PSYC.391 - DIRECTED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY
PSYC.491 - INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION IN PSYCHOLOGY
Bryan D. Devan, Ph.D.
OFFICE AND PHONE: CLA Building, Rm 3146; Office - 410.704.3727, Cell –
410.446.1425
OFFICE HOURS: M/Tu 12-1pm, W/Th 1-2pm or by appointment
EMAIL: bdevan@towson.edu
WEBSITE: http://pages.towson.edu/bdevan/
Laboratory Website: http://pages.towson.edu/bdevan/LCN.htm
DESCRIPTION:
An opportunity for qualified students to gain research experience by assisting faculty
members with research projects. PSYC 391 and PSYC 491 in combination may be
repeated for a maximum of 12 total units but only 6 can apply to the major; the other 6
units will be used as general electives. Graded S/U. Prerequisites:
PREREQUISITES:
1) 6 units of PSYC and consent of instructor. A previous course with the instructor Physiological Psychology (PSYC 465), Research Methods in Psychology (PSYC 314),
Advanced Biological Psychology (PSYC 674) – in which the student had achieved a
grade of A.
2) Laboratory experience - students with appropriate course prerequisites may volunteer
in the Laboratory of Comparative Neuropsychology (LCN) during the semester
preceeding registration for PSYC 391. The volunteer phase is required to ensure that
students are familiar with the type of research and tasks conducted in the laboratory.
Mastery, competence and reliability in performing routine animal care and husbandry
activities should be demonstrated at this time.
COURSE FORMAT, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
Although this course does not include formal lecture, students will receive instruction on
various laboratory techniques with rodents, including animal husbandry, drug
administration, stereotaxic procedures, histology and behavioral protocols. The primary
research conducted in the LCN assesses the neurobiology of spatial learning and memory
performance in rats using the water maze (Morris, 1981; 1984). Publications and other
resources are available online at the below links or through the above LCN website.
Students should take advantage of these resources to acquire prerequisite knowledge
during the initial period of investigation while performing routine laboratory chores and
training to perform experimental procedures with more experienced lab members.
Acquiring background information provides both a broad historical context for
contemporary biopsychological research and promotes a level of understanding of
previous work which is important for the development of novel research that is intended
to significantly advance our scientific knowledge of brain-behavior relations. Students
may demonstrate such advanced knowledge by presenting summaries of peer-reviewed
research reports to faculty members serving as LCN principle investigators (PIs) and
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student advisors. Faculty PIs may then encourage students to help develop ideas for
novel experiments related to their ongoing research program in the LCN, Continuation of
research that is in part the contribution of the student may be taken for the advanced
research course Independent Investigation in Psychology (PSYC.491).
GRADES:
The following criteria will be used to determine final marks:
Laboratory work (150 points; 75%)
Attendance of scheduled meetings (75 points)
Performance of assigned tasks (75 points)
Research summary (25-50 points) - Students taking PSYC.391 will do one of the
following. Students taking PSYC.491 will do both.
Journal article summary – students will write a 2-3 page summary of a peerreviewed scholarly journal article that is approved by their faculty supervisor.
Research presentation – students will present data to other members of the lab,
typically during a scheduled lab meeting. Students taking PSYC.491 will be
encouraged to give a PowerPoint presentation summarizing their research project
or honors thesis.
200 points total = 3 credits
PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING:
Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. There are several types of plagiarism. The
most obvious variety occurs when an individual presents someone else’s ideas as his/her
own. This plagiarism can be avoided simply by giving credit to the appropriate source. A
second type occurs when credit has been given but the individual uses the same wording
or nearly the same wording as the source. This also is plagiarism and can be avoided by
substantially recasting the idea in your own words.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
If you need accommodation due to a disability, please make an appointment to see me,
and bring a statement from Disability Support Services (4-2638) authorizing your
accommodation.
ACADEMIC STANDARDS COMMITTEE STATEMENT:
This course may be repeated only once without the prior permission of the Academic
Standards Committee.
This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
PSYC.391 3
Resources
Animal Care Publications
National Research Council (2003). Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in
Neuroscience and Behavioral Research. National Academy of Sciences
http://www.national-academies.org/ilar
National Research Council (1996). Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
The National Academies Press
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats/
Animal Research Advisory Committee (2001). Guidelines for Survival Rodent Surgery.
