Course coordinator: Professor Carl D. Hopkins

COURSE INFORMATION

Please read the following pages carefully as they contain important information about the organization of lectures, discussion sections, office hours, faculty, examinations, and grading policy.

Course Description. Offered every spring. 3 or 4 credits (4 credits with discussion section and written projects). The 4-credit option is required of students concentrating in Neurobiology and Behavior. Each section is limited to 15 students, with preference given to students studying Neurobiology and Behavior. Not open to freshmen. Prerequisites: 1 year of introductory biology for majors and 1 year of chemistry. May be taken independently of BIONB 221. S-U grades optional (for 3 credit).

Course Catalog
A general introduction to the field of cellular and integrative neurobiology. Topics include neural systems, neuroanatomy, developmental neurobiology, electrical properties of nerve cells, synaptic mechanisms, neurochemistry, motor systems, sensory systems, learning, and memory. Some discussion sections include dissections of preserved brains.

Faculty.

Carl Hopkins, Professor-in Charge	W263 Mudd Hall	cdh8
Andrew Bass	W239 Mudd Hall	ahb3
Ronald Booker	W119 Mudd Hall	rb28
Joseph Fetcho	W103 Mudd Hall	jrf49
Ronald Harris-Warrick	W159 Mudd Hall	rmh4
Ronald Hoy	W215 Mudd Hall	rrh3

Graduate Teaching Assistants.

Jordan Moore, Head TA	W345 Mudd Hall	jmm256
Laurieanne Dent	W143 Mudd Hall	ld67
Jason Gallant - (W)	W260 Mudd Hall	jrg63
Hannah Kim - (W)	W123 Mudd Hall	hkk23
Dr. Bruce Land - (C)	W246 Mudd Hall	brl4
Kevin Rohmann	W211 Mudd Hall	knr9
(W) = Writing intensive discussion section
(C) = Computational Intensive discussion section

Administrative Assistant.
Lori Miller, W361 Mudd Hall, lmm8 (phone 4-4300). Please contact Lori Miller, the course assistant, about administrative questions about the course, including scheduling exams, grades, and the course website.

Discussion Sections.

Traditional Discussions.   A 4 credit option is offered for those students concentrating in Neurobiology and Behavior and for anyone wishing to pursue the subject matter in greater depth. Discussion sections will provide an opportunity to practice what you are learning in lecture, to discuss difficult and challenging concepts presented in class, read new and interesting papers, and see demonstrations and labs.  Discussion sections will meet once a week for 1.5 hours. Students who opt for the 4-credit discussion section will be assigned to one of ten available time periods.  Discussions will meet weekly, under the supervision of a graduate student Teaching Assistant. Discussion sections will be devoted to; (1) problem sets which will be based on material presented in class; (2) readings related to, but different from material presented in lectures. These sections are not intended to serve as review sessions of the lectures. Questions concerning assignment to discussion sections should be addressed to the head TA.

Computationally-Intensive Discussion Section (4 credits)  An alternative discussion section is offered this year for the first time.  It is aimed at students in Engineering or in the physical sciences, who wish to consider quantitative and computational aspects of neurobiology.  Students will do problem sets, run computer simulations, write computer programs to simulate neural activity and make complex computations.  Students will work on a final project.  Students in the Computationally-Intensive Discussion Section will not take the essay portion of the final examination in the course but will take the multiple-choice and short answer part (Prelim 3). 

Writing Intensive Discussion Section (4 credits)  This section will focus on using writing as a tool to convey knowledge and aid understanding of concepts in neurobiology. Consistent with the goals set forth by the Writing in the Majors program, evaluation will be primarily through writing; the student's 4-credit grade will be determined entirely by performance in section. The student will not be responsible for any of the prelims or final, but instead will be responsible for

1) Blackboard discussions following each lecture
2) Weekly short writing assignments and periodic evaluation pertaining to core concepts in neurobiology
3) five essays on core concepts in neurobiology (each of which will be graded stringently and may involve rewriting)
4) Active participation in section discussion & in Blackboard discussions
5) A final project with details to be provided in class.

Attendance is mandatory for all section meetings, students are held to Cornell's highest standards of academic honor; plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in failure of this course.

Reading Assignments.
Lectures: The assigned textbook for this course is Neuroscience (Purves, et. Al, 2007 Neuroscience, 4th edition, Sinauer Publisher, Sunderland Mass). There are also a few readings from other sources. The readings are not intended to be self-contained, and it is expected that you will supplement them with notes taken during the lectures.

Lecture Outlines.
The lecturers have prepared lecture notes to accompany their presentations. These are designed to highlight key points,  to present important illustrative material, to list lecture objectives and questions, and provide sources for additional reading. These handouts are available in electronic form on the course web site.  Students may order a hard copy in black and white

Discussion Section Problem Sets and Readings: Copies of all assigned problems, writing assignments and reading materials for the Standard Discussion Sections will be available in electronic form on the course web site.  Students may order a hardcopy from the Campus Store.   Assignments for the Writing Intensive sections and the Computationally Intensive sections will be handed out in section.

