Brain System Paper

SC 213 Brain & Human Behavior 4 credits

Fall 2016

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1

This paper is DUE on: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5th If required, an extension will be granted to Tuesday, October 11th without penalty. Papers submitted after Oct. 11th will incur a large penalty – see course policies. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Instructor Information Instructor: Vinoth Jagaroo, Ph.D. Office: 216 Tremont Street, Room 904 Phone: 617-824-8311 E-mail: vinoth_jagaroo@emerson.edu Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 am – 11:45 am or by appointment PLEASE SEE YOUR COURSE SYLLABUS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT WRITTEN PAPERS FOR THIS COURE. You are reminded that this paper will constitute 16% of your final grade for the course. This paper will be scored on a scale of 0-100 points. • Choose ONE topic from the three topics on the following page. • USE THE PRESCRIBED 3-PAGE TEMPLATE TO WRITE OUT YOUR PAPER. Your

paper must conform to the sections, format and length set by the template. Papers that deviate from this format will NOT BE ACCEPTED.

• The paper must be typed. Line spacing may be 1.5 or 2. How the paper should be formatted: • Your paper should conform to the prescribed template, available on CANVAS. • Each required portion of the paper must be fulfilled: Introduction; body/overview;

relevance/application; conclusion; and references. • Use 12 point font size and one of the following fonts: Times Roman, Palatino, Arial or

Helvetica (or a font that closely matches one of these fonts if you do not have any of them). • All books, journal articles, websites, or other materials that you use as source material for the

assignment MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED. • If you are unable to use the prescribed template, your paper must apply the following margin

sizes: left and right = 0.8; top and bottom = 0.5. References/Source Material: Please use at least 5 references as source material for your paper. At college level, you are expected to carry out library research in the process of writing your paper. This involves reading through books and/or journal articles — which should be the primary source of reference material for your paper. A paper that relies entirely on websites for reference material will not be satisfactory. For the minimum of 5 references, use at least three books and two journal articles. You may use any commonly used style to cite material within your paper and to write out your reference list (bibliography). The APA style is the norm is Psychology but you are not required to use it at introductory psychology level. If you wish use the APA style of adapt it in some way, you can find plenty of guidelines online.

TOPICS (Choose ONE of the following four topics)

TOPIC 1: The Structure of a Neuron, the Nerve Impulse, and Events at a Synapse (INTRODUCTION) The introduction should introduce the reader to the key points of the paper. It should also provide the reader with an overview or synopsis of the entire paper. – Define a neuron and describe very generally the function of a neuron in the context of the nervous system. (BODY) Briefly describe the structure and function of a neuron. Take the example of a motor neuron: – Describe its major structural components. – Then describe the events during an action potential. – Further, describe the events around the synapse and some of the ways or mechanisms through which drugs or toxic agents and exert changes at the synapse. (RELEVANCE/APPLICATION) – Offer your perspective on the importance of studying neuronal activity and synapses in the

context of understanding human behavior. (CONCLUSION) The conclusion should sum up and/or reiterate the highlights of the paper in a well rounded manner. It should also address unresolved questions of issues that you think need to be addressed. ______________________________________________________________________________ Topic 2: The Hindbrain, Midbrain and Forebrain, and Structure of the Cerebral Cortex The central nervous system is made up the brain and the spinal cord. The brain can be viewed as having 3 major divisions, the hindbrain, the midbrain and the forebrain. (INTRODUCTION) The introduction should introduce the reader to the key points of the paper. It should also provide the reader with an overview or synopsis of the entire paper. – Describe very generally the structure of the brain. (BODY) Briefly outline the 3 major divisions of the brain. – Describe the major structures and/or systems that comprise each of these three divisions, and

their functions. – Explain what is meant by the idea of a hierarchy among the 3 main divisions of the brain. – Summarize the functions of the lobes of the cortex – Explain what is meant by the 6-layer lamina structure of the cortex. (RELEVANCE/APPLICATION) – Offer your perspective on the importance of studying neuroanatomy in the context of

understanding human behavior. (CONCLUSION) The conclusion should sum up and/or reiterate the highlights of the paper in a well rounded manner. It should also address unresolved questions of issues that you think need to be addressed.

______________________________________________________________________________ Topic 3: Development and Plasticity of the Brain (INTRODUCTION) The introduction should introduce the reader to the key points of the paper. It should also provide the reader with an overview or synopsis of the entire paper. – Define what is meant by brain development and describe why the developing brain can be

referred to as being “plastic.” (BODY) – Briefly describe the main processes that underlie the formation, spread and fine tuning of neurons in the developing nervous system. – In your description, make reference to at least one of the major historical experiments or theorists in the field of neural development. (RELEVANCE/APPLICATION) – Offer your perspective on the importance of brain plasticity the brain in the context of

understanding human behavior. (CONCLUSION) The conclusion should sum up and/or reiterate the highlights of the paper in a well rounded manner. It should also address unresolved questions of issues that you think need to be addressed. ______________________________________________________________________________ Topic 4: Primary Perception Select any ONE of the primary sensory mechanisms you have studied in this course (e.g., vision, hearing, touch and smell). For each one: (INTRODUCTION) The introduction should introduce the reader to the key points of the paper. It should also provide the reader with an overview or synopsis of the entire paper. Briefly describe why the perceptual processes carried by the sensory organs called “primary perceptual processes” or “primary perception” (BODY) – Briefly describe the structure/functions of the sensory mechanism you have chosen. Describe

each major aspect from the point of a sensory stimulus striking the sense organ to the point where the organ passes signals away from itself. For example, if you choose to describe the eye, you will start with the cornea and stop after the optic nerve.

(RELEVANCE/APPLICATION) – Offer your perspective on what makes the sensory organ and its functions unique or specialized. How is the perceptual function carried by the sensory organ of relevance to you at

Emerson College? (CONCLUSION) The conclusion should sum up and/or reiterate the highlights of the paper in a well rounded manner. It should also address unresolved questions of issues that you think need to be addressed. ______________________________________________________________