NEUR2202A, Winter 2023
Neural Development and Plasticity
* This course outline may change to accommodate the pace of the course, scheduling changes, etc.
Class Time & Location
In-person course
Monday
Wednesday
Professor
10:05 am-11:25 am Southam Hall KM-TH
10:05 am-11:25 am Southam Hall KM-TH
Argel Aguilar-Valles, Ph.D.
 Email:
argel.aguilavalles@carleton.ca
 Office hours:
By appointment (Zoom or in person)
 Office:
Room 5313 Health Sciences Building
 Phone:
613 520 2600 x 7044
Course Description
This course will introduce you to the core principles of brain development, developmental plasticity, and
neuroanatomy. Topics include early brain development, neurogenesis and apoptosis, neuronal migration
and axon growth, synaptogenesis and synaptic pruning, and plasticity within the developing brain. We
will consider “typical” brain development in contrast to development that leads to neurologic and
psychiatric diseases.
Required Text
• Title:
• Authors:
• Publisher:
Foundations of Neural Development (1st Edition).
S. Marc Breedlove
Sinauer
In person lectures will complement the course textbook by emphasizing important concepts through
examples and supporting material. All exams will focus on both lecture and textbook content. Therefore,
even though attending lectures is not mandatory, lectures will provide you with the strongest source of
information that will make up the exam content. There may be portions of lectures that are not covered
in the text. Lectures may also provide you with “clues” as to the content of test questions and how to
answer them.
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Teaching
Assistants
The TA is your first point of contact with questions related to tests, assignments, dates, etc.
•
•
Karen Aglukark (Assigned students: Abu-Krau; KarenAglukark@cmail.carleton.ca)
Urla Javier (Assigned students: Lad-Zar; AsterJavier@cmail.carleton.ca)
Email policy
We will try our best to answer all emails within 48 business hours. This means that emails sent on Friday
at midnight will be answered by Tuesday. This is particularly important to consider if you send an email
the day an assignment is due; there may be a chance you do not get a response until after the assignment
is due. PLEASE BE POLITE!
Brightspace
This course is delivered as a combination of in-person lectures and Brightspace
(https://brightspace.carleton.ca/d2l/home/133874). All lecture slides, assignments, etc., will be posted
and submitted via Brightspace. You are responsible for monitoring Brightspace for new course content
and important information.
Zoom Etiquette
Although lectures will be delivered in person this semester, several interactions with the instructor and
TAs will likely be on Zoom (e.g., during office hours).
Some notes on general Zoom etiquette for office hours:
- While my preference is to use Zoom with all cameras turned on (as this helps build relationships
with people), if you prefer to keep your camera turned off, that is absolutely fine.
- Be mindful of background noise if you choose not to be muted. If you choose to be muted, feel
free to unmute yourself to ask a question, raise your hand using the zoom function, or message
in the chat that you have a question.
- The zoom host can see all comments posted in the zoom chat, INCLUDING ANY PRIVATE
MESSAGES YOU SEND TO ANOTHER STUDENT. Please maintain professional and
reasonable communication throughout all Zoom meetings.
Office Hours
By appointment, please email the TA or instructor if you would like to meet. These meetings can occur
in person (HSB 5313 for Instructor) or via Zoom.
Assessment & Evaluation
Exams – 75%
• There will be 3 exams (worth 25% each). Exams are non-cumulative. HOWEVER, please note
that chapters are often based on concepts introduced early in the course; therefore, there may be
material covered that requires concepts from earlier lectures.
• Exams will be 45 multiple choice and 15 short answer questions.
• You will have 1.5 hours to complete the exam.
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•
To review your exam results, you will need to contact your TA or go to your TA’s office hours.
After the exam mark is released, you will have 2 weeks from that day to review your mark. After
2 weeks, your mark will not be changed.
Take-home Assignments – 25%
• There will be 5 assignments, each worth 5% of the final mark.
• Assignments will be of multiple formats, may sometimes include supplementary material, and
will focus on two units simultaneously.
• Assignments will be released at the beginning of the course, but they are due on dates throughout
the course. Refer to the course outline to see dates and deadlines.
• After the assignment grade is released, you will have 2 weeks from that day to contact your TA
with questions or concerns about your grade. After 2 weeks, your mark will not be changed.
Procedure for missing an exam or assignment:
• If you miss an exam or assignment deadline, you must fill out the Medical self-declaration form
to support a deferral request. Please contact the instructor WITHIN 48h after the exam or
assignment’s deadline.
• Please include details if you are a student registered with the PMC.
• The deferred exam will take place on a later date. The TA in charge will be in touch with the
details. Note that the exam will be different from the original exam. There will not be more than
one retake.
• For assignments, an extension will be granted for an additional 2 weeks.
Bonus assignments
• A bonus question will be posted every other week. There will be a total of 5 bonus questions,
each worth 1%, for a total of 5%.
• In order to earn marks, you must answer the question and post it in Brightspace.
