Developmental Neuroscience
Syllabus (HCS 6336)
Instructor: Dr. Michael P.
Kilgard
Office: JO
4.304
Office
Hour: Thursday 4-5 pm
Office Phone: (972) 883-2339
E-mail Address: kilgard@utdallas.edu
Meeting time: Tues & Thurs 10:00-11:15 am Meeting place: CR1.212
Required Texts:
Principles of Neural Science, 4th ed. (Kandel, Schwartz & Jessell)
Principles of Development, 3rd ed. (Lewis Wolpert)
Both should be available at Off-Campus Books (Campbell Rd.) & the UTD
bookstore.
Course Description
This course will cover the major issues of neural
development. Recent advances in the understanding of the molecular and cellular
events underlying cell differentiation, axon guidance, synapse formation,
neurotrophic factors, and neural death will be discussed. The last third of the
course will focus on activity-dependent plasticity and its role in generating
and maintaining the extraordinary precision of connections found in the nervous
system. Pathologies arising from failures of these processes will be discussed.
Course Goals
This course has three primary goals: (1) to
introduce students to the major issues of developmental neuroscience; (2) to
familiarize participants with the range of research methods brought to bear on
these varied and interrelated investigations; (3) and to encourage the
development of the skills required for meaningful appreciation of the
historical context and logical rationale of experiments presented in primary
research articles.
Student Learning Objectives:
After completing the course, students should
be able to:
1.1 Describe the
importance of an multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the nervous
system.
1.2 Describe how molecular,
physiological, and behavioral studies have contributed to our understanding of
the nervous system.
1.3 Integrate
pathological findings from psychology and clinical neurology with basic
scientific work in the neurosciences.
2.1 Identify and explain
why research questions rather than methods ideally drive advances in the
neurosciences.
3.1 Compare textbook,
popular and peer-reviewed scholarly reports in the neurosciences.
5.1 Apply neuroscience
concepts, theories, and research findings to issues in everyday life.
5.2 Identify appropriate
applications of neuroscience knowledge in health, service, education, or
business professions.
30.1 Describe how basic laws of nature
relate to brain function.
30.2 Set up neuroscience problems in
feasible and solvable ways.
30.3 Make reasoned arguments about major issues
related to the nervous system.
Schedule:
DATE |
TOPIC |
ASSIGNMENTS |
January 13 |
Introduction to
Developmental Neuroscience |
|
January 15 |
Regulation of Gene Expression |
Wolpert Ch1 |
January 20 |
Transport and Cell Signaling |
Wolpert Ch1 |
January 22 |
Development of the Drosophila Body Plan |
Wolpert Ch2 |
January 27 |
Drosophila Body Plan, con’t. |
|
January 29 |
Patterning the Vertebrate Body Plan I: Axes
and Germ Layers |
Wolpert Ch3 |
February 3 |
Patterning the Vertebrate Body Plan II: The
Mesoderm and Early Nervous System |
Wolpert Ch4 |
February 5 |
Induction and Patterning of the Nervous
System |
Kandell Ch52, |
February 10 |
Morphogenesis: Change in Form in the Early
Embryo |
Wolpert Ch7 |
February 12 |
Review for Exam |
|
February 17 |
EXAM (25%) |
|
February 19 |
Cell Differentiation and Stem Cells |
Wolpert Ch8 |
February 24 |
Specification of Neural Fate |
Wolpert Ch10-1 through 10-8 Kandell Ch53 (p1041-1052) |
February 26 |
Axon guidance |
Wolpert Ch10-8 through 10-12 Kandell Ch54 |
March 3 |
No class |
|
March 5 |
Axon guidance, con’t. |
|
March 10 |
Cell Death and Survival |
Wolpert Ch10-13 through 11-15 |
March 12 |
Sexual Differentiation of the Nervous
System |
Kandell Ch57 |
March 24 |
Primary research papers - Recovery
of learning and memory is associated with chromatin remodelling (also see
summary) - Regulation
of Cerebral Cortical Size by Control of Cell Cycle Exit in Neural Precursors
(link) |
|
March 26 |
EXAM (25%) |
|
March 31 |
Synapse Formation |
Kandell Ch55 |
April 2 |
Activity-Dependent Synaptic
Competition |
Kandell Ch56 |
April 7 |
Plasticity, con’t |
|
April 9 |
Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity |
|
April 14 |
Spike-timing-dependent synaptic
modification induced by natural spike trains & Reversal and stabilization
of synaptic modifications in a developing visual system |
Nature.
2002 Mar 28;416(6879):433-8 and Science. 2003
Jun 20;300(5627):1953-7 (Science Paper optional) |
April 16 |
Plasticity and Language Development |
Kandell Ch59 recommended |
April 21 |
Autism |
Toward
A Developmental Neurobiology Of
Autism
Polleux and Lauder
2004 |
April 23 |
Primary research paper |
TBA |
April 28 |
Catch-up day |
|
April 30 |
Review |
|
May 7
|
FINAL
EXAM (25%) |
8 am –
10:00 am
|
|
|
|
Knowledge Outcomes
Students will be able to:
1.
describe how gene regulation contributes to specific stages of
development.
