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Catalán Inglés Castellano

Year : 2018/2019

3362 - Bachelor's (Degree) Programme in

Human Biology

20438 - Neurosciences

Syllabus Information

Academic Course:

2018/19

Academic Center:

336 - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Study:

3362 - Bachelor's (Degree) Programme in Human Biology

Subject:

20438 - Neurosciences

Credits:

4.0

Course:

Teaching languages:

Theory: Grupo 1: English

Grupo 2: English

Seminar: Grupo 101: English

Grupo 201: English

Teachers:

Rafael Maldonado Lopez, Francisco Jose Muñoz Lopez, Andres Ozaita Mintegui, Miguel Angel Lujan

Perez, Ruben Vicente Garcia, Maria Patricia Robledo , Fernando Giraldez Orgaz, Miguel Angel

Valverde de Castro, Jose Manuel Fernandez Fernandez

Teaching Period:

Third Quarter

Schedule:

Go to calendars and timetables

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Presentation

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Degree / Course: Degree in Human Biology

Course: 3rd
Term: 3rd
Number of credits: 4 credits
Number of students per course: 40

Language of instruction: English

Teaching: Francisco Muñoz, Miguel Valverde, Jose M Fernandez, Ruben Vicente, Sa

Coordination: Fernando Giráldez and Francisco Muñoz.

Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary study of the brain. It includes many levels of expla

The aim of this course is to provide a perspective on some “hot topics” in

Neurosciences by examining specific areas in which they have made enormous
progress in recent years. We offer two alternative options for the students: Choice
1 (Group 1) offers an advanced course of Neurosciences as oriented to neurological
and psychiatric disease, and Choice 2 (Group2) reviews the neurophysiology of
perception and the impact of Neurosciences in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
 
Group 1, Neuroscience and disease: The program begins with a brief review of
molecular and cellular biology of neurons, focusing on the mechanisms of cell
communication and plasticity, to enter fully into the consideration of the molecular
neuropathology. This section includes a review of advances in diseases of great
social importance and currently the subject of intense study like ELA, Prion disease
epilepsy, schizophrenia or Alzheimer's. The following block deals with cognitive
neuroscience, a field that blends traditional neurophysiology and psychology to
address the problems of memory, language and communication. Finally, the course
finishes with the recent advances in neuropharmacology of psychiatric disorders and
addictions, again another area of enormous medical and social impact.
 
Group 2 Neuroscience and Humanities: The course starts with a general overview
of how the sensory systems build up a representation of the world, with particular
reference to the visual and auditory systems. Then it analyses examples of the
constructive character of perception and the mechanisms of brain categorization in
vision, audition and the chemical senses. The neural basis of painting, music and
gastronomy are discussed in this context, reviewing the works of art masters, From
here, it goes into how neuroscience brings back and sheds new light on classical
philosophical questions, like what is knowledge, aesthetic universals, the question of
“nature and nurture”, the relationship between music and language, and the
implications of Neurosciences in Law.

Associated skills

Group 1

•Knowledge of the basic principles of Neurosciences, its multidisciplinary nature and

•Knowledge of the basic processes of molecular and cellular biology of neurons, and
•Knowledge of the molecular basis of neuropathology, taking as examples ELA, Prion
•Understanding of the neural mechanisms of memory, language and communication.
•Knowledge of the principles of neuropharmacology and treatment of psychiatric diso

Group 2

•Knowledge of the basic principles of Neurosciences, its multidisciplinary nature and

•Knowledge of the neural basis of perception.
•Understanding the impact of Neurosciences in plastic arts.
•Understanding the neural basis of audition and music.
•Understanding the impact of Neuroscience in Philosophy, Communication and Law.

Prerequisites

Group 1: Basic knowledge of neuroanatomy, cell biology and physiology.

Group 2: None. The course is oriented to students of all degrees.

