PSYC*2410 - Behavioural Neuroscience I

Course Description

This course is a general introduction to the structure and function of the nervous system. The physiological basis of sensory (input) systems and the motor (output) system are examined as are central physiological bases of processes such as learning and memory.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the learner should be able to:

1. understand how Biopsychology fits into the field of Neuroscience;
2. have learned how Biopsychological research is conducted;
3. have learned how the nervous system evolved, develops and functions;
4. understand the basic sensory systems (e.g. touch, olfaction, audition);
5. understand how eating and sleeping are controlled by the nervous system;
6. have learned the basics of the brain's reward pathways and how the pathology of addiction develops;
7. use this knowledge to understand how your behaviors are responses, guided by your nervous system, to the world around you; and
8. have further developed your critical thinking skills allowing you to judiciously evaluate reported findings of scientific research.

Course Topics

This course is divided into the following twelve units:

• Biopsychology as a Neuroscience
• Evolution, Genetics, and Experience
• Development of the Nervous System
• The Anatomy of the Nervous System
• Neural Conduction and Synaptic Transmission
• The Research Methods of Biopsychology
• The Visual System and Mechanisms of Perception
• The Sensorimotor System
• Brain Damage and Neuroplasticity
• Drug Use, Drug Addiction and the Brain’s Reward Circuits
• Biopsychology of Psychiatric Disorders

Assessment

Note:

Additional Technical Requirements

This course will use the following:

• Respondus tool to invigilate one or more exams. 

Please view the Technical Considerations.