Biol 430.3 – Neurobiology of Behaviour- 2007 Course Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Jack Gray,
Office: rm 324 Biology,
Phone: 966-7305,
e-mail:
Office hours: Wed 11:00 – 12:00 or by appointment
Lab Demonstrator: Mr.
Office: rm 122 Biology
Phone: 966-4442
e-mail: rev263@mail.usask.ca
Prerequisite: BIOL 217.3 or HSC 208.6 or VBMS 212.3 or
permission of the instructor.
Lectures: MWF 10:00 – 11:20 (Biology rm 124)
Recommended text: Zupanc,
G. K. H. (2004). Behavioural neurobiology: An integrative approach pp. 1-342.
Available in the bookstore for $72.00.
Lab: Tues. 1:30 – 5:30 (Thorvaldson rm G74B)
The laboratory portion of the course will require a working knowledge of computers which will be used to collect and analyze data and prepare reports. You will need access to a computer, printer, the Internet, email, the software program Excel and a word processing program. This can be achieved from your home computer or your membership in the Arts & Science Computer Lab. If you have not already set up a University computer account you should contact the Arts and Science Computer Lab. Other, more specific, software for data analysis will be available only on the computers in Thorvaldson rm G74B.
Course description
and goals:
Neuroethology is the study of how activity in an animal's nervous system produces and modifies natural behaviour. Topics in the course include: the detection and coding of information from the environment, integration of information for decision-making, generation of motor patterns that underlie behaviour, and general constraints on form and function of neural circuits. Initial course material may be somewhat similar to material covered in Biol 472 (Animal Behaviour) but will quickly deviate as we explore the physiological mechanisms that underlie behaviour.
Lectures will cover specific themes as outlined below, with the intent of maintaining continuity within the overall field of neuroethology. The laboratory component will emphasize practical aspects of the lecture material and will deviate slightly from laboratories in other courses in that the students will provide much of the initiative for the formulation of hypotheses and designing the appropriate experiments. Students will also gain experience with assimilating information from primary literature sources as they pertain to the analysis and interpretation of experimental data. Primary sources will also be used for the preparation of a report and seminar describing a particular model neuroethological system.
Course goals:
1. To develop an understanding of the cellular mechanisms that underlie the adaptive behavior seen in animals.
2. Through an examination of the original literature and experiments that constitute our current understanding of neuroethology, to develop an appreciation of the experimental and quantitative basis of modern neuroscience.
3. Through collection and analysis of experimental data, to develop and improve skills in critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis.
Tentative Lecture
Schedule
|
Week |
Dates |
General Topic |
|
1 |
Jan. 4 |
Introduction and history |
|
2 |
Jan. 9, 11 |
History, Review of neuronal structure and function |
|
3 |
Jan. 16, 18 |
Ecological considerations and environmental/evolutionary constraints |
|
4 |
Jan. 23, 25 |
Neuroethological techniques and model systems |
|
5 |
Jan. 30, Feb. 1 |
Sensory coding and feature extraction |
|
6 |
Feb. 6, 8 |
Central pattern generation/ Motor patterns |
|
7 |
Feb. 12 – 16 |
Mid-term break (no classes) |
|
8 |
Feb. 20, 22 |
Sensori-motor integration |
|
9 |
Feb. 27, Mar. 1 |
Initiation, selection and modulation of Behaviour |
|
10 |
Mar. 6, 8 |
Behavioural and neuronal plasticity |
|
11 |
Mar. 13, 15 |
Learning and memory |
|
12 |
Mar. 20, 22 |
Neuronal development and maturational plasticity |
|
13 |
Mar. 27, 29 |
Neuroecology |
|
14 |
Apr. 3, 5 |
Neuroethological applications: (e.g. toxicology, biorobotics, neural networks) |
Tentative Laboratory
Schedule
|
Week |
Date |
Laboratory Topic |
Assignment
(grade) |
Due date |
|
1 |
|
No lab |
|
|
|
2 |
|
No lab |
|
|
|
3 |
Jan. 16 |
Model systems and experimental design |
|
|
|
4 |
Jan. 23 |
Analysis of behavioural and physiological data |
Report (5%) |
Jan. 30 |
|
5 |
Jan. 30 |
Collecting and quantifying behavioural data |
Report (5%) |
Feb. 6 |
|
6 |
Feb. 6 |
Sensory coding I |
|
|
|
7 |
Feb. 13 |
Mid-term break (no lab) |
|
|
|
8 |
Feb. 20 |
Sensory coding II |
Paper –manuscript format (15%) |
Mar. 6 |
|
9 |
Feb. 27 |
Tutorial |
|
|
|
10 |
Mar. 6 |
Motor patterns |
Report (5%) |
Mar. 13 |
|
11 |
Mar. 13 |
Motor learning |
Report (5%) |
Mar. 27 |
|
12 |
Mar. 20 |
Tutorial |
|
|
|
13 |
Mar. 27 |
Research presentations |
Presentation (5%) Project proposal (20%) |
Proposal due Apr. 9 |
|
14 |
Apr. 3 |
No lab |
|
|
Assignments and Grading
There will be no midterm exam for this course. Your grade will be determined by three main categories:
Lab work (35%)
Research proposal and presentation (25%)
Final exam (40%)
Lab work (35%):
Much of what we know and have yet to discover about neuroethology comes from rigourous experimental design and hypothesis testing. Therefore, it is important to understand how newly emerging neuroethological principles are uncovered. This is a relatively new science and the best way to understand it is through emulation of existing investigative protocols and interpretation. It is quite possible that while conducting experiments in the lab you may “discover” something new! Lab work will be evaluated through “classic” lab reports and an in-depth, formal manuscript-style, paper that will be prepared as if to be submitted to a scientific journal.