Contents

GROUP 1 NEUROSCIENCE AND DISEASE

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1. Introduction to the course
2. Molecular and cellular biology of the neuron. Electrophysiology of LTP and LTD.
Post-synaptic currents and field post-synaptic potentials. (Prof. José Manuel
Fernandez)
3. Synaptogenesis and molecular pathways in dendritic spines. (Prof. Francisco
Munoz)
4. Reticular stress and its implications in neuropathology. Alterations in calcium
homeostasis and protein translation. (Prof. Rubén Vincent)
5. Diseases that affect ion transport in the membrane of the neuron and sensory
receptors. Nerve conduction and channelopathies. Alterations in ion gradient.
Epilepsy. (Prof. Miguel Angel Valverde)
6. Diseases affecting chemical neurotransmission I. Genetic and sporadic
diseases. Pathological aggregation and oxidation. (Prof. Francisco Munoz)
7. Diseases affecting chemical neurotransmission II. The exocitotic complex and
its functional coupling to ion channels. Poisons that affect the release, degradation
and binding to neurotransmitter receptors. (Prof. José Manuel Fernandez)
8. Molecular pathophysiology of aging brain. Cerebral oxidative metabolism. (Prof.
Francisco Munoz)
9. Alzheimer's disease and amyloid-beta peptide: cellular and molecular basis of
the disease. (Prof. Francisco Munoz)
10. Higher complex processes: attention, learning and memory (Prof. Sandra
Montagud).
11. Higher complex processes: attention, learning and memory from the
perspective of animal experimentation (Prof. Sandra Montagud).
12. Human communication: Language comprehension and production. Brain areas
involved, neural circuits and sensorimotor integration (Prof. Sandra Montagud ).
13. Human communication: Language comprehension and production. Brain areas
involved, neural circuits and sensorimotor integration from the perspective of animal
experimentation and human studies (Prof. Sandra Montagud).
14. Parkinson's disease (Prof. Patricia Robledo).
15. Psychopharmacology: drug addictions (Prof. Rafael Maldonado)
16. Current perspectives on the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder
(Dra. Patricia Robledo)
17. Nicotinic acetil-choline receptors as therapeutic targets in CNS disorders
(Prof. Patricia Robledo).
18. Gene therapy. Lipid neurotransmission. Other techniques (Prof. Andrés Ozaita)

Seminars
Seminar 1 Neuropathology: José Manuel Fernandez
Seminar 2 Neuropathology: Francisco Muñoz
Seminar 3 Cognitive Neuroscience: Sandra Montagud
Seminar 4 Neuropharmacology: Rafael Maldonado
Seminar 5 Neuropharmacology: Patricia Robledo

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GROUP 2 NEUROSCIENCE & HUMANITIES

1. Introduction to the course

2. The representation of the world: the sensory systems. The organization of sen
3. The visual world: from the retina to the brain. Why we like line drawings?. Rods
4. The visual areas in the brain. How do we identify objects? From neurons to idea
5. The construction of space. Binocular and monocular cues for spatial reconstruct
6. What is colour. Colour in our brains. The construction of colour and light. Colour i
7. Neuroscience and art. Beauty and meaning. The evolutionary history of the beau
8 Hearing. The inner ear. The auditory brain. Auditory objects. Sound localisation: wh
9. Music, hearing and brain: from hair cells of ecstasy. Musical scales and langua
10. Brain and language. The genetic nature of language. Language and perception
11. Perception and knowledge: Plato, “the allegory of the cave” and the Neuros
12. Neuroscience and Philosophy. More about aesthetics: a discussion with Prof. P
13. Genes and culture I: Early experience and perception. The "critical periods" o
14. Genes and culture II: A discussion with Tamara Djermanovic about Dostoyevsky
15. Neurosciences and the Law. Subjective responsibility. The problem of the deter

