Psychology 846.3: Human Neuropsychology Time: Room: Instructor: Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. Arts 166 Dr.

Lorin Elias Office: 154 Arts E-Mail: lorin.elias@usask.ca Phone: 966-6670

Required and Recommended Texts: There are no required textbooks. There will be required readings from journal articles. Some of these are listed within the syllabus, but others will be chosen and disseminated as the course progresses. In addition to these journal articles, I advise you to obtain access to an undergraduate neuropsychology or behavioural neuroscience textbook if you do not already own one. This will prove especially useful for reviewing neuroanatomy and neuroscience methods. Course Objectives: The course calendar describes this course as: A critical review of theory, research and methodology in human neuropsychology. Using a combination of lectures and seminars, students will be exposed to the recent literature on topics such as brain localization and lateralization of functions, brain damage and recovery, and the neuropsychology of higherorder functions. For the winter 2013 offering of the course, we will be focusing on the neuroscience of everyday life. Topics such as lateralization and localization of function, brain damage and recovery, and the neuroscience of functions like memory and attention will be addressed from a real world perspective instead of exclusively focusing exclusively on laboratory based research. We will be studying the many ways that the brains architecture biases our perceptions, memories, and even personalities. We will also examine strategies to selectively exploit or circumvent these biases. It is assumed that the student has some familiarity with current dogma in neuropsychology or cognitive neuroscience (i.e. that the student has taken one or two undergraduate courses in biological psychology already, including a survey course). Course Requirements Class Participation Presentations Papers 10% 50% 40%

(2 @ 25% each) (1 @ 40%)

Class Participation (10%): This course is primarily structured using a seminar format. Your preparedness for class and willingness to participate are both essential in order for this course to be successful. I expect you to complete the assigned readings before the each class. Further, your attendance is also compulsory. Should you be required to miss a class, I would appreciate being informed via e-mail (Lorin.Elias@usask.ca) or telephone (966-6670) prior to class. Your grade will not only be influenced by the quantity of your participation, but also the quality of your participation.

Presentations (2 @ 25% each): Each student will complete one group presentation and one individual presentation during the course. The presentations should be approximately 45 minutes in length, allowing 15 minutes for questions (total of 60 minutes). For each presentation, you will also need to provide at least 1 journal article (ideally 2) to the rest of the class on your topic, one week prior to your presentation. Presentation grades and feedback will come from both the instructor and your classmates. Written Assignment (40%): At the end of the course, each student will submit an NSERCstyle grant proposal for a research program related to one of the topics previously presented by that student. NSERCs instructions for the grant are located here: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServices-ServicesEnLigne/instructions/101/e.asp?prog=dg Students will complete a simplified Form 101, including a budget, and a proposal of 5 singlespaced =10 double-spaced pages following NSERCs guidelines for content and presentation. Students do not need to complete Form 180 or Form 100. Tentative Schedule Date January 8, 2013 January 15, 2013 January 22, 2013 January 29, 2013 February 5, 2013 February 12, 2013 February 19, 2013 February 26, 2013 March 5, 2013 March 12, 2013 March 19, 2013 March 26, 2013 April 2, 2013 April 9, 2013 Topic Orientation and Scheduling Sample: The Laterality of Everyday Life Group Presentations (2x2) Group Presentations (2x2) Group Presentations (2x2) Group Presentations (2x2) February Break no class Individual Presentations (2) Individual Presentations (2) Individual Presentations (2) Individual Presentations (2) Individual Presentations (2) Individual Presentations (2) Grant Proposal Due

Potential Topics (not exhaustive) Laterality of Everyday Life (sample presentation) Attention: Divided attention and driving Attention: Video gaming and changes in sustained attention and attention switching Emotion: The neuroscience of fear and loathing Emotion: The social (and socially networked?) brain Emotion: Stress and the stone age brain Emotion: Neutraceuticals for depression, SAD, and other emotional disorders Emotion: The neuroscience of love and sex Memory: Neutraceuticals and techniques for boosting memory performance Memory: Mechanisms and circumstances that lead to false memories Memory: Protecting ones brain from dementia Visual Perception: What visual artwork teaches us about visual perception Visual Perception: Things we see that arent there Visual Perception: Things we dont see that are there Artwork: Artists with brain damage or unusual neural conditions (such as synaesthesia) Audition: What music teaches us about auditory perception Language: What language development teaches about the neural representation of language Language: Models of instruction for reading/writing informed by neural models Language: Acquired and/or developmental dyslexia, causes and treatments Reasoning: The neural basis of bad decisions Reasoning: Emotional versus logical reasoning and good decision-making Spatial Perception: Navigation in stone-aged and modern environments Spatial Perception: Sex differences Spirituality and Religion: Neural mechanisms of spiritual experiences The neuroscience of paranormal experiences Creativity and disinhibition Time: Body rhythms neural mechanisms of time perception (jet lag, sleep) Development: The scientist in the crib Development: Frontal lobe development and adolescent behaviour Pain: Its all in your head Mind Reading: The perception of emotional and cognitive states in others Consciousness: The neural basis and influence of subconscious perception Magic: The neuroscience of misperception and illusion Dreaming: What is the neural basis and function of dreaming? Aging: Wear and tear, or Use it or lose it? The 10% myth of human brain capacity

Academic Misconduct: All papers, exams, and presentations provided for grading must be the result of the students own honest effort. In particular, all citations and sources must be properly referenced, and the material cannot have been previously submitted elsewhere for academic credit. Should a student be suspected of plagiarism or cheating, the matter will be referred immediately to the appropriate Dean. Students are directed to: http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/honesty/academic_misconduct.php to review the Universitys policy with respect to plagiarism and cheating.