NEUR30003: Principles of Neuroscience

1 x MST (30%), 1 x 2 hour exam (70%)

First off, I will say that this subject can really be split into two parts: The first concerns mostly what we do know as a scientific collective; The second moves into territory that really pushes the envelope. I think it is important to keep this in mind if you take the subject because for a "science" subject, the content in the later lectures is rather abstract (and maybe even a bit philosophical).

The first six weeks of lectures covers the fundamentals of neuroanatomy, neurological development and injury to the nervous system, sensory systems (similar content to NEUR30002), and the autonomic nervous system. Naturally, these topics lend themselves better to the style of learning emphasised in the course in that it is easy to see where a test question may come from. For instance, knowing a sensory transduction pathway and how a ligand interacting with a receptor is converted into a meaningful receptor/graded/action potential is something that one could possibly anticipate being on a test. Moreover, the weekly study group questions pertaining to this section of the course are fairly easy to answer given that the answer will no doubt lie somewhere in the lecture notes.

The second six weeks is a bit of a departure from the first six, and anecdotally, I found that most (not all) of the people who I knew preferred the content of the first half of lecture series. That said, topics such as consciousness, pain, fear, memory, etc., all pop up in this part of the course, and personally I found these to be really quite intriguing. Despite being less concrete, I would say that Peter (the subject coordinator) handles the lectures very well and they are genuinely interesting to listen to. Again, there are study group questions that the lecturers provide and these shall give an indication of what can be expected in the way of formal assessment.

The midsemester test was very fair in terms of both time and the wording of the questions. It covered the first half of the course, but given that the order of lectures changed between 2014 and 2015, I cannot accurately give an indication of what might appear on the test. What I will say, however, is that I had the feeling that the test would be accessible if one makes the effort to answer the study group questions without referring to the lecture notes.

• NEUR30003 MST 1 (out of 35) - 23.27 (mean); 24 (median)

I thought that the exam was incredibly fair, and possibly the easiest of my exams for this semester. That is not to say that the exam is easy, though. While it was all multiple choice, it consisted of a few question types: Some simple (A, B, C, D), some extended (A, B, ..., Z), and some slightly different. The emphasis was on the second half of the lecture series. Reviewing notes and asking peers questions is probably a good way to prepare for this exam.

Thanks to Peter, this subject was a pleasure to be enrolled in; I enjoyed the lectures since they were fascinating, I found the lecturers to be engaging, and am of the opinion that the testing was transparent and equitable.

Yes, with screen capture

P. Kitchener, C. Anderson, J. Bornstein, E. Fletcher, L. Rivera, A. Allen

No past papers

4.5 out of 5

Neuroscience

36 x 1 hour lecture

2015 Semester 1

H1

Midsemester test worth 30%. Exam worth 70%

So this subject I thought was very good, though others really didn't enjoy it. So bear that in mind.

Content wise: The first 20 lectures covers all the various 'nervous systems.' 3 lectures on neural development and repair. 5-10 lectures on senses. 5ish lectures on movement, one on pain, language and homeostasis. A couple of lectures on memory and then the subject takes a shift to the more complex neural topics: Emotion, cognition, neural disorders, consciousness, reward, fear... you get the idea.

I went into this subject expecting to absolutely love the consciousness and more complex lectures. I mean who isn't honestly interested by what the hell consciousness is! However, these were definitely IMO the worst component of the subject. This is probably because we know so so so little about anything that all we can really say is 'yeah we think this area is involved and it probably interacts with this other area.' For me, that wasn't enough to get excited about those topics. The first 20 lectures however, were brilliant. We know a lot about it all, how the info is encoded, decoded etc etc especially vision. This means that the lectures typically are quite detailed and explain a lot about how those systems work. A lecture typically starts with a stimulus if there is one and how it turns into an electrical signal. Then looking over the anatomical pathways of the neuron, what things happen at each place and then couple of extra things. There is a bit of anatomy, but certainly not a great deal, and the majority is mostly just so you have a reference point to talk about an important function.

Assessment on the midsem was ridiculously stupid. The questions they asked were barely taught and poorly worded. Assessment on the exam was much better though.

Unfortunately there is also the infamous Joel Bornstein that covers the memory lectures. He has a total of like 12 slides in a lecture and then rambles on random tangents half the time then ends up going 5-10 minutes over (seriously, one time he went to 5 past and the other lecturer had to kick him out. The most unfortunate thing about having Joel Bornstein is that he covers one of the most interesting topics which is memory. It really is such a shame, because I think those lectures could of been so much better....

I personally find peter kitchener a very good lecturer, however many found him quite poor which was surprising.
I don't there is much out that stands out to me about this subject. Overall, just a good introductory subject to neuro which is certainly easier than the level 3 subjects I've done so far
PM me for any questions

Yes, with capture.

80% taken by Peter Kitchener. Rest is various lecturers.

Yes but ones not relevant to us since the exam format changed this year.

4/5

I don't know. Don't need any though.

3 lectures a week

2014 - Semester 1

Not sure yet.

Midsemester test worth 30% and exam worth 70%

I really enjoyed this subject, particularly the first half where we studied topics such as the senses (hearing, vision etc.). The second half, which included topics such as consciousness i didn't enjoy as much but was still ok. The subject is pretty good in terms of contact hours (just 3 lectures a week). Assessment is straight forward with just the test and exam. I guess this may be a disadvantage to some, as a poor performance in the 30% test could proove costly to your overall mark. There is no prerequisite knowledge, so is a good subject for people who may want a taste of Neuroscience. This is also a core subject for those wishing to major in Neuro. I definitely recommend this subject to those who may be interested and i very much enjoyed it.

Yes, with screen capture etc.

No, but some sample questions were provided.

4.5/5

They recommend Purves Neuroscience, but i didn't use it. I felt the lecture material was sufficient.

Weekly 3 x 1 hour lectures per week

H1