Neuroscience and Behavior 301
Senior Seminar on Plasticity
Fall 2010
Mid-semester Paper Assignment- DUE no later than 4pm on Friday October 15
to Kate’s office
At this point in the semester, it is time to reflect on the subtopics and papers we
have read and discussed and integrate across the weeks to begin to see broader
principles governing plasticity. While much of our focus has been on developmental
stages, we have also considered how events during development can shape
plasticity in adulthood, as well as whether mechanisms operating in development
also operate in adulthood.
For this assignment, you are to choose one paper from each week (from Sept. 2
through October 14) and draw on them and integrate across them, drawing
conclusions, making connections. You will need to re-read these papers, exploring
them through the plastic lens of our experience in class (in other words, now that
we’ve had these sessions, we likely will see the papers differently, see connections
emerge, see contradictions possibly develop). To support your effort, after you have
re-read your chosen articles, find a new article, not assigned, that expands, supports
or augments your synthesis. Be creative with how you construct your synthesis. You
may choose to write a paper in the “college type essay/term type paper” (but please
keep the paper to no longer than 6-8 pages in length, typed, 1.5 line spacing). You
may also choose a different format that you feel illustrates your synthesis and
understanding best (remember the portfolios from NEUR201?). Here are a few
ideas:
1. Make a collage (using powerpoint or other software program) of the main
experimental findings, linking the images/data across the studies, with
adequate descriptions so that it’s clear you understood the papers and have
explicit intellectual linkages.
2. Develop a powerpoint lecture that links and synthesizes. Be sure that the
notes section is detailed enough to provide your “voice” so I know what you
would say if you presented it.
3. Develop a news story, like for the NY Science Times or the journal Science
(not the Poughkeepsie Journal) that links the evidence/studies and themes
together.
4. Use a neurological disease as a focal point to link the ideas together. Be sure
your information is based in fact.
5. Make a “research” poster of the works you selected, being sure to link ideas
explicitly together. Be sure to include the major result (in your opinion) of
the papers, not ALL the figures.
6. Write a mini-review article (again, no longer than 6-8 pages as above). Minireviews often have a viewpoint or binding issue (your synthesis is your
binding). Current Opinion in Biology, Trends in Neurosciences are journals that
have these small reviews that might give you ideas about formatting. Select
three or so figures from the papers to illustrate major aspects you develop.
You will need to provide a bibliography of the articles you choose to focus on.
In addition, please provide the new article you select as a pdf to me or a hard
copy (but I understand that paper/toner costs a lot, so the pdf emailed to me
is fine).