Lab reports (5% each x 4)
Each report should include a short introduction that addresses the main topic of the lab and answers to specific questions presented in the manual. These answers may take the form of well-written, thorough explanations and may also require appropriate presentation of figures. Details of the requirements for each report will be included in the relevant hand-out material. Given that this is new course, I will endeavour to have this material to you at least one week before the scheduled lab to give you time to prepare.
Paper – manuscript format (15%)
The manuscript will be a formal presentation of data collected in weeks 6 and 8 (Feb. 6 and 20). The tutorial scheduled for week 9 (Feb. 27) is designed to give you time to complete analysis of the collected data. The manuscript should be prepared as if for submission to the Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, which publishes many articles in neuroethology. All scientific journals have very strict instructions for preparing a manuscript. Authors that do not adhere to these instructions risk having their manuscripts rejected without having been reviewed. Therefore, it is critical that you follow the “instructions to authors” as laid out by the journal. These can be found in a copy of the journal in the library. At the end of this syllabus I have also included a guide entitled “PLAN FOR A STANDARD PAPER” which will provide you with ideas of how to compose a formal scientific report. Normally, a manuscript is reviewed by 2 or more referees who are experts in a particular field. The referees provide comments to the author(s) on how to improve a manuscript and comments to the editor of the journal on whether the manuscript should be published. The decision is made by the editor based on the referees’ comments. For your assignment, I will serve as the referee and editor.
Research proposal
and presentation (25%):
This part of the course will introduce you to one of the most important aspects of a scientific profession: grant writing. Scientists do not live on bread alone. They need funding to provide them with the resources needed to conduct research. These resources include costs for equipment, personnel (graduate students, technicians etc.), supplies, and other things that require “money”. Research is a very expensive endeavour and so most researchers turn to government or private agencies for the needed funds. The onus, therefore, is on the researcher to convince the funding body that the research is important, generally interesting, and practical (i.e. the researcher is capable of carrying out the proposed experiments.).
For this
assignment you will select a topic of interest that relates to the field of
neuroethology and come up with ideas to advance our understanding of
neuroethological principles. Most work
in this field in
The following is copied from the NSERC website on how to present a proposal. In the real world, if these guidelines are not followed, the proposal will be automatically rejected (which can end a scientific career). So follow these instruction to the letter!
General Presentation
When you prepare your application, supporting materials and attachments, follow these guidelines:
- Print must be in black ink and of letter quality.
- Text must be single-spaced, with no more than six lines per inch.
- If you use a type size measured in pts, it must be no smaller than 12 pts. The preferred font is Times New Roman regular 12 pts.
- If you use a type size measured in cpi, it must be no more than 10 cpi.
- Condensed font, and applications completed strictly in italics, are not acceptable.
- The proposal must be no more than 5 pages with one extra page for references.
Note
All text, including references, must conform to these standards. Incomplete applications and/or applications that do not meet the presentation standards may be rejected or be at a disadvantage in comparison with those that are complete and respect the presentation standards.
Avoid using acronyms and abbreviations or explain them fully.
NSERC tips on how to write a proposal can be found at: http://www.nserc.gc.ca/programs/winprop_e.htm
There are 2 main components to a Discovery Grant: Form 100 (personal data form) and Form 101 (Application for a grant). Your assignment will only involve Form 101 and, specifically, the Summary of the Proposal and the Proposal itself. No need not worry about budgets or budget justification (assume that you will have all the resources you need). I will have copies of NSERC grants for you to look at as a template. The proposal is due at 4:00 pm on April 9, 2006. (NO EXCEPTIONS!).
