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Fall 2014 Academy for Lifelong Learning of Cape Cod ALL 776

Brain and Behavior: The Neurophysiology of the Brain and how it defines us

Coordinator: Alan Bernstein

Course Description:
The course will cover the structure of the brain and how it defines us and what we
are capable of doing. We will examine its role in learning and memory, sensation
and perception, motivation and emotion, personality and psychopathology as
well as some changes that occur as we age. The course will involve lectures, class
discussions, demonstrations and limited videos.

Course Website:
There is an official website for the course. The URL will be supplied to you via
email. Please consult the website periodically.

Course Resource:
There is an excellent brain/behavior resource available on the website of the Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory at http://www.dnalc.org/resources/3dbrain.html. The
description of this resource from their website is Check out our interactive brain
map that allows users to rotate the brain in three-dimensional space. Individual
maps of 29 structures include information on brain damage, case studies, and
links to modern research. Ideal for students, researchers, and educators in
psychology and biology. The 3D Brain was developed for our Genes to Cognition
site. You can either download the application to your iphone or android device
or can run a more sophisticated version of the application using the browser on
your laptop or desktop computer.
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Course Schedule:
The course schedule presented below is offered as an outline of the course.
Whether all topics that are listed to be presented in a given week are actually
covered is a function of available time. The sidebars listed for each week are
topics that class members are encouraged to present/discuss. Advanced reading
on these topics is suggested.

Week 1 - The Brain
Some background information on me
Overview of the course
What is the brain and how does it set us apart from most other living organisms?
Basic structure of the brain
How do we know what functions various areas play?
How does the brain operate what are the potential mechanisms involved
Sidebar:
Left Brain/Right Brain - Lateralization of the brain

Week 2 Learning and Memory
What is learning? What is memory?
Possible mechanisms to store information and sequences of actions
Stages of memory
Neuroanatomy of learning and memory role of the hippocampus

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Sidebar:
Supplements to improve memory and cortical functioning
Amnesia and Korsakoffs Syndrome

Week 3 Sensation and Perception
Sensory lobes vs. subcortical areas
Vision
Audition
Touch and Pain
Smell and Taste
Sidebar:
Using hallucinogenic drugs to expand our perceptions
Prosopagnosia who are you?

Week 4 Motivation and Emotion
Are motivation and emotion connected?
Eating and hunger as an example of a motivational system
Sexual behavior Hormones and the hypothalamus
Theories of emotion
Brain structures that mediate emotion
Pleasure centers and self-stimulation
Stress and anxiety Hypothalamic/Pituitary/Adrenal (HPA) Axis
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Sidebar:
Kluver-Bucy Syndrome
Mood changing drugs

Week 5 Personality and Psychopathology
Personality what is it?
Behavioral disorders an overview of neurophysiology factors
Schizophrenia
Affective Disorders
Anxiety and Stress
Diseases of the brain and disorders of behavior
Sidebar:
Lobotomies and Electro Convulsive Shock Therapy (ECT)
Touretts Syndrome

Week 6 Aging The evolution of the Brain over the life cycle
Prenatal development
Post natal development
Executive function emerges
Degenerative diseases of the Brain
Parkinsons Disease
Huntingtons Disease
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Alzheimers Disease
Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease
Sidebar:
Is deterioration within the brain inevitable or can we either forestall or
prevent it?