Learning Outcomes
NEUR 200, Spring, 2021
NEUR 200, Spring, 2021
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Draw a midsagittal, lateral, and coronal view of the brain and on each, label the major structures with name, most important functions, and neural circuit(s) of which they are components.
- Describe, using drawings and graphs, the electrical and chemical signals used to convey information within and between neurons including how they are produced, how they travel, and their relationships to neural integration and neural codes.
- Describe sensorimotor integration, including afferent, processing, efferent, and compensation stages.
- Identify the important concepts of CNS function demonstrated by each stage of visual information processing. To do this, you will draw, with labels and functions, three pathways for visual processing, starting with the eye and ending with the behavioral function.
- Describe and explain CNS plasticity. This will include drawing a timeline for the major events in CNS development, providing examples of compensatory plasticity, and describing memory processes.
- Describe and explain using drawings the major principles of biological rhythms and sleep
- Describe, with specific examples, ways in which contemporary neuroscience impacts and is impacted by society. This can include: the legal system, ethical concerns about research and the use of research results, public health, personal liberties and responsibilities, communicating science to the public, the interface between government and science.
To challenge yourself, consider the following as practical ways to demonstrate your new-found knowledge and skills:
- Critically evaluate news and popular press reports of neuroscience discoveries, assessing their plausibility, the appropriateness of the techniques, the interpretation of the results, and the significance for understanding normal and abnormal nervous system functioning. You will be able to explain your evaluation to a non-scientist.
- Produce an effective infographic that would educate a non-scientist about CNS plasticity in its many forms.
- Create a campaign to educate undergraduates about the importance of biological rhythms and sleep in their lives, and how they can use that knowledge to improve their lives.