PSYC 380 Physiological Psychology

Students will learn the molecular components of cellular communication within and between neurons. Topics of study will include the neural mechanisms responsible for development, plasticity, cognition, learning and memory, sleep, emotion, and psychoactive drugs.

The scientific study of the brain and behavior has an important role in the understanding of human functioning. There continue to be fascinating discoveries about the brain, its cellular structure, its chemical signals, and its operations. During this course, an attempt will be made to convey the ever-growing body of knowledge to students who may have limited exposure to the disciplines of physiology and/or psychology. The brain, which is our most complicated living tissue, is, to some extent, understandable through the study of physiological psychology. It is possible to better understand human behavior when a healthy brain and nervous system is compared to a brain affected by disease, trauma, or a neurological disorder.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations/websites

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Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, there will be 3 Discussions throughout this course. The purpose of the Discussions is to generate interaction among students in regard to relevant and current course topics. The student is required to submit 1 initial thread, and then to submit replies to the threads of 2 classmates. For each thread, the student must support his or her assertions with citations in current APA format. (CLO: E)

Using a template provided, students will show the progression of topic selection to purpose statement to basic outline. After completing this process, students will use the information to create an APA-formatted document with a title page,  purpose statement, a reference list with at least 8 journal articles (that meet the specified criteria). The completed Research Paper: Topic and Outline Development template will be included after the Reference page as an Appendix. (CLO: C, F, G)

Students will choose one issue related to sleep, temperature, or diet/eating and develop a case study around this issue (i.e. sleep disorders, eating disorders, body temperature-regulation issues, etc.). The case study should be three paragraphs in length and include at least one citation in current APA format in each paragraph. (CLO: E)

Research Paper: Final Paper Assignment

The Research Paper: Final Paper Assignment is the capstone assignment for this course and is to be a written representative of the research conducted on the psychophysiological aspects of an issue chosen from the textbook. Using the services of Liberty University’s Online Library, the student will select and read at least 8 recent journal articles on the chosen issue. The student will then summarize his or her findings in an 8–10-page paper, written in current APA style. (CLO: C, F, G)

Quizzes (4)

The student will complete 4 quizzes throughout this course. Each exam is open-book/open-notes, has 40 multiple-choice questions, and has the time limit of 1 hour and 30 minutes. The student may take each quiz up to 3 times, and only the highest grade of the 3 attempts will be recorded. (CLO: A, B, D, E)