In addition to the written proposal, you will be required to present you ideas in a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation.. This is not normally done with an NSERC grant proposal but will give you experience in presenting your work to a scientific audience. Each presentation will have a 20 minute time slot (15 minutes for the presentation and 5 minutes for questions). Additional people may be brought in as the “audience”.
Final exam (40%):
The final exam will include material covered in the lecture and lab components of the course.
The following is copied from the University website (http://www.usask.ca/honesty/
):
Honesty and integrity are expected in class participation, examinations, assignments,
patient care and other academic work.
" Perform your own work unless specifically instructed otherwise.
" Use your own work to complete assignments and exams.
" Cite the source when quoting or paraphrasing someone else's work.
" Follow examination rules.
" Be truthful on all university forms.
" Discuss with your professor if you are using the same material for
assignments in two different courses.
" Discuss with your professor if you have any questions about whether
sources require citation.
" Use the same standard of honesty with fellow students, lab instructors,
teaching assistants, sessional instructors and administrative staff as you
do with faculty.
"Academic Dishonesty" is what the university calls cheating. Types
of cheating are listed in the Student Academic Dishonesty Rules of the University
of Saskatchewan Council. These rules were approved by University Council on
September 16, 1999, with latest revisions approved Febraury, 2005.
** Note that the onus is on the student to be aware of the definitions of
academic dishonesty as decribed by the University of Saskatchewan Coucil.
Ignorance is no defense.
PLAN FOR A STANDARD PAPER (or paper-writing by numbers)
You have enough material for a paper if you can convince others that you have answered an interesting question. Before starting think carefully about what the major conclusion of the paper is to be. Do not present data that do not directly address this issue. FOCUS.
Title:
- short (if possible) descriptive title ... be accurate.
- either describe the experiment or the main conclusion.
Summary/Abstract:
- interest, question, experimental approach, results, conclusion ... be brief.
Introduction:
- outline the general scientific area indicating its interest and importance.
- focus in on the general question.
- introduce the model system.
- provide necessary background information on the model system.
- outline the specific question.
- propose a hypothesis.
- describe the experimental approach and test.
- make predictions.
- (optional) sentence outlining main conclusion (e.g. "We show in this paper that ...")
(use subheadings where appropriate - particularly in M&M and RES)
Materials and Methods:
- animal species, supply and rearing conditions.
- animal manipulation, preparations and dissections.
- set-ups.
- measurement techniques.
- experimental procedure including groups, n's, criteria to remove animals from analysis.
- methods of analysis including statistical procedures and software.
Results:
- any general observations.
- subdivide (if appropriate) in same order as experimental procedures (M&M).
- present the complete dataset for each experiment.
- simple description of the important results.
- refer to figures in correct sequence.
- note what is and is not significant and provide statistical details (n, t, p, etc.).
- one sentence conclusions at the end of each section are optional but sometimes useful.
Discussion:
- (optional) brief introduction restating problem and hypothesis.
- summary statement of main findings presented in results.
- negate limitations of techniques.
i.e. are the results trustworthy?
- negate potential confounds.
- interpret the results, i.e. what do they mean, what are the conclusions?
- present alternative interpretations and give reasons for favouring your own.
i.e. are your conclusions trustworthy?
(alternative interpretations are very important - a reviewer will surely think of them).
- compare results and conclusions with previous work, specifically and generally.
- describe how the work advances our understanding within general scientific area.
- (optional) indicate fruitful directions for future research, mild speculation OK.
- brief (one or two sentences) restatement of major conclusion.
Acknowledgements:
- thank whoever has loaned equipment, performed experiments, read the paper.
- statement of what organizations funded the research.
Figures:
- figure legends should begin with a brief descriptive statement of major result (title).
- describe the figure in detail; note major features, dismiss unimportant features.
- ensure figure is adequately labelled.
- graph axes should be scaled appropriately and the same throughout (if possible).
Very few journals want wide-ranging treatment of the research area ... so keep the introduction and discussion sharply focussed on the matter at hand. I believe that if you have dealt with all of the components listed above then the paper is finished. Do not try to increase artificially the length of any component of the paper.
Writing style matters particularly only for the introduction and discussion. As much as possible try to tell an interesting story with coherent flow - link the different ideas together so that it is perfectly obvious to the reader why he or she is being given the information.
The figure below can be used as a base for a figure in the manuscript style write up of experiments conducted from weeks 6 and 8.
