Teaching of “Physiology of Behavior” consists of lectures. The lectures content is described above.
Attendance of lectures is obligatory.
Information and Communication Technologies are used for the preparation of the lecture material, the online information and provision of supplementary learning material to students.
Specifically:
Common software (e.g. MS powerpoint) is used to prepare lecture material and display slides and videos.
• Announcements, information etc are available online via e-class. Communication is also done via e-mail.
STUDENT EVALUATION
The language of assessment is English.
Evaluation methods.
At the end of the semester, students present a paper with a theme similar to these lectures and submit (electronically) a written paper on a topic similar to that of their presentation.
Student presentations are posted in the e- class.
Final Grade:
The final grade of the course is based on students’ oral presentations
All of the above are presented in detail in the Course Guide which is distributed in print to all students and is posted electronically in e-class.
Objective Objectives/Desired Results:
Aims of the course
The aim of the course is the presentation of the higher functions of the brain (perception, memory, learning, emotion, motivation) as well as some basic principles governing them at the cellular level. The course material aims to familiarize students with terms and concepts related to higher functions and introduce them to disorders of these functions. It also refers to experimental approaches to the study of higher human brain functions. Therefore, students will be able to understand the importance of comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of the function of the nervous system for the scientific field of Neuroscience as well as the Neurology and Psychiatry specialists.
The specific objectives of the course are specialized in the following intended learning outcomes:
After the successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Recognize and describe the higher human brain (cognitive) functions and acquire a critical attitude towards the scientific knowledge related to them.
Assess the limits within which the mechanisms related to the higher brain functions operate and possible disturbances that will occur in cases of deviations from these limits.
Study with critical disposition scientific studies (articles) that investigate the higher (cognitive) functions.
Collaborate with his classmates to study, organize and present a scientific topic.
General Abilities
Research, analysis and synthesis of data and information, using the necessary technologies
Decision making
Autonomous work
Teamwork
Exercise criticism and self-criticism
Promoting free, creative and inductive thinking
Course URL :
https://eclass.uth.gr/courses/MED_U_225/
Course Description:
The content of the course includes the following major items:
A. The content of the lectures together with the relevant clinical insights the students need to learn/acquire per chapter.
COURSE CONTENT
Section 1: History of Mind Mapping
From antiquity to the 18th century AD
Albrecht Von Haller- the equipotential view
Franz Joseph Gall – Phrenology-
Localization of brain functions
Section 2: Brain and Behavior – Cognitive Function and Cortex
The enigma of consciousness
The Phi phenomenon
Daniel Dennett: «Multiple drafts model»
The Neuroscience of Consciousness: Bridging the gulf between brain and consciousness
The biological basis of behavior
Behavioral Disorders
The relationship between brain and behavior
Methods of Studying the Brain- Brain Imaging Techniques
Cognitive function and brain cortex
Hierarchical organization of brain
Functional specificity in the human brain
Section 3: Genes and Behavior: The Biological Basis of Behavioral Disorders
The genetic element in human behavior
Studing the effect of genes on behavior
Human behavior is shaped by both genetic and environmental factors
Most complex behavioral features are controlled by multiple genes
Biological basis of behavioral disorders
Section 4: The evolution of the brain and behavior throughout life
Experiences have a major impact on brain development
Visual deprivation can lead to blindness
The brain is still changing as we grow older
Theories of “aging”
Section 5: Perception
General principles -Definitions
Auditory perception
Audiogram
Audio Frequency Separation
Psychoacoustics
Experience has an impact on auditory perception and auditory pathways
Visual perception
Face and object recognition
Theories of visual perception
Depth perception- Perceptual Stability
Gestalt Theory and Its Legacy: Organization in Eye and Brain, in Attention and Mental Representation
Other theories of visual perception
Visual perceptual deficiencies
Section 6: Emotion & social brain
General principles -Definitions
Components of emotion
Emotional brain
Neuropsychological theories about emotion
Production of emotional behavior
Empathy : mirror neurons
Section 7: The Neurophysiology of Speech-Hemispheric Specialization and Cognition
Cerebral hemisphere asymmetry
Language Evolution and Human Development
The FOXP2 gene
The cortical organization of speech processing
The role of Broca’s area in speech
Speech Disorders
Types of Aphasia
Brain Lateralization
Split brain – the corpus callosum
Corpus callosum abnormalities
Section 8: Gender and brain
Genger dimorphism
Gender definition
The Influence of Sex Hormones on the Nervous System
The effect of sex hormones on the developing brain
Masculinization of the brain
Male and Female Brain Differentiation
Parental Behavior
Non-chromosomal gender disorders – Gender change in puberty
Section 9: Neurogenesis
Section 10: Learning and memory- Cellular mechanisms
The relationship between Learning and Memory
Memory problems after brain injuries
Patient HM
Amnesia: Types, Symptoms, and Causes
The Korsakoff syndrome
Types of memory
Habituation and sensitization
Sensory, short and long term memory
Parts of the Brain Involved in short and long term memory formation
The main components of human memory and the brain areas involved
Hippocampus and spatial memory
Alzheimer’s disease
Neural mechanisms of learning and memory
Plasticity
Aplysia as a model organism for the study of memory
Mechanisms of short-term and long-term potentiation
Mechanisms involved in age-related memory impairment
Recommended reading:
Α. Lecture Material
Main suggested textbooks:
Brain & Behavior: An Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience Sixth Edition by Bob Garrett (Author), Gerald Hough (Author)