Coursework

This course emphasizes the relationship of the field of neuropsychology to other medical and scientific disciplines. Includes electrical activity of the brain, the study of consciousness and emotions, cerebral dominance, pathologies of language, sleep and its disorders, and traumatic brain injuries. Palumbo, staff, 4 cr, Fall sem.

This course focuses on the relationship of the field of neuropsychology to other medical and scientific disciplines. Includes psychiatric aspects of neurological disease and the pathologies of memory, intelligence, perception, and motor function. Palumbo, staff, 4 cr, Spring sem.

Fall Semester: Overview to include neurophysiology, neurochemistry, neuroanatomy, neurobehavior, and neuropsychopharmacology. Processes occurring at the cellular and physiological levels are related to known central nervous system dysfunction. Spring Semester: Review of brain function and selected topics such as Parkinson’s Disease, schizophrenia, neurotoxicology, aphasia, sleep, electrophysiology, and neuroimaging. This course is the same as GMS BN 777 (3 cr) and GMS BN 779 (2 cr), providing students with 50 hours of required course time. May not be taken concurrently with GMS BN 777 nor 779. Palumbo, staff, 4, cr, 1^st & 2^nd sem. (2 sem. course).

Overview of structure and function of the central nervous system. Emphasis on quantitative and qualitative analyses of standardized and experimental tests of cognitive functions useful in differential diagnosis of neurological syndromes with an emphasis on the Boston Process Approach to neuropsychological evaluation. Krengel, 4 cr,  1^st or 2^nd sem.

Overview of central nervous system, structure and function; basic understanding of neurobehavioral symptoms and their relationship to neuropathology, neuroepidemiology, including vascular infections, and congenital, degenerative, and toxic insults to the central nervous system, and will include laboratory examination of a specimen of a human brain. Appropriate for psychologists, speech pathologists, or other students in the behavioral sciences. LaVecchia, 4 cr, 1^st sem.

Topics include collection, classification, and presentation of descriptive data; the rationale of hypothesis testing; experimental design; t-tests; simple correlation analysis; and analysis of contingency tables. Special attention is directed to the ability to recognize and interpret statistical procedures in articles from current literature. 2 cr, Spring sem.

Fall Semester: Overview to include neurophysiology, neurochemistry, neuroanatomy, neurobehavior, and neuropsychopharmacology.  Processes occurring at the cellular and physiological levels are related to known central nervous system dysfunction. Spring Semester: Review of brain function and selected topics such as Parkinson’s Disease, schizophrenia, neurotoxicology, aphasia, sleep, electrophysiology, and neuroimaging. This course is the same as GMS BN 778 (4 cr) and GMS BN 779 (2 cr), providing students with 32.5 hours of required course time. May not be taken concurrently with GMS BN 778 nor 779. Palumbo, staff, 3 cr, 1^st or 2^nd sem.

Fall Semester: Overview to include neurophysiology, neurochemistry, neuroanatomy, neurobehavior, and neuro-psychopharmacology. Processes occurring at the cellular and physiological levels are related to known central nervous system dysfunction. Spring Semester: Review of brain function and selected topics such as Parkinson’s Disease, schizophrenia, neurotoxicology, aphasia, sleep, electrophysiology, and neuroimaging. This course is the same as GMS BN 777 (3 cr) and GMS BN 778 (4 cr), providing students with 25 hours of required course time. May not be taken concurrently with GMS BN 777 nor 778. Palumbo, staff, 2 cr, 1^st or 2^nd sem.

This course provides an overview of theory and research on stress and trauma, with attention to biological, psychological, and social factors. Special emphasis placed on gender issues, developmental factors, psychopathology, and physical health. 2 cr, 1^st sem,  on demand.

This course is taught by neuroscientists, physicians, lawyers, and judges, in an informal, collaborative atmosphere. Instruction will provide students with an introduction to the emerging role of psychology, neuropsychology, psychiatry, and behavioral neurology in the law and judicial proceedings. Topics covered are malingering; competency to stand trial, testify, and be executed; eyewitness identification; sociopathy; insanity defense; criminal culpability in children, and biological basis and treatment of violence.    4 cr, 2^nd sem, on demand.

