PSYC211 Fall 2020 Syllabus PDF

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PSYC 211

Fall 2020

PSYC 211: Introduction to Behavioural Neuroscience Fall 2020, Mon/Wed 4:35-5:55pm, Online Only Wed 2 n d September – Thur 3 r d December Instructor:

Jonathan Britt, PhD, Associate Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience

Teaching assts:

Christopher Lafferty, Jamie Snytte, Thalia Garvock-de Montbrun, Kevin Lister, Alicia Zumbusch, Can Fenerci, Thomas Christinck

Class email: TA office hours: Prof office hours: Prof email:

[email protected] Mondays 4:30-6:00pm or by appointment. Write to [email protected] Wednesdays 4:30-5:30pm or by appointment [email protected]

Course Description:

This course provides an introduction to the study of the brain in relation to behaviour. It brings together evidence from a variety of disciplines, techniques, and model organisms to understand problems linking brain function to a scientific understanding of behaviour. The course will emphasize basic neural structure and function at the cellular and systems level.

Prerequisites:

These prerequisites are recommended but not critical: Introductory Psyc (PSYC 100) and Bio (BIOL 111, 112, 115) or equivalents

Required text:

Carlson & Birkett (2020) Foundations of Behavioral Neuroscience. 10th Edition, Pearson Education, Inc: USA. Access to the eText costs $50: https://www.pearson.com/store/p/foundations-of-behavioralneuroscience/P100002610071. The class lectures will closely follow the textbook. The professor will go through each chapter in the textbook in order and cover about 90% of the material. Note that exam questions will come exclusively from the lecture material.

Instructional Method:

The professor will post recorded lectures and associated PowerPoint files to the Content tab in MyCourses twice a week. During the regularly scheduled class time, teaching assistants will host review conferences (usually Mondays, see page 3 for details) and the Professor will hold office hours (usually Wednesdays, see schedule in the Announcements or Zoom tabs on MyCourses). TAs will also answer questions sent to [email protected] and be available for one-on-one tutoring on demand throughout the semester.

Evaluation Method: Disclaimer :

See page 3 of this document. In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University’s control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change.

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PSYC 211

Fall 2020

COURSE CONTENT & SCHEDULE Lecture # 1 Holiday 2 3 4 5 6 7 Quiz 1 8 9 10 Holiday 11 12 Quiz 2 13 14 15 16 Quiz 3 17 18 19 20 21 22 Quiz 4 23 24 25 26

Date 9/2/2020 9/7/2020 9/9/2020 9/14/2020 9/16/2020 9/21/2020 9/23/2020 9/28/2020 9/29/2020 9/30/2020 10/5/2020 10/7/2020 10/12/2020 10/14/2020 10/19/2020 10/20/2020 10/21/2020 10/26/2020 10/28/2020 11/2/2020 11/3/2020 11/4/2020 11/9/2020 11/11/2020 11/16/2020 11/18/2020 11/23/2020 11/24/2020 11/25/2020 11/30/2020 12/2/2020 12/3/2020

Chapter ---

Topic Consciousness

Chapter 1 Chapter 2a Chapter 2b Chapter 3a Chapter 3b Chapter 4

Evolution & Cell Biology Action Potential Neurotransmitter Receptors Brain Anatomy I Brain Anatomy II Drugs & Neurotransmitters

Chapter 5 Chapter 6a Chapter 6b

Research Methods Vision I Vision II

Chapter 7 Chapter 9

Other Sensory Systems Sleep

Chapter 10a Chapter 10b Chapter 11 Chapter 12

Reproductive behaviour I Reproductive behaviour II Emotions Hunger & Thirst

Chapter 13a Chapter 13b Chapter 13c Chapter 14 Chapter 15a Chapter 15b

Cellular Learning & Memory Classical & Operant Conditioning Declarative Learning & Memory Language Intro to Neurological Disorders Neurodegenerative Diseases