Unit Topics
1. Introduction to Developmental Biology, Embryogenesis, & Neural Induction
2. Body & Neural Patterning
3. Neurogenesis and Migration in Development
4. Neural Differentiation
5. Axonal Pathfinding
6. Synaptic Formation and Maturation
7. Apoptosis in Development
8. Activity-Guided Neural Development
9. Experience-Guided Development
10. Social-Guided Development
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PROVISIONAL COURSE SCHEDULE AND DEADLINES
* This may change depending on the progression of the course
DATE
LIVE SESSION, QUIZZES, ASSIGNMENTS
Monday, January 9
Introduction
Wednesday, January 11
Unit 1
Monday, January 16
Unit 1
Wednesday, January 18
Bonus 1 due at midnight
Unit 2
Monday, January 23
Unit 2
Wednesday, January 25
Assignment 1 due at midnight
Unit 3
Monday, January 30
Unit 3
Wednesday, February 1
Unit 4
Monday, February 6
Exam 1 (Units 1-3)
Wednesday, February 8
Bonus 2 due at midnight
Unit 4
Monday, February 13
Assignment 2 due at midnight
Unit 5
Wednesday, February 15
Unit 5
February 20-24
Winter break
Monday, February 27
Unit 6
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Wednesday, March 1
Bonus 3 due at midnight
Unit 6
Monday, March 6
Exam 2 (Units 4-6)
Wednesday, March 8
Assignment 3 due at midnight
Unit 7
Monday, March 13
Unit 7
Wednesday, March 15
No class
Monday, March 20
Unit 8
Wednesday, March 22
Bonus 4 due at midnight
Unit 8
Monday, March 27
Assignment 4 due at midnight
Unit 9
Wednesday, March 29
Unit 9
Monday, April 3
Unit 10
Wednesday, April 5
Bonus 5 due at midnight
Unit 10
Monday, April 10
Exam 3 (Units 7-10)
Monday, April 17
Assignment 5 due at midnight
No class, session hold in case there are delays throughout the course
Statement of Academic Freedom:
Students enrolling in this course are warned that studying the literature, culture and ideas of societies
other than their own will expose them to unfamiliar and sometimes provocative attitudes, images,
language and values. All participants in the course must be willing to examine the relevant texts, make a
sincere effort to understand the presuppositions of others and be willing to discuss, verbally and in
writing, the objects of study. By enrolling in this course, students accept a commitment to academic
freedom for all participants, themselves, and the instructor.
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Instructional Offences
The University Senate defines plagiarism as “presenting, whether intentional or not, the ideas,
expression of ideas or work of others as one’s own.” This can include:
• reproducing or paraphrasing portions of someone else’s published or unpublished material, regardless
of the source, and presenting these as one’s own without proper citation or reference to the original
source;
• submitting a take-home examination, essay, laboratory report or other assignment written, in whole
or in part, by someone else;
• using ideas or direct, verbatim quotations, or paraphrased material, concepts, or ideas without
appropriate acknowledgment in any academic assignment;
• using another’s data or research findings;
• failing to acknowledge sources through the use of proper citations when using another’s works and/or
failing to use quotation marks;
• handing in “substantially the same piece of work for academic credit more than once without prior
written permission of the course instructor in which the submission occurs.”
Plagiarism is a serious offence which cannot be resolved directly with the course’s instructor. The
Associate Deans of the Faculty conduct a rigorous investigation, including an interview with the student,
when an instructor suspects a piece of work has been plagiarized. Penalties are not trivial. They range
from a mark of zero for the plagiarized work to a final grade of “F” for the course, and even suspension
from all studies or expulsion from the University.
GRADING SYSTEM
Letter grades assigned in this course will have the following percentage equivalents:
A+ = 90-100
A = 85-89
A - = 80-84
B+ = 77-79
B = 73-76
B - = 70-72
C+ = 67-69
C = 63-66
C - = 60-62
D+ = 57-59
D = 53-56
D - = 50-52
F
Failure. No academic credit
ABS Absent from the final examination
DEF Official deferral (see “Petitions to Defer”)
FND “Failed, no Deferral” – assigned when the student is absent from the final exam and has failed
the course based on inadequate term work as specified in the course outline.
Standing in a course is determined by the course instructor, subject to the approval of the Faculty Dean.
This means that grades submitted by the instructor may be subject to revision. No grades are final until
they have been approved by the Dean.
REQUESTS FOR ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS
You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. For an
accommodation request, the processes are as follows:
Pregnancy obligation: write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two
weeks of class or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For
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accommodation regarding a formally-scheduled exam, you must complete the Pregnancy
Accommodation Form.
Religious obligation: write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first
two weeks of class or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For
more details click here.
Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: The Paul Menton Centre for Students
with Disabilities (PMC) provides services to students with Learning Disabilities (LD),
psychiatric/mental health disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism
Spectrum Disorders (ASD), chronic medical conditions, and impairments in mobility, hearing, and
vision. If you have a disability requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact
PMC at 613-520-6608 or pmc@carleton.ca for a formal evaluation. If you are already registered with
the PMC, contact your PMC coordinator to send me your Letter of Accommodation at the beginning
of the term, and no later than two weeks before the first in-class scheduled test or exam requiring
accommodation (if applicable). After requesting accommodation from PMC, meet with me to ensure
accommodation arrangements are made. Please consult the PMC website for the deadline to request
accommodations for the formally- scheduled exam (if applicable).
Survivors of Sexual Violence: As a community, Carleton University is committed to maintaining a
positive learning, working and living environment where sexual violence will not be tolerated and
where survivors are supported through academic accommodations as per Carleton’s Sexual Violence
Policy. For more information about the services available at the university and to obtain information
about sexual violence and/or support, visit: https://carleton.ca/equity/sexual-assault-support-services
Accommodation for Student Activities: Carleton University recognizes the substantial benefits,
both to the individual student and for the university, that result from a student participating in
activities beyond the classroom experience. Reasonable accommodation will be provided to students
who compete or perform at the national or international level. Write to me with any requests for
academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need
for
accommodation
is
known
to
exist.
https://carleton.ca/senate/wpcontent/uploads/Accommodation-for-Student-Activities-1.pdf
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