Module BISS3091: NEUROSCIENCE

Department: BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES (BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES) [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

BISS3091: NEUROSCIENCE

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• This module will build on the knowledge acquired in several earlier modules including pharmacology, physiology and biochemistry.
• It will present a detailed review of the possible neural mechanisms involved in certain adative processes such as learning and memory and certain (maladaptive) psychiatric and neurological disorders such as depression and epilepsy.
• the emphasis will be on the receptors thought to be involved in such phenomena and the molecular mechanism(s) by which existing and new drugs can act for therapeutic benefit.

Content

• Review of the structural and functional organisation of the CNS and of the molecular nature of the major receptor families introduced in level 2 Pharmacology.
• Epilepsy: clinical features, classification and possible biological basis.
• antiepileptic drugs.
• models of human epilepsies.
• Human affective disorders (depression, mania and anxiety): clinical features, classification and possible biological basis.
• treatments of these psychiatric disorders.
• Long term potentiation (LTP): neurobiological basis, relationship to learning and memory in the mammalian brain.
• Cerebral ischaemia (stroke): physiological and pharmological events thought to underlie neuronal cell death.
• treatment and prevention of stroke.
• Review of the molecular targets of drug abuse.
• Review of the biochemical, molecular biological, pharmacological, electrophysiological and computational techniques utilised in the study of the human brain.
• the use and significance of animal models of human neurological disorders.
• the role of neural implants and gene therapy.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon completion of this module students should be able to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of neurobiological mechanisms thought to underlie complex behaviours and molecular mechanisms of action of important classes of CNS-acting drugs.
• Students should have developed an appreciation of the range, sophistication and importance of techniques used in the study of the brain.

• Students should be able to work safely in the laboratory using experimental procedures applicable to the study of neuroscience and present and discuss data in this context

• Students should demonstrate an ability to handle and discuss experimental data

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures will provide the necessary information, critical insight, overview and study guide required by the aims and learning outcomes.
• Additional reading lists will be provided to allow students to extend the information provided in lectures.
• Laboratory practicals will reinforce material from lectures and provide first-hand experience of quantitative techniques.
• One three hour unseen examination will provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the topics.
• Laboratory reports will enable students to demonstrate their ability to analyse and interpret data correctly and to present results appropriately.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Practical reports, seminars and CAL workshops

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University