NIH reapproved 11/14/2001
http://oacu.od.nih.gov/ARAC/surguide.htm
Water Maze Publications
Morris, RGM. (1981). Spatial localization does not require the presence of local cues.
Learning and Motivation, 12, 239-260.
Morris, RGM. (1984). Developments of a water-maze procedure for studying spatial
learning in the rat. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 11, 47-60.
McDonald, RJ, Hong, NS, & Devan, BD. (2004). The challenges of understanding
mammalian cognition and memory-based behaviors: An interactive learning and
memory systems approach. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 28, 719-745
LCN Publications
Devan, BD, Pistell, PJ, Duffy KB, Kelley-Bell B, Spangler EL, Ingram DK. (2014).
Phosphodiesterase inhibition facilitates cognitive restoration in rodent models of agerelated memory decline NeuroRehabilitation, 34, 101-111.
Devan BD, Hong N.S., McDonald R.J. (2011). Parallel information processing in the
dorsal striatum: segregation of stimulus-response and cognitive control subregions.
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 96, 95-120
Stouffer EM, Petri HL, Devan BD. (2004). Effect of D-serine on a delayed match-toplace task for the water maze. Behavioural Brain Research, 152, 447-452.
Devan BD, Stouffer EM, Petri HL, McDonald RJ, Olds JL. (2003). Partial reinforcement
across trials impairs escape performance but spares place learning in the water maze.
Behavioural Brain Research, 141(2), 91-104.
Devan BD, Petri HL, Mishkin M, Stouffer EM, Bowker JL, Yin PB, Buffalari DM, Olds
JL. (2002). A room with a view and a polarizing cue: Individual differences in the
stimulus control of place navigation and passive latent learning in the water maze.
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 78, 79-99.
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Devan, B. D., & McDonald, R. J. (2001). A cautionary note on interpreting the effects
of partial reinforcement on place learning performance in the water maze.
Behavioural Brain Research, 119, 213-216.
Devan BD, Goad EH, Petri HL. (1996). Dissociation of hippocampal and striatal
contributions to spatial navigation in the water maze. Neurobiology of Learning and
Memory, 66, 305-323.
Devan BD, Blank GS, Petri HL. (1992). Place navigation in the Morris water task:
Effects of reduced platform interval lighting and pseudorandom platform positioning.
Psychobiology, 20, 120-126.
Publications Online
O’Keefe, J. & Nadel, L. (1978). The hippocampus as a cognitive map. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
http://cognitivemap.net/
http://www.cognitivemap.net/HCMpdf/HCMComplete.pdf
Whishaw, I.Q., Haun, F., & Kolb, B. (1999). Analysis of behavior in laboratory rodents.
In U. Windhorst & H. Johansson (Eds.), Modern Techniques in Neuroscience Research
(pp. 1243-1271). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
http://www.neuroinvestigations.com/publications/behavior.pdf
Journal articles published in Psychobiology. Psychonomic Society Publications > Journal
Back Issues > Search Publication: Psychobiology. Includes volumes 17-28 (1989-2000).
http://www.psychonomic.org/search/
Neuroinvestigations PI publications:
http://www.neuroinvestigations.com/publications.htm
Presentations
Keynote address of Richard G.M. Morris at the 5th International Conference on Methods
and Techniques in Behavioral Research, 30 August - 2 September 2005, Wageningen,
The Netherlands. © 2005 Noldus Information Technology
Title: Moving on from spatial learning to episodic-like and semantic-like memory
http://www.noldus.com/mb2005/program/keynote_morris.html
Irvine Health Foundation Lecture series
http://www.ihf.org/lecture/2004lectures.html
Neuroscience primers
Brain Facts: Society for Neuroscience
http://www.sfn.org/skins/main/pdf/brainfacts/brainfacts.pdf
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Neuroscience - Science of the Brain: An Introduction for Young
Students
International Brain Research Organization
http://www.bna.org.uk/publications/BNA_English.pdf
Brain Websites
Gray Matters, the brain radio program and its archives
http://www.dana.org/books/archives/radiotv_archiveindex.cfm
Infinite Mind
http://www.lcmedia.com/mindprgm.htm
Wireheading
http://wireheading.com/
Science Shows
The Naked Scientists
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/
NOVA Science NOW
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/
Scientific American Frontiers
http://www.pbs.org/saf/
Radio Lab
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/