NEUR453 Applied Human Neuroscience

Overview

Exploration of how experimental neuromodulation can be used to support or refute current concepts of pathophysiology in clinical human neuroscience.

About this paper

Notes

May not be credited together with NEUR463 passed in 2016 or 2017 or with NEUR472 passed in 2018.

Eligibility

This paper is available to 400-level Neuroscience majors.Enrolments for this paper require departmental permission. View more information about departmental permission.

Contact

Neuroscience Administrator (neuroscience@otago.ac.nz)

Teaching staff

Professor Dirk de Ridder

Paper Structure

NEUR 453 Applied Human Neuroscience will consist of 12 two-hour seminars. It is expected that these will be held 9:00 - 10:50 am and 2:00 - 3:50 pm on some Mondays in the first semester.

Exact dates for lectures/seminars and assignments will be advised in the course outline, which will be available from the Neurosurgery Administrator.

Teaching Arrangements

All seminars will be taught by Professor Dirk de Ridder in rooms at Dunedin Hospital.

Textbooks

Readings consist of original journal articles and reviews.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised

Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Ethics, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper will

1. Have a clear understanding that different co-existing pathophysiological explanations exist in human neuroscience (critical thinking)
2. Have a clear understanding how philosophy influences the interpretation of experimental data, explaining the different pathophysiological models (interdisciplinary perspective)
3. Have a clear understanding of how basic neuroscience can be translated to the clinic, either via neurosurgery or neuromodulation (interdisciplinary perspective, lifelong learning)
4. Have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of translational neuroscience (critical thinking)
5. Have a basic but practical understanding of the functional and structural neuroimaging techniques used in human neuroscience (scholarship, lifelong learning)
   • Functional: fMRI, PET, EEG and MEG
   • Structural: VBM, DTI/DSI/DKI
6. Have a clear understanding of human brain activity and human brain functional connectivity from a network point of view
7. Have a specific understanding of oscillatory activity as it relates to information processing in the human brain
8. Have a good understanding of the different resting state and triggered networks in the brain and their interaction (scholarship)
9. Have a clear understanding of the different existing neuromodulation methods, as applied to humans (scholarship, ethics)
   • Non-invasive: Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS), Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (TACS), Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation (tRNS), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), neurofeedback, Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
   • Invasive: Implanted electrodes
10. Develop skills that permit them to devise a novel neuromodulation treatment for a brain related disorder (information literacy, research, critical thinking, lifelong learning)
    • Study pathophysiological literature
    • Know which functional imaging techniques can be applied to study the pathophysiological models
    • Know non-invasive neuromodulation techniques that permit to modulate the model suggested by functional imaging
11. Develop skill in combining information from multiple sources to produce a review of a field of human neuroscience research (research, interdisciplinary perspective, critical thinking, communication, self-motivation)
12. Develop skill in communicating applied neuroscience (interdisciplinary perspective, communication, self-motivation)

Assessment details

NEUR 453 is 100% internally assessed. Students will be assessed on two oral presentations (15% each), a written summary of each oral presentation (20% each), and a letter to the editor (30%).

Timetable