Unit information: Sensational Neuroscience in 2019/20

Unit name	Sensational Neuroscience
Unit code	PHPH30018
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Brennan
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

In this unit students will study advanced topics in sensory neuroscience, focussing on the senses of hearing and smell. Within these topics you will cover the mechanisms underlying sensory transduction, central processing and associated disorders of the sensory systems through a series of seminars based on recent research. The unit aims to develop an understanding of key concepts in current sensory neuroscience including:

• Physiological and molecular genetic techniques for investigating sensory systems
• Sensory transduction mechanisms
• The coding of sensory information
• Sensory disorders and sensory dysfunction

Students will be expected to compare and contrast across these sensory systems.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• An in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of selected aspects of sensory neuroscience, with an ability to keep up-to-date with recent developments in the field.
• The ability to gather information from the primary scientific literature and to critically evaluate the material and appraise competing theories.
• An understanding of the experimental tools used to study sensory systems.

Teaching Information

Seminars

Assessment Information

The unit will be assessed through a 3-hour summative examination in May/June, which contributes 90% of the unit mark and consists of two sections. In Section A (50%), students will be expected to answer one essay question from a choice of 3, which will assess their knowledge and critical understanding of the field, and their ability to gather information from the primary scientific literature. In Section B (50%), students will be expected to answer one multi-part compulsory question assessing data handling/data interpretation and experimental design skills. The remaining 10% of the unit mark will come from completing coursework. The coursework will be either an essay, data interpretation or experimental design question of a similar format to that used in the summative exam.

Reading and References

Reviews and key references from the current scientific literature