PSYC409-24S2 (C) Semester Two 2024

Special Topic

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 15 July 2024
End Date: Sunday, 10 November 2024
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 28 July 2024
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 29 September 2024

Description

Special Topic

Special Topic: Neurobiology of Higher Cognition

We will study how our brain develops and changes over the lifespan and what brain areas contribute to ways that we learn and update information, navigate in our environment, generate goals, make decisions, and produce actions.

We will consider how personality, hormones, physiology, and genetics influence the brain. We will learn how brain areas are affected during healthy ageing throughout the lifespan and in some brain disorders that cause cognitive deficits, for example, affective disorders (e.g., schizophrenia) and dementias (e.g., behavioural variant frontotemporal dementias). Throughout the course, students will also reflect on the impact of environmental factors on the brain.

Additionally, students will learn about the regulations governing welfare and ethics when working with humans and animal models in neuroscience and bicultural perspectives about the brain. We will also consider how neuroscience and neurobiology contribute to the development of artificial intelligence

Learning Outcomes

  • The objectives of the course are to:

  • Evaluate and reflect upon the regulations that govern the ethical treatment and welfare of humans and animals participating in neuroscience research
  • Identify and explain how neural networks contribute to our cognitive and behavioural processes
  • Identify and infer how individual differences and environment factors impact on neural systems and our cognitive functioning
  • Interpret and synthesize technical scientific primary literature
  • Ability to extrapolate in-depth knowledge from humans and animal models and infer this to human endeavours to advance biomedical strategies, treatments, technology, and artificial intelligence

Prerequisites

Subject to approval of the Head of Department.

Timetable 2024

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 10:00 - 12:00 Beatrice Tinsley 111
15 Jul - 25 Aug
16 Sep - 20 Oct
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 15:00 - 17:00 Beatrice Tinsley 111
9 Sep - 15 Sep

Course Coordinator

Anna Mitchell

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Human and animal ethics and welfare assignment 12% Human and animal ethics and welfare assignment (1,500 words)
Weekly quizzes 18% Weekly quizzes on lecture content - 6 quizzes in total (3% each)
Individual seminar presentation 25% Individual seminar presentation to the class
Seminar report 20% Seminar report (about 2,000 words)
Essay 25% Essay (about 3,000 words)

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Carlson NR, & Birkett MA; Physiology of Behavior ; 12 or 13; (12th or 13th edition available online via UC Library. Beyond introductory chapters, a single textbook is not followed).

There are no required textbooks for this course. Assigned readings and online content for   lectures and student presentations will be provided online via LEARN.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,110.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing .

All PSYC409 Occurrences

  • PSYC409-24S2 (C) Semester Two 2024