The distinctive roles of the left and right hemispheres are reviewed; first by examining alterations in language and nonverbal behavior under conditions of brain damage; and second, by examining techniques used to investigate functional asymmetry in the normally intact brain. Prather, 2 cr, 2^nd sem.

The study of normal and abnormal perception and memory as related to brain structure and function. This seminar covers theoretical and clinical issues about how abilities change in normal and abnormal (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease) conditions, using a variety of methods.  Budson, 4 cr, 1^st or 2^nd sem, on demand.

Continuation of GMS BN 796 Neuropsychological Assessment I. Krengel, 4 cr, 2^nd sem.

Overview of neuroimaging techniques available as adjuncts to neuropsychological measures of human brain damage. Intended for students with limited background in the application of neuroimaging techniques for the study of neuropsychiatric illnesses.  Techniques, including PET, SPECT, MEG, MRI, fMRI, DTI and MRS, will be covered with relevance to selected neuropsychiatric diseases. Martin, 2 cr,  2^nd sem.

BN 891(A1): Neurobehavioral Considerations in Addictions and Neurotoxicology.  Krengel, 2 cr, 1^st sem.

BN 891(B1) and 892(B1): Neurobehavioral Disorders.  Grande, 2 cr, 1^st and 2^nd sem.

BN 892(A1): Neurobehavioral Consequences of Neurological Disease.  LaVecchia, Krengel, 2 cr, 2^nd sem.

BN 892(C1): Memory Disorders.  Budson, 2 cr, 1^st and 2^nd sem.

Covers general theoretical issues (e.g., intrauterine and postnatal development of the brain, handedness and lateralization of function, and recovery of function and neurobehavioral plasticity); diagnostic entities (e.g., attention deficit disorder, effects of early brain damage, developmental language disorders, dyslexia, and effects of malnutrition); and assessment and treatment (development of attention, social, spatial abilities, and language).  Prather, 4 cr, on demand.

Var cr, Fall sem.

Variable credits, Fall sem.

This course covers the neurobiological bases of learning and memory from the cellular to the systems level. Initial sessions cover the behavioral aspects of learning and memory–how it is operationally defined and what are the different theoretical concepts from cognitive psychology that are current. Subsequent sessions investigate the neurophysiological, neuroanatomical, and neurochemical mechanisms of memory at the cellular level and then move on to the study of systems that function at the level of the whole organism. Concentration is on studies in mammals, particularly primates. 2 cr, Spring sem.

Prereq: consent of instructor. With growing awareness of an accelerating increase in the size of the elderly population, there has been increasing interest in the neuropsychology of normal aging. Similarly, since aging is a major risk factor for many dementia states, interest has also focused on the neuropsychology of age-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and the Dementias of the frontal lobe type. This course summarizes what is known about cognitive and related changes associated with normal aging and age-related disease. Topics are divided into two major sections. The first considers the cognitive and neurobiological changes associated with normal aging; the second deals with several of the most common age related diseases. 2 cr, Spring sem.

Basic principles and concepts of medical school-level biochemistry and cell biology in a one-semester course. Topics include protein structure and function mechanisms of enzyme action nutrition and metabolism membrane structure and receptor signaling cell cycle regulation DNA and RNA structure and function regulation of gene expression and techniques in molecular medicine. Clinical correlations are provided throughout the course. 6 cr, Fall sem.

Principles of pharmacology are covered and several major classes of therapeutic agents, with attention to their mechanisms of action. Issues of current and future concern in medical pharmacology are addressed including problems of drug abuse, the ethics of human experimentation, the pricing of new drugs, and new biotechnological approaches to drug design and development. 4 cr, Spring sem.

Prereq: consent of instructor. This course examines the interaction between behavior and classes of drugs that affect the central nervous system. Emphasis is given to how behavioral studies assist understanding of mental disorders, including addictions, pain syndromes, and dementia. Faculty overview of a topic is followed by student-led discussion of an assigned research paper. 2 cr, Spring sem. (Not offered in 2015-2016).

Prereq: consent of instructor. Lectures and discussions on biosynthesis, inactivation, receptors, and signaling mechanisms of neurotransmitters and chemical mediators including GABA, glutamate, acetylcholine, catecholamines, purines, peptides, prostaglandins, and histamines. Staff. 2 cr, Spring sem.