Chapter 16a Chapter 16b Chapter 17a Chapter 17a

Psychological Disorders I Psychological Disorders II Psychological Disorders III Psychological Disorders IV

Learning Outcomes: Following this course, you should be able to 1) Define basic terms and functions of the nervous system 2) Demonstrate knowledge of different biological and neuroscientific research approaches 3) Explain the significance of using animals in research 4) Explain the main research findings, controversies and theories in behavioral neuroscience 5) Demonstrate an understanding of neurological and psychological disorders Special Accommodations & Disability Access:  Please visit mcgill.ca/osd to request special testing accommodations.  Please visit mcgill.ca/wellness-hub if you are concerned about your mental health.  According to McGill policy, instructors are not permitted to make special arrangements for final exams (mcgill.ca/students/exams/regulations). Page 2 of 7

PSYC 211

Fall 2020

TEACHING ASSISTANTS This course has seven teaching assistants (TAs) to help you learn the material. They all monitor this email account [email protected]. Please direct all questions there, not to the TAs’ personal accounts. MyCourses Discussion Page: This page is actively monitored by the TAs. It is a place for students to pose questions to each other and to discuss course material. All posts on this discussion page must be respectful and in line with McGill’s Code of Student Conduct. TA-Led Review Conferences: an opportunity for you to review the material from latest classes.

Date

Day

Topic

Time & Location

Sept 14 Sept 21 Sept 28

Monday Monday Monday Quiz 1 Monday Wednesday Monday Quiz 2 Monday Monday Quiz 3 Monday Monday Monday Quiz 4 Monday Thursday

Action potential Neurotransmitter receptors Anatomy & neuronal signaling

Always 4:30-6 pm

Research methods Vision Other sensory systems & sleep

Access them in the MyCourses Zoom tab

Oct 5 Oct 7 Oct 19 Oct 26 Nov 2 Nov 9 Nov 16 Nov 23 Nov 30 Dec 3

Sex & reproduction Emotions & ingestive systems Learning & memory Language Neurological disorders Psychological disorders 1 Psychological disorders 2

EVALUATION METHOD 10% - based on the number of the recorded lectures you watch under the content tab in MyCourses. A half point will be given for each lecture (up to 10%), as long as you answer all the embedded pop-up questions. The accuracy of your answers here is not important, as long as you do better than chance. 10% - based on the PeerWise assignment, which involves writing and answering each other’s practice test questions (multiple-choice questions only). 42% - based on your quiz grades. There are 4 quizzes, all on Tuesdays: Sept 29th, Oct 20th, Nov 3rd, and Nov 24th. Your best 3 quiz grades will be averaged together. If your lowest quiz grade is better than your final exam grade, I’ll include that too and reduce the weight of your final exam to 25% 38% - based on your final exam grade. The quizzes and final exam will mostly (or entirely) consist of multiple-choice questions. ________

100% + 2% extra credit for participating in Psychology Department Study Participant Pool Page 3 of 7

PSYC 211

Fall 2020

EXAMS The exams in this course will mostly (or entirely) consist of multiple-choice questions. Sample exam questions will be posted on PeerWise and tagged “TA Example Question”.  There will be four non-cumulative quizzes: Quiz 1 – Tuesday Sept 29 – Lectures 1-7, Textbook Chapters 1-4 Quiz 2 – Tuesday Oct 20 – Lectures 8-12, Textbook Chapters 5-9 Quiz 3 – Tuesday Nov 3 – Lectures 13-16, Textbook Chapters 10-12 Quiz 4 – Tuesday Nov 24 – Lectures 17-22, Textbook Chapters 13-15  There will be one cumulative final exam (date to be determined). This final exam will cover ALL lectures, but the material introduced after Quiz 4 will be emphasized. • • • •

You can start a quiz anytime on the day it is offered (so you have a 24-hour time window to start each quiz). You will have a 72-hour window to start the final exam. Once you start a quiz, you will have 90 minutes to complete it. (Note that these quizzes were originally designed to be completed in 30 minutes in-class.) Each quiz consists of 20 to 25 multiple choice questions. The final exam will have about 100 multiple choice questions. To discourage cheating, all quizzes and exams will be Forward-Only, which means that you must answer each question in the order with which it is presented. You can’t skip a question or go back to previous questions.

