Updated #2 Final handbook and time-table NEUR3302 2021 PDF

Preview

Summary

.......

Description



The University of Western Australia ADVANCED NEUROSCIENCE 2 NEUR3302

School of Human Sciences

Second Semester, 2021 

Rat olivocochlear neurons labelled with Fluorogold and immunocytochemically stained to show noradrenergic input (courtesy Helmy Mulders and Don Robertson)

1 

Introduction:

This interdisciplinary unit taught by the School of Human Sciences provides students with handson experience of laboratory techniques in, and critical reading of, the latest neuroscience research literature. The unit is comprised of laboratory classes and tutorials. This unit cannot be taken without the co-requisite unit NEUR3301 which will provide the theoretical bases for this unit. Course Co-ordinators: Assoc Prof Helmy Mulders -School of Human Sciences Assoc Prof Stuart Hodgetts – School of Human Sciences Course Lecturers and tutors Assoc Prof Helmy Mulders -School of Human Sciences Assoc Prof Stuart Hodgetts – School of Human Sciences Mr Jack Zimdahl -School of Human Sciences Dr Kristin Barry -School of Human Sciences Ms Hadeel Tarawneh -School of Human Sciences Recommended Text: Purves, D., et al., Neuroscience 5th Ed. Sinauer Associates Inc. 2012 Original articles and text chapters as prescribed during the course. Other useful reference texts: Kandel, Schwartz and Jessel, Principles of Neural Science, 6th Ed.: McGraw Hill, (2021). Hille, B., Ionic Channels of Excitable Membranes, 3nd Edition (2001) Shepherd, Neurobiology, 3rd Edition (1994) Squire, L. R. et al. Fundamental Neuroscience, 3rd Ed.: Academic Press (2003) Bear, M. F. et al., Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain, 3rd Ed.: LWW (2006) Sanes, Reh and Harris, Development of the Nervous System, 3rd Ed.: Academic Press (2011)

2 

Assumed competencies on entering the unit 1. Basic concepts of chemistry, physics and cell biology. 2. Knowledge of the gross and cellular anatomy of the human central nervous system 3. Basic knowledge of electrical phenomena in neurons - resting potentials, action potentials, synaptic potentials, excitation, inhibition and simple neural circuits. 4. Some knowledge of exocytosis, neurotransmitters, ion channels. 5. Some knowledge of the physiology of sensory and motor pathways - principles of sensory coding, sensory transduction mechanisms. 6. Some knowledge of the development of the nervous system Unit outcomes 1. Students will acquire skills in and be able to describe and explain methods and limitations of: a) In vitro and in vivo electrophysiological recordings from single cells, animal and human nervous systems. b) Tissue culture and immuno-labelling techniques c) Accurate counting of neuron numbers 2. Students will be able to perform a comprehensive literature search of a chosen neuroscience topic and clearly report the results in writing. 3. Students will verbally report on and critically appraise the contents of recent research articles.

3 

ASSESSMENT ITEM 1. Tutorial sessions: journal discussion format (20% of final mark) PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE 5 TUTORIAL JOURNAL CLUB GROUPS WHO ARE ALLOCATED TO 5 DIFFERENT VENUES These tutorials will be face to face unless COVID restrictions return. In that case they will resume via Zoom or Teams. In tutorial sessions students are expected to come prepared to discuss the contents of an original scientific paper. The aims are: 1. To gain a deeper understanding of selected areas of modern neuroscience research. 2. To develop literature reading skills and critical abilities. 3. To provide small scale practice in oral communication in a non-threatening environment. Topics will be related to the broad themes of the lecture material presented in unit NEUR3301. Students are required to read each article before coming to the tutorial. In preparing for the tutorial presentation, students should read the article with the following questions in mind; 1. What is the specific research question being asked? 2. What is the significance of the work in a broader context and is this made clear? What applications might this research have? 3. What are the main techniques used? 4. What are the major findings and have the authors provided data that is statistically convincing? 5. What are the main conclusions? Are they justified and is the interpretation of data logical or flawed? 6. Are there any limitations to, or problems with, the methods and have the authors indicated these clearly? Assessment of Journal Discussion Participation A mark will be given for each student's participation in each tutorial. This assessment will be based on how well the student has grappled with the scientific content of the topics and on the quality and completeness of their descriptions and explanations. Marking criteria per session are as follows; 10 Provides high quality input to discussion. Well prepared for article and able to respond perfectly and accurately to questions.

