Brain and Behavior

Code:

OPT05

Acronym:

CC

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Medicine

Instance: 2020/2021 - 1S (of 14-09-2020 to 07-02-2021)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Departamento de Biomedicina
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Master in Medicine

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIMED	51	Mestrado Integrado em Medicina- Plano oficial 2013 (Reforma Curricular)	2	-	1,5	12	40,5
			3

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

The main goal of this course is to help students to understand how specific motor, limbic, and cognitive functions emerge within the brain. This will be achieved by acquiring and integrating knowledge from several disciplines, such as neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurochemistry and behavioral neuroscience. The students will be familiarized with modern experimental techniques used to investigate the neuronal basis of behavior. Finally, the students will familiarize themselves with the interests and motivations that have driven the investigation of the linkage between neural circuitry and complex behaviors.

Learning outcomes and competences

Describe the neuronal circuits underlying the human brain functions, including learning and memory, conditioning, skills and habits, motor memory, fear, anxiety, hunger, reproduction, pleasure and reward. Relate structural, neurochemical and neurophysiological alterations in the nervous system to behavioral abnormalities present in patients. Demonstrate the ability to conduct a critical analysis of neuronal mechanisms underlying neurological, psychiatric and psychosomatic pathologies using existing bibliographic sources and data bases.

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Overview of structure of the brain and its sensorial, limbic, motor, associative, higher cognitive and motor functions. 2. Classical and operant conditioning; overview of the basic concepts in learning and memory. 3. Memory systems: limbic system and hippocampal formation, explicit memory and amnesia. 4. Memory systems: importance of basal ganglia and cerebellum in learning skills and habits and in motor memory. 5. Amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex: fear, anxiety, aggression, depression. 6. Hypothalamus: defense, feeding and reproduction. 7. Ventral striatum, ventral tegmental area and dopamine in reward, pleasure, and addictions. 8. Molecular mechanisms of neuronal plasticity. 9. Cognitive aspects of chronic pain; brain circuits of justice.

Mandatory literature

Larry R. Squire (Editor); Fundamental Neuroscience, Oxford University, Elsevier Science, New York, 2012 (Other editions of this book or other similar-content books)
S. Marc Breedlove, Neil V. Watson and Mark R. Rosenzweig; Biological Psychology: An Introduction to Behavioral, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroscience, Sinauer Associates, Berkeley, 2010 (Other editions of this book or other similar-content books)

Complementary Bibliography

J. Nolte; The Human Brain. An Introduction to its Functional Anatomy , Mosby Elsevier, 2009

Teaching methods and learning activities

The CU Brain and Behavior covers 1,5 ECTS, which corresponds to a total of 40,5 hours of student´s work. Teaching that requires student´s attendance consists of 5 lectures (T, 1 hour each), 2 seminars (S, 2 hours each) and 1 theorico-practical session (TP, 2 hours). In addition, the work of the students involved in the preparation of their presentations will be accompanied by one of the tutors (tutorial orientation – TO). Evaluation: distributed evaluation without a final exam (DA). The continuous evaluation (CA) will provide a total of 16 values to the final classification and will be calculated as a sum of the classifications obtained by each student for each theme (2 values per theme). Classifications of monogrophies and presentations (0 to 2 values) will be added to the classification of continuous evaluation to yield the final classification.

The CU Brain and Behavior is destined for students of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th curricular years. A minimal number of 3 students is required for the functioning of this CU. The maximal number of students that can attend this course simultaneously is 50.

Software

Não aplicavel
Not applicable

keywords

Health sciences > Medical sciences > Medicine > Human anatomy
Health sciences > Neuroscience > Neuropsychology
Health sciences > Neuroscience > Neurobiology
Health sciences > Neuroscience > Neurophysiology

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	80,00
Trabalho escrito	10,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	10,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	24,00
Frequência das aulas	10,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	2,00
Trabalho escrito	4,50
Total:	40,50

Eligibility for exams

Each student has to assist 75% of classes.

Calculation formula of final grade

The distributed evaluation will provide a total of 16 values to the final classification and will be calculated as a sum of the classifications obtained by each student in each class study (2 values per theme). Classifications obtained for monographies (0-2 values) and/or oral presentations (0-2 values) will be added to the classification obtained during the distributed evaluation.

Final mark: AD (max. 16) + Monography (max. 2) + Presentation (max. 2)

Examinations or Special Assignments

During the course each student can wish to write a monography and/or present a brief talk correlating (1) structural features of a particular brain region with its functions or (2) morphological and physiological alterations in the brain with a chosen behavioral pathology.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Students exempted from classes (TE, DA and equivalent) must agree with regent to perform regular meetings to review their autonomous studies, as well as to prepare and present a monography/report simultaneously with the regular students.

Classification improvement

The final mark may be improved on the next edition of this curricular unit.

Observations

The chapters for reading will be provided from the following books:

Fundamental Neuroscience, 2012 or later, Larry R. Squire (Editor), Oxford University, Elsevier Science, New York;

Biological Psychology: An Introduction to Behavioral, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroscience, 2010 or later, by S. Marc Breedlove, Neil V. Watson and Mark R. Rosenzweig. Sinauer Associates, Berkeley;

The Human Brain. An Introduction to its Functional Anatomy – J. Nolte, Mosby Elsevier, 2009 or later;

Up-to-date review and research papers will be suggested for each theme.