Please note that there are NO OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKEUP MISSED QUIZZES, but everyone is free to miss one quiz.  There will be a Supplemental Exam for those approved to take it, which is controlled by the university (typically available to students who earn a D or F grade). Your supplemental exam mark will go on your transcript along with your original class grade.  Only final class grades will be rounded (e.g. 84.4 = 84%; 84.5 = 85%). Post-Exam Review Service: After each quiz/exam, the TAs will host 3 live Zoom conferences to explain the correct answers. These exam-review conferences will not be recorded, and exam review opportunities outside of these sessions will be very limited. But contact the TAs if you have extenuating circumstances. EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY Psychology Department Subject Pool Program You can earn 2% Extra Credit (added to your final grade) if you participate in the psychology department subject pool program. Participating is entirely voluntary. Here is a video that explain how it works. Note that neither I nor the TAs of this class are directly involved in this program. All questions and concerns about this credit should be addressed to the participant pool TA: [email protected]

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PSYC 211

Fall 2020

PEERWISE ASSIGNMENT PeerWise is a website that allows students to create, share, and evaluate each other’s’ multiple choice test questions: https://peerwise.cs.auckland.ac.nz/ Course ID: 21948 (McGill University; 2020 PSYC 211) User ID: Your McGill student ID

Assignment: Post 5 questions (no more than that!!) over the course of the term and answer & rate at least 50 of the questions posted by other students.  All PeerWise activity is anonymous to other students, but not to the professor or TAs.

Deadlines: 1) Be sure to post one (and only one) new question on the PeerWise website at least 24 hours before each quiz/final exam. 2) Answer at least 10 of your classmates’ questions before each quiz/final exam. By the end of the course you should have exactly 5 questions posted and have answered at least 50 questions. Note that you can edit or remove your questions at any time.

Evaluation: Your PeerWise grade is based on the quality of your questions as well as your efforts answering, rating, and critiquing other students’ questions. The TAs will also read all the posted questions. In determining your PeerWise grade, the TAs will consider several PeerWise metrics, which include but are not limited to:  The Answer score, which basically reflects how many questions you answered correctly over the term.  The Reputation score, which basically reflects the earliness in which you post good questions and correctly answer/rate other people’s questions. Your reputation score only increases when other students do things (i.e., when they rate your questions highly or when they provide the same answer/rating that you previously provided to other students’ questions). In the short term, answering questions for several hours will not change your reputation score, however it will rise later if students come after you and choose the same answers and ratings that you selected. Students who put in a good faith effort on this assignment will earn at least 7 points. The full 10 points will be given to students who write thought provoking, exam worthy questions and/or put significant effort into answering, rating, and critiquing other students’ questions.

Details:  You are encouraged to post your question prior to the deadline in order to get feedback from other students. You can always edit or delete/repost your question, as long as you do so prior to the deadline. Note that questions posted or edits made after the deadline may not be evaluated by the TAs, since all questions are downloaded at each due date. You will lose potential points if you post (and leave up) more than one question prior to each quiz/exam.

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PSYC 211

Fall 2020

Writing good multiple-choice questions is hard.  When posting a question, make sure you include an explanation. Why is the correct answer the best choice and what is wrong with the alternatives? If your question requires no explanation, it may not be the best question.  When rating other students’ questions, please follow the following guide. Question rating score: 0 – The question simply makes no sense. 1 – Vague, confusing, too long, too wordy, or not related to the course material. 2 – Straightforward memorization question that can be answered with a quick google search. 3 – Complex memorization question that is clear, to the point, and can’t be answered with a quick google search. 4 – Higher level question (goes beyond simple memorization) that is clear and to the point. It deals with the understanding of concepts or ideas, application, analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation skills. 5 – Outstanding question that got me thinking about the material in a new way. I now better appreciate the implications and complexity of the subject matter.