4 

8 Shows evidence of having read article in advance. Is an active contributor and provides reasonable responses to questions but shows some lack of understanding 6.5 Shows evidence of having read article in advance. Contributes moderately and attempts to respond to questions but shows considerable lack of understanding 5 Evidence of poor preparation and inability to respond adequately to questions. Mainly passive contributor 2

Lack of preparation or participation.

0

No attendance

In addition: Students should bring to the tutorial a hard copy (half page max) providing a brief review of the paper, in particular answering the question: Are there any limitations to, or problems with, the methods and have the authors indicated these clearly? This brief review can be used by the tutor (or unit coordinator) to increase or decrease (or leave unchanged) the mark for participation by maximum 1 mark.

5 

ASSESSMENT ITEM 2. Literature review (25% of final mark) All students will choose topic, either from a list of topics provided (see Blackboard site), or they may, with approval from the unit coordinator, choose another topic not listed. Advice can be sought from the unit coordinator with regard to your choice of reading material and scope of the literature review. The onus is on the student to search widely in the literature on the topic of choice. You can NOT use the same topic as used for your seminar presentation in NEUR3301. What does it mean to write a literature review? Reviews generally contain:    

What has been established and accepted in the topic area Areas of controversy Issues that are still unresolved New ideas and developments

A good review of literature is much more than a summary of published data. It requires evaluation of published information as well as synthesising this information so the reader gains good understanding of the field, including possible controversies and new trends. In other words, when writing the literature review, “not only do you need to engage with a body of literature, you also need to be able to compare, contrast, synthesize, and make arguments with that literature in ways that indicate a readiness to contribute to the literature itself” (O’Leary, 2010, p.81). FORMAT: Word limit: 2,500 to 3,000 words (excluding figure legends and reference list –Note: it does include references in text). Standard penalties apply for being under or over the limit. Font 12 pt Line spacing 1.5. At least 2 cm margins on all sides. Page numbering at bottom right of each page, Student name and number in header so they appear on each page. Referencing system can be anything as long as it is consistent and a non-numbered style (so not like this: “The cerebellum is a complex structure5” but like this ““The cerebellum is a complex structure (Parsnip et al. 1999)”) Structure: 

Opening paragraph Define your topic. State the scope of the review –what is included and what isn’t included. Explain the organisation or sequence of the review The criteria used for your literature selection (e.g.. type of sources used, date range)



Introduction 6



Provide an overview of the topic. Try to put it in broad context. Maximum 1 page. 

Main body Should move from the general, wider view of the literature being reviewed (as described in introduction) to the specific focus of your research. There are many ways to organise the main body of the review (chronologically or thematically or combination of these etc). Make sure you maintain good flow (a narrative) so the reader can easily follow the train of thought behind your review)



Conclusion Summarise the important points (main agreements and disagreements) Identify significant flaws or gaps in existing knowledge; Your overall perspective on the topic.

Many students in the past have asked me about number of references. Although there is no absolute answer to that, I would say that a literature review of this size would contain at least 40 to 50 references.

FINAL SUBMISSION You need to submit an electronic copy of the literature review via Turnitin. Do not forget to also add a coversheet (plagiarism statement; these will be made available on Blackboard). Standard academic penalties apply for late submissions: a penalty of 5% per day for the first 7 days (including weekends and public holidays) after which the assigned work is not accepted. The deadline for the literature review is 11.59pm on Monday 4th of October 2021. The literature review will make up 25% of the final mark A detailed marking rubric of the final literature review can be found in separate document.

7 

ASSESSMENT ITEM 3. Laboratory classes (55% of final mark) PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE 4 LAB GROUPS AND YOU CAN SELF ENROL VIA BLACKBOARD. Each labgroup has different days on which to attend. Group1 – weeks 31, 35, 37, 38, 40 Group 2 – weeks 31, 34, 39, 40, 42 Group 3 – weeks 32, 33, 34, 35, 41 Group 4 – weeks 32, 37, 39, 41, 42 Attendance at Laboratory classes is compulsory. Failure to attend without a valid excuse will lead to exclusion from written lab exam. Laboratory classes will be conducted in the School of by Human Sciences throughout semester. All lab classes will be 3 hours duration- Thursdays 2 pm to 5 pm. LAB TOPICS Lab I. ANHB lab Cellular interactions in vitro : tissue culture laboratory, immunostaining of tissues Runs over two Thursday afternoons. (assessed from written final exam only) Lab II Anatomy Stereology lab (two repeats, labgroup 1 and 2 on 5 August and labgroup 3 and 4 on 12 August. Stereology and quantitative neuroanatomy (assessed from lab report and written final exam) Lab report is 5% of final mark. Due date for this lab report is Friday the 20th of August at 11.59 pm via blackboard (Don’t forget assignment coversheet). Lab III. Physiology lab Synapses Face-to-Face and a self-directed exercise ONLINE Recording miniature synaptic potentials (assessed from lab report and written final exam).Lab report: Quantal analysis of synaptic function - self directed online exercise AND the data you obtained in lab III (Recording miniature synaptic potentials) including an answer to question 1 from this lab. Due date for this lab report is the Friday 11.59 pm 8 days after you attended the lab via Blackboard (Don’t forget assignment coversheet). (assessed from lab report (15% final mark) and written final exam) Lab IV. Physiology lab Human Human electrophysiology (assessed from final written exam only) Lab V. Physiology lab Sensory Sensory physiology in an animal model - video and self directed exercise (assessed from the answers to questions listed in lab handout – 5% of final mark, and final written exam); 8 

