Syllabus
Psych 424
Neuropsychology
Fall 2008
Course Instructor/ Director:
Antoine Bechara
Description: The course consists of lectures, clinical cases on patients with neurological lesions
or diseases for case based learning, and practical sessions involving learning neuroanatomy with
MRI scans, which are substitutes for laboratory dissections of the human brain and spinal cord.
The course material is interrelated throughout these forms of teaching, giving students multiple
ways of learning the material, and multiple ways for the faculty to reinforce it.
The objectives of the course are: (1) to introduce basic concepts about the organization, structure,
and function of the human central nervous system; (2) to enable students to apply these
fundamental principles toward understanding nervous system function and dysfunction and
toward clinical problem-solving in relation to neurological and neuropsychological disorders; (3)
to provide the necessary background for correlation with related courses, for advanced study of
the nervous system, and for monitoring new developments in the basic and clinical
neurosciences.
Attendance and Student Responsibilities: Students are held responsible for all material
covered in class. Students are also responsible for all announcements or schedule changes that
are made in class, whether or not they are in attendance. Attendance at examination is
mandatory, except for serious illness in which case written documentation from a physician is
required. For serious matters that are non-medical in nature, students must receive permission in
advance from the Instructor to be excused from attending an examination at the scheduled time.
Required Textbooks and Course Material:
1. Course Syllabus, Lecture Materials, Clinical Cases, and Practical Guides will be posted on the
web (Black Board) as the course progresses.
2. Haines, Neuroanatomy: An Atlas of Structures, Sections, and Systems, 7th Ed. William and
Wilkins, 2008.
Recommended but not necessary:
Bryan Kolb and Ian Q. Wishaw: Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology, 6th Edition, Worth
Publishers, 2009
Suggested Reference Books and Laboratory Manuals:
1. Hanna Damasio, Human Brain Anatomy in Computerized Images, 2nd Edition, Oxford
University Press, 2005.
1
Examinations and Grading: There will be 2 midterm lecture exams, 2 midterm practical/
clinical cases exams, and a final examination. Final grades will be calculated as follows:
Lecture Exam I (multiple choice)
Practical/ Clinical Case Exam I (short answers)
Lecture Exam II (multiple choice)
Practical/ Clinical Case Exam II (short answers)
Final Exam (multiple choice)
Final Grade
20%
15%
20%
15%
30%
100%
The final examination will cover lectures only after Lecture Exam II, but all the practical/ clinical
cases covered in Practical/ Clinical Case Exam I and Exam II.
Lecture, Practical, Clinical Cases, and Examination Schedule
Week/Day
Topic
Description
08/26-28
1
2
3
Course Introduction
Blood supply of CNS
Spinal Cord: Anatomy-sensory-motor
09/2-4
4
5
6
Spinal Cord Syndromes
Clinical Cases 1: Case Based Learning
Brainstem Overview
09/9-11
7
8
9
Medulla
Pons
Auditory and Vestibular
09/16-18
10
11
12
Cerebellum
Midbrain
Brain Vascular Syndromes
09/23
Exam I (Lecture)
09/25
13
14
Clinical Cases 2: Case Based Learning
Thalamus-Hypothalamus
09/30-10/2
15
16
17
Cerebral Cortex 1: Organization-Asymmetry
Cerebral Cortex 2: Occipital Lobes
Cerebral Cortex 3: Parietal Lobes
10/7
Practical/ Clinical Case Exam I
2
10/9
18
Practical 1: Human Brain I-MRIs-Dr. Christine Vidal at
Dornsife Imaging Center
10/14-16
19
20
21
Cerebral Cortex 4: Temporal Lobes
Cerebral Cortex 5: Frontal Lobes
Cerebral Cortex 6: Disconnection Syndromes
10/21
22
23
Basal Ganglia
Movement Disorders
10/23
24
Practical 2: Human Brain II-MRIs-Dr. Christine Vidal at
Dornsife Imaging Center
10/28-30
25
26
CNS Visual Pathways
Lesions & Ocular Motor Control
11/4
27
Clinical Cases 3: Case Based Learning
11/6
Exam II (Lecture)
11/11
28
Practical 3: Human Brain III-MRIs-Dr. Christine Vidal at
Dornsife Imaging Center
11/13
29
Clinical Cases 4: Case Based Learning
11/18
Practical/ Clinical Case Exam II
11/20
30
Higher Functions: Emotions-Consciousness
11/25
31
Practical 4: Human Brain IV-MRIs-Dr. Christine Vidal at
Dornsife Imaging Center
11/27
12/2-4
THANKSGIVING
32
33
34
Special Neuropsychology Topics I: Neurological Disorders
Special Neuropsychology Topics II: Psychiatric Disorders
Special Neuropsychology Topics III: Assessment
Final Exam
3