Tips for writing good multiple-choice questions: • The question should either be a question (?) or an incomplete statement (…), and upon reading it students should be able to anticipate the answer choices. o Avoid one-word questions, like “Question 5: Schizophrenia…”. With a one word question the reader has no idea what to expect in the answer choices (and you probably are unsure about what exactly you are asking). o Avoid negative choice questions like “Which of the following is NOT true about schizophrenia?” These can problematic for many reasons. • Be clear and concise. As a rule, the fewer words the better, especially for the answer choices. Do not use ambiguous or difficult language. Do not include irrelevant information. • Always have 4 or 5 answer choices. Do not use “All of the above” or “None of the above”. • There should be one and only one correct answer (for example, do not have an answer choice that says “A and B are both correct”). • Try to randomize your answer choices (maybe roll a die when choosing if the correct answer will be option A, B, C, D, or E). • Do not give grammatical cues that point to the correct answer (e.g., A vs An, or plural vs singular). The correct answer should not be more or less detailed than the alternatives. All answer choices should be similar in length. Avoid using words like always, only, and never in the answer choices, since those words are rarely found in correct answers. • Incorrect answer choices can include true statements that don’t answer the question. Students are expected to choose the best answer. • For some questions it may be helpful to include, “According to Prof. Britt…” or “Based on what was presented in class…” • For more question writing advice, please consult the following: - https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/writing-good-multiple-choice-test-questions/ - https://testing.byu.edu/handbooks/betteritems.pdf Page 6 of 7

PSYC 211

Fall 2020

GENERAL POLICY STATEMENTS • Language of Submission: In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded. This does not apply to courses in which acquiring proficiency in a language is one of the objectives. FRENCH VERSION: Conformément à la Charte des droits de l’étudiant de l’Université McGill, chaque étudiant a le droit de soumettre en français ou en anglais tout travail écrit devant être noté (sauf dans le cas des cours dont l’un des objets est la maîtrise d’une langue). • Academic Integrity: McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures” (see McGill’s guide to academic honesty for more information). FRENCH VERSION: L'université McGill attache une haute importance à l’honnêteté académique. Il incombe par conséquent à tous les étudiants de comprendre ce que l'on entend par tricherie, plagiat et autres infractions académiques, ainsi que les conséquences que peuvent avoir de telles actions, selon le Code de conduite de l'étudiant et des procédures disciplinaires (pour de plus amples renseignements, veuillez consulter le guide pour l’honnêteté académique de McGill). • The University Student Assessment Policy exists to ensure fair and equitable academic assessment for all students and to protect students from excessive workloads. All students are encouraged to review this Policy, which addresses multiple aspects and methods of student assessment, e.g. the timing of evaluation due dates and weighting of final examinations. • Note that to support academic integrity, your assignments may be submitted to textmatching or other appropriate software (e.g., formula-, equation-, and graph-matching). • © Instructor-generated course materials (e.g., handouts, notes, summaries, exam questions) are protected by law and may not be copied or distributed in any form or in any medium without explicit permission of the instructor. Note that infringements of copyright can be subject to follow up by the University under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. • As the instructor of this course I endeavor to provide an inclusive learning environment. However, if you experience barriers to learning in this course, do not hesitate to discuss them with me and the Office for Students with Disabilities, 514-398-6009. • Please be aware that some of the course content may be disturbing for some students. It has been included in the course because it directly relates to the learning outcomes. Please contact the instructor if you have specific concerns about this. • End-of-course evaluations are one of the ways that McGill works towards maintaining and improving the quality of courses and the student’s learning experience. You will be notified by e-mail when the evaluations are available. Please note that a minimum number of responses must be received for results to be available to students. Page 7 of 7...