Course Syllabus

Psychology 721 –Contemporary Issues in Physiological Psychology:

Advanced Physiological Psychology

Fall 2005, Location: first meeting –MSS 412 Time: Wednesday 11:00-2:00

Instructor: Michael Crognale; Office: MSS 407; Phone: 784-6828 ext 2030;

E-mail: mikro@unr.edu

office hours: Tuesday, 1:00-2:00 or by appointment.

Content: This course will explore recent advances in physiological psychology in an in-depth manner for a limited number of areas. These areas will be tailored to the interests of the students. Possible area topics include Development, Comparative Neuroscience, Memory, Language, Vision, Audition, Pain, Autism, Schizophrenia, or any other area of interest to the students. As a physiological course we will look at the underlying neural substrates and biological mechanisms that contribute to the behavior or condition under consideration. The format of the course will be mixed lecture/seminar, wherein the instructor will give a preliminary lecture on the topic (text-book level) and the students will present recent advances in the area of interest and also provide critique of the text-book view when needed. This course will provide much of the background required to successfully pass the physiological portion of the Experimental program qualifying exams.

Grading:

Grades will be absed upon class participation (30%, quality of presentations (40%), and a short paper on the presentation topic of the student’s choice (30%).

Disability Problems

The Psychology Department is committed to equal opportunity in education for all students, including those with documented physical disabilities or documented learning disabilities. University policy states that it is the responsibility of students with documented disabilities to contact instructors during the first week of each semester to discuss appropriate accommodations to insure equity in grading, classroom experiences and outside assignments. The instructor will meet with the student and staff members of the Student Services Center to formulate a written plan for appropriate accommodations, if required.