2.
describe the molecular mechanisms that control axon guidance to form
appropriate neural circuits.
3.
describe how neural activity is used to refine neural circuits.
Assessment
Exams (75%): There will be three
exams (25% each). Exams will be multiple choice and short answer. Material for
these exams will be taken from readings, class lectures and discussion, so
attendance is strongly encouraged. The format of the exam questions is designed
to be challenging and to encourage integrative thought about the material.
Gene Hunt (15%): Use Allen
Brain Atlas and online genome
browser to identify a list of facts about your assigned gene, including
where it is expressed in the brain, what chromosome it is on, what genes are near
it, protein size, whether your gene is found in yeast, fly, worm, and mouse,
etc.
In Class Questions (15%): Responses to in class questions will
be recorded and contribute to the final grade.
Final
Grade: A:
105-90, B: 89-80, C: 79-70, Less than 70% is failing.
Missed Exams: Missed exams may be made
up only if you: 1) provide a valid excuse, and 2) notify the instructor BEFORE
the exam. Excuses must be accompanied by
valid documentation (documentation that you sought medical assistance, a
newspaper clipping of the obituary of your deceased relative, or documentation
from the police, AAA or an automotive garage that your car broke down). Make-up exams will have an additional long
essay added to verify knowledge of material.
Exam Reviews: Several days
prior to each exam, the teaching assistant will hold a review session to review
material that will be included on the exam and answer any questions. Attendance at these reviews is not required
and new material will not be presented at these reviews.
Cell Phones, Pagers, Etc.: Cell phones and pagers have no place
in class. Please turn them off or do not
bring them to class.
Honor Code A student in this course is
considered to be a mature adult whose attitude and conduct are compatible with the
ethical standards of the health professions.
All academic work is conducted under an honor code, which states: “I
have neither given nor received aid for this work, nor am I aware of anyone
giving or receiving aid for this work.”
As standard procedure during exams, place all coats, books, and other
items at the front of the room. If any
member of the teaching staff suspects a student of cheating, the student will
be referred to the Dean of Students Office for prosecution.
Any schedule
changes will be posted at: www.utdallas.edu/~kilgard/developmentF07.htm
Student
Conduct & Discipline The University
of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and
regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It
is the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be
knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and
activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is
contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all
registered students each academic year.
The
University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the
procedures of recognized and established due process. Procedures are
defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents, The
University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and in Title V,
Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of
Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are
available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff
members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).
A
student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the
responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal,
state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules, university regulations,
and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for
violating the standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off
campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such
conduct.
Academic
Integrity The faculty expects from its students a
high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because the value of
an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the
student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high
standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work.
Scholastic
dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions
related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the
submission as one’s own work or material that is not one’s own. As a
general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating,
plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.
Plagiarism,
especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from
any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s
policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course will
use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible
plagiarism and is over 90% effective.
Email
Use The University of Texas at Dallas
recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between faculty/staff and
students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues
concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange.
The university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent
only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff
consider email from students official only if it originates from a UTD student
account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in
the identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the
transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email
account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The
Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for
students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.
Withdrawal from Class The
administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any
college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's
course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's
responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other
words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork
to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course
if you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled.
Student
Grievance Procedures Procedures for
student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and
Activities, of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.
In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades,
evaluations, or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation
of the student first to make a serious effort to resolve the matter with the
instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the grievance
originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty
members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and
evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the
grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the
respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written
response provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to
the School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the School Dean’s
decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or
Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic
Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final.
The results of the academic appeals process will be distributed to all involved
parties. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students
in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to
assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations.
Incomplete
Grade Policy As per university policy, incomplete
grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at the semester’s end
and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete
grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the
subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course and
to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline, the
incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.
Disability
Services The goal of Disability Services is to
provide students with disabilities educational opportunities equal to those of
their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in
the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to
6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. The contact information for the Office of Disability
Services is: The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22 PO Box
830688 Richardson, Texas 75083-0688 (972)
883-2098 (voice or TTY)
Essentially,
the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable
adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of
disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove classroom
prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for
students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be
substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a
student who is hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with mobility
impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college
or university may need to provide special services such as registration,
note-taking, or mobility assistance.
It
is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for
such an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters
to present to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and
needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should
contact the professor after class or during office hours.
Religious
Holy Days The University of Texas at Dallas
will excuse a student from class or other required activities for the travel to
and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship
are exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code
Annotated.
The
student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as
possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment.
The student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the
assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the
length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the
instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for
the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the
prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment.
If
a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for
the purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar
disagreement about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to
complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the student or the
instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the
institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee
must take into account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student
and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive officer or
designee.
These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the
discretion of the Professor.