UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR - PSY 513
FALL 2013



Prof. Mark B. Kristal
    B71 Park Hall (North Campus)
    645-0262 (please do not leave requests for callbacks)
  kristal@buffalo.edu
    Office Hours:  Thursdays 1:00-3:00 and by appointment  
 

Class meets on Fridays, from 9:00 to 11:50, in Knox 14


Required Text: Carlson, Physiology & Behavior (11/e), Allyn & Bacon, New York, 2012 + mypsychkit.
                   
First of all, you are responsible for reading and understanding everything that follows.

This is a graduate course and my expectations for your performance will be geared accordingly, although it is a basic introductory course.  If you are not a Behavioral Neuroscience graduate student, I will assume that you have no background in the subject, or in basic physiology or chemistry.  However, since it is a graduate course, I will expect you to absorb and understand the material rapidly.  (BNS graduate students will be expected to bone up on chemistry and physiology either before or during the semester; there are some useful links below). For some, the material will contain some repetition, and for others, the level of exposition my seem downright simplistic.  Remember, I have to accommodate a variety of backgrounds among the students. In general, the course work is difficult, but the reading assignments will be limited to the chapters in the book. You will be expected to keep up with the readings without being reminded weekly. I will be available for help during office hours and by appointment, so if you are having trouble understanding the material, or with your study habits, see me. One of the best strategies for mastering the material is to form study groups, immediately, and meet regularly through the semester to go over the material.

Lectures will be presented with the understanding that the reading assignment has already been done.  The best strategy is to scan the reading for the topic to be covered, so that you are familiar with what the book presents, then attend the lecture on the topic, then read the material again and much more carefully. Terminology can be confusing; if you ask what terms mean in a lecture, I will know that you have not scanned the chapter ahead of time. I will assume that you will be keeping up with online material on your own, as we deal with each topic. 

There will be three (3) exams: the first two will be noncumulative and will last approximately 75 min.  The format will be objective, short answer, fill-in, short essay, or some combination thereof.  You will not be told of the precise format in advance.  The test material will be drawn from lecture material, some of which may not be in the book, from book material, much of which will not be in the lectures, and material that is both in the book and in the lectures. The third exam will be the Final; it will be approximately 3 hrs long, will be cumulative, and will be given during Finals week.  The midterms will each count as 20% of your grade, and the final will count 45%.  The remaining 15% will come from class participation, pop quizzes and graded homework assignments (which are a possibility).  There will be no make-up exam for a missed midterm.  If you have missed a midterm, your grade will be calculated on the basis of the remaining midterm and the final (20%:65%).  Test scores will be graded on a curve; there will be no scores of 100% but there will be A's. Although this is a grad course, I will assign final grades lower than C. Your performance on tests is expected to be graduate level, in other words, if you are asked to identify something, you need to do it in the context of the course material, and indicate why it is important. Incompletes are only a remote possibility and will have to be arranged (in advance) with me.  Excuses for a missed final exam must be documented.

Dictionaries will not be allowed at tests. Recording of lectures is not permitted.  New terms are defined in yellowish boxes in the chapters.  Take advantage of these.  Accommodations for disabilities will be made in accordance with recommendations of the Accessibility Resources Office, and only if the student has registered with that office as disabled.

All instances of academic dishonesty will be prosecuted vigorously and to the fullest extent in accordance with the Policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees, as outlined in the UB Faculty/Staff Handbook.

Learning Outcomes (as mentioned above, these outcomes will be assessed by exams and in-class participation):
    a) to understand the relationship between behavioral neuroscience to the rest of psychology
    b) to become familiar with the vocabulary of behavioral neuroscience
    c) to develop an appreciation for the logic and methodology of behavioral neuroscience
    d) to understand the basics of neuroanatomy
    e) to understand the basic mechanisms and theories of neural function, neuroendocrinology/neurochemistry
    f) to develop a basic understanding of the roles of neurophysiology and neurochemistry in categories of behavior such as sensation, movement, sleep and arousal, motivation, emotion, learning and memory, and psychopathology.

The syllabus and all further communications will be on UB Learns
The course home page, the Topic Schedule page, and the page containing useful web links (to be found on UB Learns only), will not change over the course of the semester. All changes, announcements, questions, and communications during the semester will appear on the periodically changing UPDATE page (to be found on UB Learns only); check it several times each week.