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Psychology 846.3: Human Neuropsychology

Time: Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.Room: Arts 166

Instructor: Dr. Lorin Elias

Office: 154 ArtsE-Mail: lorin.elias@usask.caPhone: 966-6670

Required and Recommended Texts:

There are no required textbooks. There will be required readings from journal articles. Some ofthese are listed within the syllabus, but others will be chosen and disseminated as the courseprogresses.

In addition to these journal articles, I advise you to obtain access to an undergraduateneuropsychology or behavioural neuroscience textbook if you do not already own one. This will

prove especially useful for reviewing neuroanatomy and neuroscience methods.

Course Objectives:

The course calendar describes this course as:A critical review of theory, research andmethodology in human neuropsychology. Using a combination of lectures and seminars,students will be exposed to the recent literature on topics such as brain localization andlateralization of functions, brain damage and recovery, and the neuropsychology of higher-order functions.

For the winter 2013 offering of the course, we will be focusing on the neuroscience of everydaylife. Topics such as lateralization and localization of function, brain damage and recovery, and

the neuroscience of functions like memory and attention will be addressed from a real worldperspective instead of exclusively focusing exclusively on laboratory based research. We willbe studying the many ways that the brains architecture biases our perceptions, memories, andeven personalities. We will also examine strategies to selectively exploit or circumvent thesebiases. It is assumed that the student has some familiarity with current dogma inneuropsychology or cognitive neuroscience (i.e. that the student has taken one or twoundergraduate courses in biological psychology already, including a survey course).

Course Requirements

Class Participation 10%Presentations (2 @ 25% each) 50%

Papers (1 @ 40%) 40%

Class Participation (10%): This course is primarily structured using a seminar format. Yourpreparedness for class and willingness to participate are both essential in order for this courseto be successful. I expect you to complete the assigned readings before the each class.Further, your attendance is also compulsory. Should you be required to miss a class, I wouldappreciate being informed via e-mail (Lorin.Elias@usask.ca) or telephone (966-6670) prior toclass. Your grade will not only be influenced by the quantity of your participation, but also thequality of your participation.

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Presentations (2 @ 25% each): Each student will complete one group presentation and oneindividual presentation during the course. The presentations should be approximately 45minutes in length, allowing 15 minutes for questions (total of 60 minutes). For eachpresentation, you will also need to provide at least 1 journal article (ideally 2) to the rest of theclass on your topic, one week prior to your presentation. Presentation grades and feedback willcome from both the instructor and your classmates.

Written Assignment (40%): At the end of the course, each student will submit an NSERC-style grant proposal for a research program related to one of the topics previously presented bythat student. NSERCs instructions for the grant are located here:http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServices-ServicesEnLigne/instructions/101/e.asp?prog=dg Students will complete a simplifiedForm 101, including a budget, and a proposal of 5 single-spaced =10 double-spaced pages following NSERCs guidelines for content and presentation.Students do notneed to complete Form 180 or Form 100.

Tentative Schedule

Date Topic

January 8, 2013 Orientation and SchedulingJanuary 15, 2013 Sample: The Laterality of Everyday LifeJanuary 22, 2013 Group Presentations (2x2)January 29, 2013 Group Presentations (2x2)February 5, 2013 Group Presentations (2x2)February 12, 2013 Group Presentations (2x2)

February 19, 2013 February Break no class

February 26, 2013 Individual Presentations (2)March 5, 2013 Individual Presentations (2)

March 12, 2013 Individual Presentations (2)March 19, 2013 Individual Presentations (2)March 26, 2013 Individual Presentations (2)

April 2, 2013 Individual Presentations (2)

April 9, 2013 Grant Proposal Due

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServices-ServicesEnLigne/instructions/101/e.asp?prog=dghttp://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServices-ServicesEnLigne/instructions/101/e.asp?prog=dghttp://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServices-ServicesEnLigne/instructions/101/e.asp?prog=dg

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Potential Topics (no t exhaustive)

Laterality of Everyday Life (sample presentation)

Attention: Divided attention and drivingAttention: Video gaming and changes in sustained attention and attention switching

Emotion: The neuroscience of fear and loathingEmotion: The social (and socially networked?) brainEmotion: Stress and the stone age brainEmotion: Neutraceuticals for depression, SAD, and other emotional disordersEmotion: The neuroscience of love and sexMemory: Neutraceuticals and techniques for boosting memory performanceMemory: Mechanisms and circumstances that lead to false memoriesMemory: Protecting ones brain from dementiaVisual Perception: What visual artwork teaches us about visual perceptionVisual Perception: Things we see that arent thereVisual Perception: Things we dont see that are there

Artwork: Artists with brain damage or unusual neural conditions (such as synaesthesia)

Audition: What music teaches us about auditory perceptionLanguage: What language development teaches about the neural representation of languageLanguage: Models of instruction for reading/writing informed by neural modelsLanguage: Acquired and/or developmental dyslexia, causes and treatmentsReasoning: The neural basis of bad decisionsReasoning: Emotional versus logical reasoning and good decision-makingSpatial Perception: Navigation in stone-aged and modern environmentsSpatial Perception: Sex differencesSpirituality and Religion: Neural mechanisms of spiritual experiencesThe neuroscience of paranormal experiencesCreativity and disinhibitionTime: Body rhythms neural mechanisms of time perception (jet lag, sleep)

Development: The scientist in the cribDevelopment: Frontal lobe development and adolescent behaviourPain: Its all in your headMind Reading: The perception of emotional and cognitive states in othersConsciousness: The neural basis and influence of subconscious perceptionMagic: The neuroscience of misperception and illusionDreaming: What is the neural basis and function of dreaming?

Aging: Wear and tear, or Use it or lose it?The 10% myth of human brain capacity

Academic Misconduct:

All papers, exams, and presentations provided for grading must be the result of the studentsown honest effort. In particular, all citations and sources must be properly referenced, and thematerial cannot have been previously submitted elsewhere for academic credit. Should astudent be suspected of plagiarism or cheating, the matter will be referred immediately to theappropriate Dean. Students are directed to:http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/honesty/academic_misconduct.php to review the Universitys policy with respect to plagiarism and cheating.

http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/honesty/academic_misconduct.phphttp://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/honesty/academic_misconduct.phphttp://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/honesty/academic_misconduct.php