Brain Control of the Emotions



Brain Control of the Emotions

Syllabus for BISC462

Spring 2008 (2 units, course #13040D)

Larry Swanson, instructor (email: lswanson@usc.edu)

Joel Hahn, assistant instructor (email: joelhahn@usc.edu)

Wednesdays from 8-9:50 am, Hedco Neuroscience Building Auditorium

This course is limited to 15 students

Classes will be held on Wednesday mornings from 8 to 9.50 a.m.

Course description

This course aims to give students a broad general understanding of how the nervous system is organized, and an appreciation of the brain subsystems controlling the basic drives and emotions that work together to shape our behavior in such profound ways. Classes will combine taught elements with presentations, video clips and demonstrations.

Last year (2007) was the first year in which this new course was offered. During our first year, in addition to the core course, we invited a handful of leading neuroscientists to give special talks about their research interest. These talks proved to be a very successful compliment to the core course and we aim to continue with them in 2008. Any special talks will be given in addition to the core course, and to allow for these, there may be some changes to the class schedule for topics covered on a particular day (students will be notified of these topic changes ahead of time).

In general, classes will follow a two part format (with a short recess in between):

Part 1: For the first part of each class, Dr. Swanson, or occasionally another leading neuroscientist doing research on this topic, will lead off with a discussion of general principles, gaining depth as the course progresses, and spanning distant history to recent insights from experimental research.

Part 2: For the second part, the first few classes will consist of demonstrations of brain anatomy; these will be followed by a series of talks on three key behaviors: reproductive, ingestive and defensive. The second part of the remaining classes will feature student-led discussions of interesting research papers chosen by students (with guidance from the instructors) on a topic relevant to the course.

Instead of a final exam, students will be required to write an extended essay (to be turned in at the end of the semester) -- previous students have found it helpful to write an essay on their presentation topic. Detailed instructions for this are listed toward the end of this syllabus.

Grading: Attendance and Participation ---- 25%

Student led presentations -------- 25%

Extended Essay -------------------- 50%

Required reading: Brain Architecture: Understanding the Basic Plan by Larry W. Swanson (Oxford University Press, 2003). Students will be expected to read this core text over the course; single chapters will be assigned as weekly reading for all students from the second week. The progression of the classes will to some extent compliment the sequence of the book chapters, so that students will gain most by reading the relevant chapter prior to the classes.

Additional suggested reading:

Nikolaas Tinbergen: The Study of Instinct

Vincent G Dethier: To know a fly

Behaviors (topics) that we will focus on:

Breathing

Elimination

Ingestive behavior

Defensive behavior

Reproductive behavior

Sleep

The general behaviors listed above can, of course, be subdivided. The broad categories given here represent those fundamental processes that are common to all mammalian (and most non-mammalian) creatures.

Course BISC 462: Brain Control of the Emotions

Table of Class Schedule for spring 2008

| |Class |Date |Title |Presenter |

|Januar|1 |Jan-16 |Pt.1) Introduction: brain evolution. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

|y | | |Pt.2) Vertebrate brain development: basic parts. |Pt.2) Dr. Swanson |

| |2 |Jan-23 |Pt.1) Human brain development. |Pt.1) Dr. Gilles |

| | | |Pt.2) Human brain Dissection. |Pt.2) Dr. Gilles |

| |3 |Jan-30 |Pt.1) Brain’s basic wiring diagram I. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Human brain III. |Pt.2) Dr. Gilles |

|Februa|4 |Feb-6 |Pt.1) Brain’s basic wiring diagram II. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

|ry | | |Pt.2) Reproductive behaviors I. |Pt.2) Dr. Hahn |

| |5 |Feb-13 |Pt.1) Motor system. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Reproductive behaviors II. |Pt.2) Dr. Simerly |

| |6 |Feb-20 |Pt.1) Behavioral state system. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Ingestive behaviors. |Pt.2) Dr. Watts |

| |7 |Feb-27 |Pt.1) Cognitive system. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Defensive behaviors. |Pt.2) Dr. Hahn |

|March |8 |Mar-5 |Pt.1) Sensory systems (Dr. Swanson). |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Student presentations 1. |Pt.2) Students |

| |9 |Mar-12 |Pt.1) Motivation system overview and summary |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Student presentations 2. |Pt.2) Students |