Seminars and demonstrations

Seminar 1 Introduction
Seminar 2 The sensory systems
Seminar 3 From the retina to the brain. Quiz 1
Seminar 4 Vision in the brain
Seminar 5 Vision and space
Seminar 6 Colour. Quiz 2
Seminar 7 Vision and art and pre-exam review
Seminar 8 Hearing/ post exam-review
Seminar 9 Music and the brain
Seminar 10 Music and the brain. Quiz 4
Seminar 11 Neuroscience and philosophy
Seminar 12 Neuroscience and philosophy. Quiz 5
Seminar 13 Genes and culture I
Seminar 14 Genes and culture II. Quiz 6
Seminar 15 General discussion/pre-exam review

Teaching Methods

Lectures. Seminars and problem solving. Advanced seminars. Working individually

and in groups. Emphasis will be made on article reading, problem solving and group
work. Assay and paper presentations by students (Chalk Talks)
PAPER AND CLASS PRESENTATION: THE "CHALK TALK" Students will make an
oral presentation to their classmates and teachers. Every student will select a topic
from the list below, or they may propose their own related to the subjects of the
course. Topic selection is on the basis of first to come, first served. The activity
includes: 1) One page abstract of no more than 550 words (Arial 10) containing the
relevant information and up to three references. A figure may be included if
appropriate. 2) A talk of 10 minutes + 5 minutes discussion. 3) The presentation will
be on the blackboard, a so-called "chalk talk", Power-Point is not allowed.

Evaluation

The assessment will be based on academic performance in the following tests, and
on a scale from 0 to 10:
50%: Written test. There will be two written tests (short questions and problems),
one for the first three blocks, lessons 1-12, and a second one for the remaining two
blocks, lessons 13-21. The final mark will be the average of the two exams. Each
exam will be marked on a scale of 10.
20%: Work in seminars. This will be evaluated during the activities of the seminars
and discussion groups.
30%: Essay and paper presentation. Oral presentations, chalk-talks, will be held
before the teaching staff who will evaluate it.
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Requirements: To overcome the activity, the student must participate in scheduled
activities and add up to 5 points (50%) or higher among the different activities
mentioned above. However, note that the mark obtained in each of the written tests
must be above 5 over 10 for allowing further consideration.
Criteria for the recovery: Students that after the evaluation process have not
passed the course, have the option of a recovery test in the month of July. This will be
a written test (short questions & problems) on the lessons of the syllabus above. In no
case the activity assessed during the teaching process can be recovered and the
student will maintain qualification obtained during the course. Therefore, the final
grade will correspond with results of the recovery test with the abovementioned
requirements, plus the results of the continuous evaluation.
There will be a period of recovery during the month of July on the dates established
by UPF for all subjects taken in the trimester. Only those students who have
completed all the compulsory activities (seminars, internships, work, continuous
evaluation ...) will be able to do the proof of recovery in accordance with the teaching
plan for each subject. It is not necessary to do the normal accreditative evaluation to
opt to the July recovery exam. Students who study subjects in other universities in
any exchange program cannot opt for the recovery of those subjects at the UPF.

Bibliography and information resources

Textbooks
KANDEL, ER, SCHWARTZ JH, JESSEL, TM SIEGELBAUM SA AND HUNDSPETH,
A.J. (2013) Principles of Neural Science. Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill, New York, USA
PURVES, D., HEAD, A., HUETTEL SA, LABAR KS, PLATT ML WOLDORFF, MG
(2013) Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience, Second Edition., Sinauer Ass. Inc.
Publishers, USA
WOLFE, J.M., KLUENDER, K. & LEVI, D.M. (2015) Sensation & Perception, Fourth
Edition.-Sinauer Ass. Inc. Publishers, USA
Further reading: Reading assignments, articles for seminars and "Chalk Talks" will be
provided along the course.
Webpages
Wolfe Companion Website: http://www.sinauer.com/cogneuro/animations.html
Purves, D. Neuroscience http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10799/
Other pages and resources will be provided along the course.

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