course website on Blackboard. If you don't, notify an instructor immediately. The book sold at the university bookstore will not contain the CD-ROM that usually comes with this textbook. We specifically asked the bookstore to carry this version in order to get a reduced price on the book. None of the lecture will rely on the content of the CD-ROM and the sample questions found on the CD-ROM do not necessarily reflect the kinds of questions or degree of difficulty that you will encounter on exams. Nevertheless, this CD might be helpful to some students and can be bought with the book on any web site selling textbooks. RecitationsThe TAs will run 4 weekly recitations that will explore issues raised in the week's classes. The first half of the recitation will go over the most difficult concepts. The second half will be devoted to answering questions from the students. Students are strongly encouraged to send questions ahead of time by email to the TA in charge of the recitation. Students must sign up for recitations. To sign up, just send an email to the TA running the recitation you would like to attend. Your are allowed to switch recitation at any point during the semester, but only after sending an email to the TA running the recitation you're quitting, and another one to the TA responsible for the recitation you are switching to. Recitations will begin the week of September 5.
Office HoursSarah Heilbronner will be available regularly on Tuesdays from 1:00 to 2:00 PM in Meliora 116, and at other times by appointment. TAs: contact the TAs by email to set up an appointment. ReadingsThe course text (James W. Kalat, Biological Psychology, 10th edition, Brooks/Cole) covers most of the material to be dealt with in lectures. You should try to read (or at least review) each assigned reading before class. Study GroupLearning Assistance Services (LAS) will be running study groups for BCS110. Time and location can be found on the LAS web site. Attending this study group is optional but highly recommended, especially for students experiencing difficulties with the course material. BCS Major and Research OpportunitiesIf you enjoy the course and would like to either major in BCS, or find out about research opportunities in neuroscience or cognitive science, contact the Undergraduate Programs Coordinator for BCS The BCS department offers B.A. and B.S. degrees. If you're wondering what you type of jobs you can get with a BCS degree, consult: Exams and GradingThe final grade will be determined by performance on 3 mid-term exams and a final exam (with the final counting as two midterm grades). If your worst grade is the final, your final grade will be based on the 3 mid-term grades (25% each) and the final counting the same as a mid-term grade (25%). If your worst grade is a mid-term, your final grade will be based on the other 2 mid-term grades (25% each) and the final (counting as two mid-term exams or 50%). This means you have to take the final. These will contribute points (total 100) to the final course grade. We are using this system in an effort to allow for improvement during the class, alleviate anxiety from having one bad testing day, and to ease pressure from the final exam. In all cases, you will wind up with the best grade from the possible combinations. Grades will be posted on Blackboard. Contact your TA if you know the grades have been released and you cannot access yours. All mid-terms will be multiple-choice exams, covering the immediately preceding section of the course. The final will also be a multiple-choice exam but in two parts. The first half of the final exam will be exactly like a mid-term and will cover the material in the immediately preceding section of the course. The second half of the final will be cumulative and will require knowledge about a range of general issues covering the whole course. WHERE: All exams will be held in the Hutchison Hall 141 (the auditorium in which all lectures are being held) unless otherwise stated in the schedule. WHEN: The dates of the mid-terms and the final are clearly identified on the lecture schedule. The only circumstance under which you will be able to take an exam other than at the scheduled time is if you have been ill, and provide a note to that effect from the University Health Service. If you have missed an exam, contact Sarah Heilbronner by email ( ) as soon as possible to arrange a make-up. MULTIPLE EXAMS ON THE SAME DAY: You will not be allowed to take the make-up exam because you have multiple midterm (or final) exams on the same day PLEASE NOTE ESPECIALLY THE DATE OF THE FINAL EXAM WHEN YOU MAKE END-OF-TERM TRAVEL PLANS. |
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