Course Web Site.
We will make an effort to post all relevant course information on this site.   Pay close attention to this site as information changes frequently.

http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/bionb222/

You will need to sign in and present a password. Then click on the relevant topic for information.  The login procedure and password will be announced in lecture.

 Exams & Grading
There will be one quiz, two prelim exams, and one final exam. Each prelim exam will be 50 minutes long will be held during class on the dates below. The final exam will be held during exam week (to be announced) and will be 2 1⁄2 hours long, consisting of two parts: a prelim-like exam covering the final third of the semester, and a set of comprehensive essays covering the entire semester.

	Day	Date	Coverage	3 cr. option	4 cr. Discussions	4 cr. CI section	4 cr. WI section
Quiz	Mon	Feb. 4	Lectures 2-4	3% extra cr.	3% extra cr.	3%	0%
Prelim exam 1	Mon	Feb. 25	Lectures 1-14	27%	22%	22	0
Prelim exam 2	Mon	Apr. 7	Lectures 14-28	31%	25%	25	0
Final exam part 1 (3rd prelim)	TBA		Lectures 29-42	30%	23%	23	0
Final exam part 2 (essays)			Entire course	12%	10%	0	0
Discussion sections				0	20%	30	100
Total				103%	103%	103	100

Exams will cover materials presented in lectures and readings. The date and time for the final exam has yet to be determined. Answer keys will be posted on the BioNB 221/222  bulletin board outside W358 Mudd Hall, and also on the web. Students will be able to attend an oral review following each examinatioExams will cover materials presented in lectures and readings. The date and time for the final exam has yet to be determined. Answer keys will be posted on the BioNB 221/222  bulletin board outside W358 Mudd Hall, and also on the web. Students will be able to attend an oral review following each examination to review the questions and make comments on the proposed answers, or to submit comments on the examination and suggestions of alternative answers. All oral and written comments will be reviewed and alternative answers considered.

All regular students are required to take the 2 scheduled prelims and final exam. No one will be allowed to take the make up examination unless a suitable written excuse has been given to Professor Carl Hopkins in advance of the scheduled examination (see web-site announcements or class-handouts). Written excuses must be signed by the appropriate authority (Coach, Academic Advisor); all excuses will be verified and must be for one of the following reasons:

1) participation in a religious holiday (a letter from your undergraduate advisor is required);
2) 3 exams in a 24 hour period (notes from each of the other professors are required);
3) sickness the day of the test (a note signed by a doctor, with date & time);
      We will not accept the Gannett Verification of Visit forms.
4) participation in a University sports event (letter from the coach is required).

Final grades will be determined from the accumulated average on all examinations, including the quiz. The three credit quiz will count as extra credit. Each exam will contribute to the overall score according to the percentages listed above.

Traditional Discussion Sections (4 credit option only).
The BioNB 222 discussion sections are designed to give an in-depth introduction to the field of neurobiology. While the discussion schedule will generally coincide with the lecture schedule, the discussion sections are not intended to be question and answer periods for lectures (TA and faculty office hours serve this function). Instead, the discussions will delve deeper into topics brought up in lecture and will supplement the lecture material. There are two primary goals for the discussion sections. First, students will be introduced to current areas of research interest in the field of neurobiology. Discussions on these topics will cover concepts, theoretical issues, and factual information. Second, we hope you develop an appreciation and understanding for the methods most often employed to investigate neurobiology.

Because BioNB 222 sections are group discussions, their success depends entirely upon the participation of every individual in the group. Therefore, the primary responsibilities for students are:
a) Turn in all problem sets on time. You will be penalized for all assignments turned in late. To prevent the possibility of lost papers, you are responsible for making a photocopy of your assignments before turning them in.
b) Attend discussions regularly. You will be allowed one free absence, but you will still be required to turn in the problem set for that week. You will be penalized for any additional unexcused absences. Excused absences require written notification from the appropriate authority (Coach, Academic Advisor, etc.). If you know you will be missing a section, arrangements must be made in advance with your TA, and you may be assigned to another section for that time period.
c) Come prepared (i.e., do the assigned readings and problem sets before class).
d) Contribute to the discussions: it is essential that you talk and ask questions in these sections.
e) Allow others to contribute.

The importance of these responsibilities cannot be over-emphasized. A discussion in which only the TA or a few vocal individuals participate is both boring and a poor learning experience. If, on the other hand, everybody participates, the discussion section will be fun as well as educational.

Discussion Section Evaluation:  the section grade will contribute 20% to your over-all 4-credit course grade in BioNB 222. Of this 20%, your grade will be composed of:
Attendance 20%
Participation 20%
Written Assignments/Anatomy Exam 60%

Problem Sets and Discussion Assignments:  They are available individually on the course web site under the discussion section tab. The assignments will be graded and returned to you in section the same week that they are turned in. Late problem sets will not be graded, and you will receive a zero for that assignment.