Instructor: Kelly L. Blair, Psy.D., ABPP

Phone: 731-425-4930 (office)

Office hours: During class break, after class, or by appointment

Textbook: Rosenzweig, M.R., Breedlove, S. M., & Watson, N. V. (2005). Biological psychology:

An introduction to behavioral and cognitive neuroscience (4^th ed.). Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinaeur Associates, Inc.

Welcome

Welcome to Physiological Psychology: PSY 3853! I look forward to being your instructor for this class. We will be covering a very challenging yet very interesting topic.

Discussed below are several important topics regarding this course. We will review this material during the first class session and you are encouraged to read it after the first class to see if you have any questions about the material discussed below. Ultimately, it is up to you to make sure you have read and understood this information. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Course Description

3853. Physiological Psychology. An exploration of the relationship between human physiology and behavior. Topics such as sensation, perception, psychopathology, learning, emotions, motivation, consciousness, and motor behavior will be addressed. Classes explore material as it relates to real world examples and encourage students to apply material to their own lives. Prerequisite: PSY 2013, BIO 1014 and 1024 or two equivalent courses in BIO or CHM.

Instructional methods

The primary instructional methods will be lecture and class discussion.

Class attendance and participation

Class attendance is expected and will be recorded. Class participation is encouraged. Consistent class attendance and participation is vital to mastering the material covered during this class. In addition, consistent class attendance and participation may result in an increase in your final grade if your grade is very close to the next grade level.

Examinations and grading policy

Examinations will cover material from the lectures, textbook, and any supplemental readings assigned. It is anticipated that examinations will involve primarily objective questions but may include some subjective questions.

There will be four examinations given during this class. The first three examinations will occur during the semester itself and will include material covered since the last examination. The final examination will be given at the end of the semester, will be comprehensive, and will cover all the material presented during the semester.

Your grade for the class will be determined by taking the average of your scores on the three tests on which you performed best. In other words, I will drop the score from the one test on which you performed the worst. If you are satisfied with your average after the first three tests, you do not have to take the final examination. Because of the flexibility given by dropping your score on the lowest test, make-up examinations will not be given. In the unlikely event you miss two scheduled examinations, instead of taking a make-up examination you will be asked to write a 10 page research paper with at least 10 references on a topic your instructor chooses.

The grades for each test as well as your final grade will be based on the following scale:

A= 90-100 B= 80-89 C= 70-79 D= 60-69 F=0-59

Academic integrity

Dishonesty or cheating of any form will not be tolerated. Following Lambuth University guidelines, any instance of academic dishonesty or cheating will result in the receipt of a grade of “0” on that test/assignment and may lead to failure of the course. If this behavior occurs a second time, you will receive a failing grade for the course and you will be reported to the Academic Dean.

Special needs

If you have any type of disability that requires accommodations, let me know as soon as possible so that I can work with you to determine what steps need to be taken to allow you to benefit most from this course.

Other comments

· If you are having difficulty mastering the material covered in this course, let me know. I cannot help you if I don’t know you are having trouble. My goal is for all of you to do well in this course.

· The scheduled list of topics to be covered may be modified based on the time taken on topics, class discussion, etc. Any changes to the topics listed below will be discussed in class.

· The test dates will be announced in class.

Class schedule

Unit One Introduction

Biological Psychology: Scope and Outlook (Chapter 1)

Biological Foundations of Behavior

Functional Neuroanatomy (Chapter 2)

Neurophysiology (Chapter 3)

Chemical Bases of Behavior (Chapter 4)

Hormones and the Brain (Chapter 5)

Unit Two Perception and Action

General Principles of Sensory Processing, Touch and Pain (Chapter 8)

Hearing: A few basics (Chapter 9: pages 256-258; 262-264)

Vision: Some basics (Chapter 10: pages 283-307; 314-316)

Regulation and Behavior

Biological Rhythms, Sleep, and Dreaming (Chapter 14)

Unit Three Emotions and Mental Disorders

Emotions, Aggression, and Stress (Chapter 15)

Psychopathology (Chapter 16)

Cognitive Neuroscience: The basics

Learning and Memory: Biological Perspectives (Chapter 17)

Learning and Memory: Neural Mechanisms (Chapter 18)

Language and Cognition (Chapter 19)

Neurological disorders: A review

Neuropsychology, rehabilitation, and plasticity (pp. 615-622)

Brain and mind: Neuroscience and psychotherapy