| | |Mar-19 |Spring Break | |

| |10 |Mar-26 |Pt.1) Respiration, drive, and emotion |Pt.1) Dr. Feldman |

| | | |Pt.2) Student presentations 3. |Pt.2) Students |

|April |11 |Apr-2 |Pt.1) Hypothalamus organization I. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Student presentations 4. |Pt.2) Students |

| |12 |Apr-9 |Pt.1) The hippocampus. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Student presentations 5. |Pt.2) Students |

| |13 |Apr-16 |Pt.1) The amygdala. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Student presentations 6. |Pt.2) Students |

| |14 |Apr-23 |Pt.1) The septal region. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Student presentations 7. |Pt.2) Students |

| |15 |Apr-30 |Pt.1) The prefrontal cortex. |Pt.1) Dr. Swanson |

| | | |Pt.2) Student presentations 8. |Pt.2) Students |

The schedule is subject to change to allow room for special lectures; however, the core course will be covered in its entirety and students will be notified ahead of time of any topic changes on a given day.

Provisional list of classes and weekly readings by date

Jan 16, 2008

a) Introduction to brain organization (Dr. Swanson)

b) Human brain I (Dr. Gilles)

Jan 23

a) Nervous system evolution (Dr. Swanson)

b) Human brain II (Dr. Gilles)

c) Finish Chapters 1 & 2 of Brain Architecture

Jan 30

a) Nervous system development (Dr. Swanson)

b) Human brain III (Dr. Gilles)

c) Finish Chapters 3 of Brain Architecture

Feb 6

a) Brain’s basic wiring diagram (Dr. Swanson)

b) Reproductive behaviors I (Dr. Simerly)

c) Finish Chapter 4 of Brain Architecture

Feb 13

a) Motor system (Dr. Swanson)

b) Reproductive behaviors II (Dr. Hahn)

c) Finish Chapter 5 of Brain Architecture

Feb 20

a) Behavioral state system (Dr. Swanson)

b) Ingestive behaviors (Dr. Watts)

c) Finish Chapter 6 of Brain Architecture

Feb 27

a) Cognitive system (Dr. Swanson)

b) Defensive behaviors (Dr. Hahn)

c) Finish Chapter 7 of Brain Architecture

Mar 5

a) Sensory systems (Dr. Swanson)

b) Student presentations 1

c) Finish Chapter 8 of Brain Architecture

Mar 12

a) Motivation system overview and summary (Dr. Swanson)

b) Student presentations 2

c) Finish Chapter 9 of Brain Architecture

Mar 19: Spring break

Mar 26

a) Hypothalamus organization I (Dr. Swanson)

b) Student presentations 3

c) Finish Chapter 10 of Brain Architecture

April 2

a) Hypothalamus organization II (Dr. Swanson)

b) Student presentations 4

c) Finish Chapter 11 of Brain Architecture

April 9

a) Hippocampus (Dr. Swanson)

b) Student presentations 5

c) Reading to be announced

April 16

a) Amygdala (Dr. Swanson)

b) Student presentations 6

c) Reading to be announced

April 23

a) Septal region (Dr. Swanson)

b) Student presentations 7

c) Reading to be announced

April 30

b) Prefrontal cortex (Dr. Swanson)

b) Student presentations 8

c) Reading to be announced

Method of grading: Grades will be determined in equal proportion by participation (attendance, participation in class discussions, and “journal club” presentation; see chart above) and an essay submitted by the date of the scheduled date for the final exam (Monday, May 12, midnight). This essay will substitute for a formal final exam (in other words, no final exam). The topic of the essay will expand on the article(s) presented to the class by the student, and will typically be 5-10 single-spaced pages in length. The essay needs to be in the form of a published minireview—that is, they need to be well written, logically organized, and properly referenced in terms of ideas and data in the previous scientific literature. Examples can be found in journals like Neuron, the Journal of Comparative Neurology, and the Journal of Neuroscience.

It is definitely smart to choose a topic as soon as possible, in the first couple of weeks, and then learn as much as you can about it for your essay, taking advantage of what is discussed in class, and what you can read from the literature.

Disability statement: The instructors are delighted to work with any students who have disabilities to make this a worthwhile learning experience. Please identify yourself to Dr. Swanson before or during the first class, and contact the Learning Center for advice about making public presentations, reading the scientific literature, and writing scientific essays.

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