LISC 426/ 826 - SYLLABUS/PRESENTATION SCHEDULE
LISC 426/826 – Current Concepts in Sensorimotor Neuroscience
Course Coordinator: Dr. Michael Dorris
Time: Tuesdays 2:30-4pm (review session)
Fridays 4-5:30 (original articles)
Place: B148
Each week will examine a fundamental topic within sensorimotor neuroscience led by a team of 3 students. Each student will present two separate topics during the course.
Topics Date Supervisor Presenters
Introductory Class Jan 8 Dorris Dorris
1) Neural Basis of Perception Jan 15/18 Dorris Omrani/Chan
2) Neural Basis of Movement Initiation Jan 22/25 Paré Mihic/Murphy/Hwang
3) Somatosensory and Proprioception Jan 29/1 Kurtzer Bobkin/Kalwarowsky/Moddel
4) Limb Motor Control Feb 5/8 Herter Su/Meyer-Macaulay/Shum
5) Auditory Processing Feb 12/15 Boenke Kanawaty/Ali/Omrani
6) Executive Control Feb 26/29 Johnston Mihic/Hwang/Chan
7) Neural Basis of Attention Mar 4/7 Paré Bobkin/Kalwarowsky/Moddel
8) Reinforcement Learning Mar 11/14 Dorris Murphy/Meyer-Macaulay/Shum
9) Consciousness Mar 25/28 Dorris/Paré Ali/Su/Kanawaty
Presentations: The first seminar each week will focus on the general functioning of a specific brain region or system as determined from a number of experimental techniques including psychophysics, anatomy, neurophysiology (acute/chronic), imaging, pathology, etc… This didactic lecture should include information from textbooks and review articles and should provide fellow students with the necessary framework for them to understand the articles that they will read before the following class. The second seminar each week will focus on two recent articles delving into current and potentially controversial issues within the field. The presenters are responsible for mediating a discussion regarding these two papers at the conclusion of their presentation. To facilitate this discussion, presenters should prepare questions/topics in advance that they feel will engage their fellow students. The three student presenters will meet with the appropriate supervisor at least one week before their presentation to discuss the topic and have their general outline of their presentation material approved. Presenters should meet with the supervisor again a few days before the presentation to finalize its content. Presenters will be graded on the quality of their presentation including appropriate A/V material as well as the ability to answer questions and guide the discussion related to the assigned papers.
Participation: Before the 2nd weekly class students who are not presenting will prepare a list of questions/issues related to the journal articles. These may address questions about methodology, points of confusion, issues of interpretation/criticism, and higher order questions related to the implication/conceptual context of the papers. These will provide evidence that the students have read the papers and devoted critical thought towards them. Students are expected to bring forth some of these issues during class discussions. These written questions will be handed in at the end of the second class and be used in the calculation of the participation mark.
Midterms: Mid-term reports will be assigned around week 5. Students will be provided with several manuscripts which have had their discussion removed. Students will select one manuscript and write a discussion of 1500 words. It is strongly recommended that students DO NOT read the original discussions. Instead students are encouraged to use the reference list, which will be left intact, as a base upon which to construct an original discussion as per the following:
1) state the principal findings and emphasize the novel aspects of the study as well as the conclusions that follow from them.
2) discuss the validity of the observations including methodological limitations.
3) relate the observations to other relevant studies and discuss the implications of the findings for the field and future research.
4) state the significance of the work, link the conclusions with the goals of the study, and state new hypotheses if warranted.
Final Exam: Students will be assigned one of several manuscripts a week in advance, for which they will prepare a 10 minute oral presentation. This oral presentation will be presented in front of a panel of instructors, followed by 15 minutes of questions. Marks will be assigned immediately after a student has finished their exam and left the room. The evaluation will be similar to how the regular presentation is graded with assessment based on how well the student:
-used audiovisual aids
-presented in a focussed manner
-interpreted the data
-discussed the paper in a broader context
-answered questions
Course Evaluation
Presentations: 15% x 2 = 30%
Participation/Weekly written questions: = 20%
Written Midterm: = 25%
Oral Final: = 25%
Contacts
Dr. Michael Dorris (coordinator), dorrism@biomed.queensu.ca, X33125, office 440
Dr. Martin Paré, pare@biomed.queensu.ca, X33107, office 438
Dr. Troy Herter, troy@biomed.queensu.ca, x78850
Dr. Isaac Kurtzer, isaac@biomed.queensu.ca, x74924
Dr. Susan Boenke, susan@biomed.queensu.ca, x78850
Dr. Kevin Johnston, kevinj@biomed.queensu.ca, x78890
For online material and articles see:
http://brain.phgy.queensu.ca/dorrislab/ under “teaching”