PSYC 301
BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR
Term I 05/06 Osan M/W 1800-2100
Dr. Gary Laugel http://oocities.com/glaugel
Contact info: You can meet with me before class, or by
email: glaugel@asia.umuc.edu I try to login to email several times
weekly; you can generally expect a reply within a day or so.
Course
Materials
Pinel, John P.
(2003). Biopsychology 5th Edition. Allyn
& Bacon
Course
Description
Prerequisites: PSYC 100; PSYC 200 recommended. An Introduction to the anatomical structures and physiological
processes that determine behavior. Topics include the acquisition and
processing of sensory information; the neural control of movement; and the
biological bases of complex behaviors (such as sleep, learning, memory, sex,
language, and addiction), as well as the basic functioning of the nervous
system.
Course Goals/Objectives
After
completing this course, students will be able to:
1) articulate basic principles related to the relationship
between brain, mind, and behavior
2) explain how the scientific method and advances in brain technologies
can be used to learn about brain, mind, and behavior relationships
3) give examples of current research studies to illustrate an
understanding of a specific area in the brain-behavior relationships
4) use scientific language to reference the brain and behavior,
including the ability to communicate knowledge to others effectively
5) demonstrate the basic elements of the brain, their major
functions, and how they relate to mental activities such as cognition
6) illustrate how human behavior can be explained as the result
of complex biological, chemical, and physical properties of the brain
7) describe the dynamic interaction between genetics and
environment
8) explain how the relative plasticity of the brain results from experience throughout the lifetime
9) explain how psychopathologies of the brain are manifested
and how drugs modify the brain to correct these brain changes and lead to more
normal behaviors
10) use the computer and the Internet to support the study of
the brain and behavior
Course Introduction
As indicated in the above sections of this syllabus,
during this course you will gain an appreciation for biological factors such as
evolution and genetics, and environmental, neural and hormonal mechanisms which
guide behavior, with emphasis on current theory and research in these and
related areas. You will be introduced
to vocabulary and concepts, and hopefully will develop an appreciation for the
idea that behavior is a complex result of many interacting factors: environmental and physiological, including
learning, genetics, and hormones.
Course
requirements:
Your course grade will be derived from four examinations, class participation,
including two short in-class presentations of a topic related to course
material, and a term paper. Examinations
may include multiple choice, short answer, and/or essay items covering lecture
and assigned reading; they will, of course, require familiarity with relevant
terminology and concepts. Preparation
for exams would include regular class attendance and frequent out-of-class
contact with course material, roughly (as with most courses) two to three hours
on your own for each scheduled classroom hour, on a weekly basis. Don’t let the material slip away from you !!
Link
to essay items !!!
The first three exams will not be comprehensive
with the exception of significant, basic concepts from early course
material.
The final exam (required for all students) will
be either comprehensive or not, depending on the following criteria: The comprehensive final exam will be taken by students
needing a makeup exam because of missing one or two of the prior three
exams. In this case the final exam score will count not only as the final exam score but
will then constitute missing exam scores.
The comprehensive final exam will
also be taken by students who have not given the required talks by the sixth
week. It can also be used by students
who have taken the prior three exams, to upgrade the lowest of the three prior
exams.
Grading Information and Criteria:
Exam scores will be weighted so that the best of the four exams will
count as 30 possible points toward your final course grade; the other three
exams will count as 20 points each, your paper is worth 10 points, and
participation (including your two talks) is worth 10 points. The course total is 110 points; of this total
110 points, 90% = A, 80% = B, 70% = C, 60% = D.
Project Descriptions:
The paper should be 5 to 7
pages long double-spaced, with references on an additional page (5 or more
references are OK; your textbook must be one of them).
The University has a license agreement with
Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources.
I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to
submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting
questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of
your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the
term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this
temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks
after the start of this class. Please
Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may
utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism.
The paper is due by the first class during the
seventh week of the Term; if late, it is subject to a reduction of 10% of
available points per calendar day or fraction of day. Your topic requires instructor approval; a
written description of your proposed topic should be submitted by the second
week of the Term (a single handwritten paragraph is sufficient); otherwise, a
topic may be assigned to you. Papers can be referenced using any commonly used
style. Additional details will be
discussed in class.
One of your two presentations should focus on your paper; other presentation material should refer to scheduled course material. A presentation should be about ten minutes long, and you may use keywords written on the board if you wish. You may not read a talk from text on a piece of paper.
Your two talks
must be given before the last two class sessions; early is better. To encourage early talks, if a student gives
two talks before the last four meetings (by the sixth week of a normal
eight-week term), the comprehensive final exam will not be needed (unless the
student has missed one or two of the earlier exams). No more than three talks may be given on any
single day (I may waive this restriction early in the term), and in no case may
a student give more than one talk per day.
Do your talks early!
Extra credit may be available in the form of
unannounced quizzes or other activities. Quizzes, if there are any, will be
short and will apply only to those present when they are given.
If there is the remotest possibility that you may
not be able to be in class when an assignment is due, please plan accordingly
for early submissions, etc.
Course
Schedule
Weeks Topics Text chapters
1-2
Intro,
anatomy, physiology of 1-5
Nervous system, research
methods; first exam
2-4
Sensory and
motor systems; neural plasticity;
6-10
Second exam
4-6 Plasticity cont’d;
motivation, reward, sleep;
11-15
Third exam
6-8 Language, disorders, emotion,
stress; final exam 16-18
Miscellaneous Comments:
My website is
a portal to many web links in biology, as is the
All
Plagiarism (presenting others' work as your own) will be dealt with
severely, as outlined in the
You are responsible for announcements made in class,
which may include changes in the schedule; therefore, please find someone in
the class who can help you recover material you miss! Please come prepared to discuss class
material; don’t be an academic parasite (someone who lets everyone else make class-related
contributions).
Attendance is expected; in general, a student who attends fewer than half
of the class sessions will receive a grade of F(n). Please be sure, prior to enrolling, that
your job responsibilities will not interfere with class attendance.
I look forward to an interesting and enlightening experience in this
course, and encourage you to do the same!