NEUR30004: Sensation, Movement & Complex Function

1 Assignment (15%)
1 Mid-Semester Test (20%)
Exam (65%)

This was a really great subject. It was really well run and the lectures were really interesting. The lectures mainly focused on sensation (e.g. vision, pain) and various aspects of cognition including language, reading, emotions, mental health, aging etc. Knowledge from Principles of Neuroscience was assumed but everything you needed to know was in the lectures or workshops.

Workshops

The timetable said that the workshop lasts for 3 hours, however Colin rarely ran over 2 hours. Because there were so many students enrolled in this subject compared to previous years, they had to cut down the number of workshops to fit everyone in, so instead of having 5 workshops throughout the semester, there were 3 workshops and 2 online workshops you had to complete in your own time. I really liked the structure of the workshops: we were given a worksheet to fill in as we went through the module but you weren't on your own for this as Colin would talk for a while, give you a few minutes to answer a couple of questions, and then discuss the answers afterwards. My favourite workshops were the ones for language and vision: there were little tasks built in to the module that tested your reading speed or optical illusions, which made them very fun! The information from the workshops (both in-person and online) were assessed in the MST and exam. The workshops are also a great opportunity to ask any questions on the lectures up to that point.

Tests and Exam

We were given sample questions for the mid semester test. The midsem itself had 20 MCQs and we were given 30 minutes to finish it (which was heaps of time). It was fairly kind, there was nothing very difficult. It was during the 2nd lecture slot of Week 8.

The exam was made up of 40 MCQs (1.5 marks each) and 3 essay questions (20 marks each). The MCQs were of similar difficulty as the MST, except they were more focused on the lectures that weren't covered by the MST. There are a couple of past papers from 2010 and 2011 which were all essay questions and were really good for practising. Colin also gave us some sample essay questions which were also very helpful.

Assignment

The assignment involved responding to a particular article about brain imaging. There was an online workshop to help with this which was quite useful and you are given quite a lot of time to work on it. We were given the assignment at the start of the semester and it was due at the end of Week 9.

Final thoughts

I highly recommend this subject. It forms part of the Neuroscience major but is still a great subject even if you're not doing the major. It was very interesting and you are given a lot of help in the form of sample questions. The workload was fairly light as there were only 2 lectures a week.

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me

Yes, with screen capture etc.

Various

Yes, 2010 and 2011. Sample questions for MST and exam were also provided.

5/5

There was no prescribed textbook. If you have Neuroscience (Purves et al) from Principles of Neuroscience that might be helpful, but it isn’t necessary. They do refer you to other textbooks at the start of lectures, but those are only for extra reading. The lecture notes are sufficient for the exam.

2x 1hr lectures per week. 3x 3hr workshops throughout semester (plus 2 online workshops that you complete in your own time)

2014, Semester 2