Due date for these answers is Monday the 18th of October via Blackboard (Don’t forget assignment coversheet). Unit Assessment breakdown 1. Journal club assessment: Tutorial attendance and participation 20% 2: Scientific writing assessment: Literature review 25% 3: Laboratory assessment: Laboratory reports and written exam 55%* * comprises 25% from lab reports and exercises and 30% from a 2 hrs written final exam.

9 

NEUR3302: LIST of TUTORIALS and LABORATORY CLASSES Please note that lab-classes and tutorials are NOT running every week for every student.

See time-table below for details. Colour-coded for your convenience. In black: classes for whole class / all tutorial groups In blue: lab group 1 In green: lab group 2 In orange: lab group 3 In pink: lab group 4 JULY/AUGUST DAY

DATE

TOPIC and VENUE

Week

LECTURER

INTRODUCTION (including how to write a literature review) (whole class) BUSN: [ G89] Stan Perron AC Lecture Theatre No class

30

Mulders

Thursday

29/7

TIM E 1200

Thursday

29/7

1400

Thursday Thursday

5/8 5/8

1200 1400

No class Anatomy stereology lab/lecture (lab group 1 and lab group 2) GGGL: [ G21] Webb Lecture Theatre

31

Thursday Thursday

12/8 12/8

1200 1400

No class Anatomy stereology lab/lecture (lab group 3 and lab group 4) AHBL G03

32

Thursday

19/8

1200

33

Thursday

19/8

1400

JOURNAL CLUB #1 (all tutorial groups) Development ANHB Lab (lab group 3) AHBL 181

Thursday

26/8

1200

34

Thursday

26/8

1400

JOURNAL CLUB #2 (all tutorial groups) Membrane mechanisms and synapses ANHB Lab (lab group 3) Physiol lab synapses (lab group 2) PHSL 2.10

10 

Mulders

Mulders

Relevant staff Relevant staff Relevant staff Relevant staff

SEPTEMBER Thursday Thursday

2/9 2/9

1200 1400

No class ANHB Lab (lab group 1) AHBL 181 Physiol lab synapses (lab group 3) PHSL 2.10

35 Relevant staff

MID - SEMESTER BREAK 6th September – 12th September JOURNAL CLUB #3 (all tutorial groups) Plasticity ANHB Lab (group 1) Physiol lab synapses (lab group 4) PHSL 2.10

37

JOURNAL CLUB #4 (all tutorial groups) Sensory processing Physiol lab synapses (lab group 1) PHSL 2.10

38

1200 1400

No class ANHB Lab (group 2) AHBL 181 Physiol lab human (lab group 4) PHSL 2.10

39

7/10 7/10

1200 1400

No class ANHB Lab (group 2) Physiol lab human (lab group 1) PHSL 2.10

40

Thursday

14/10

1200

41

Thursday

14/10

1400

JOURNAL CLUB #5 (all tutorial groups) Integrative systems ANHB Lab (group 4) AHBL G03 Physiol lab human (lab group 3) PHSL 2.10

Thursday Thursday

21/10 21/10

1200 1400

No class ANHB Lab (group 4) Physiol lab human (lab group 2) PHSL 2.10

42

Thursday

16/9

1200

Thursday

16/9

1400

Thursday

23/9

1200

Thursday

23/9

1400

Thursday Thursday

30/9 30/9

Thursday Thursday

Relevant staff Relevant staff

Relevant staff Relevant staff Relevant staff

OCTOBER

11 

Relevant staff

Relevant staff

Relevant staff Relevant staff...