SYLLABUS of “Multidisciplinary approach to the study of the : the basics of neurogenetics, , behavior neurobiology” for Masters Programme in Psychology. 5 ECTS Credits Course description

“Multidisciplinary approach to the study of the brain: the basics of neurogenetics, neurophysiology, behavior neurobiology”. Course description

This course develops and applies skills to make out and analyze brain activity and its correlation with some psychological and biological aspects of personality. In this course students are going to study the biological foundations of psychological processes and individual differences, the brain mechanisms of higher mental functions, the associations between , psychological traits and behavior. In the process of studying the discipline, students will become familiar with the natural science research paradigm in psychology, with modern neurobiological, neurogenetic, neurophysiological discoveries and concepts. The design of the course aims to maximize students’ transferable skills, including doing the reading assignments, training in academic writing for scientific journals, preparation for speaking at the scientific conferences, and translating research to practice. The content of the course is based on modern studies of the brain. Recommended previous course

Psychophysiology and neurophysiology (basic course), (basic course), common psychology (basic course), psychology of individual differences (basic course).

Recommended previous skills and techniques

Practice in electroencephalography, article reviews, critical thinking.

After completing the course, the students are expected to be able to: - understand the genetic, physiological basics of higher mental functions, behavior and personality; - use the modern research tools in brain studies; - use the modern research methods in brain studies (EEG, ERP, GWAS etc.); - explain the empirical data of brain researches; - create and put inti practice the research design of brain study.

Teaching methods • Lecture • EEG lab session/practical training • Oral presentation • Self-study • Colloquium Course structure. This course consists of 18 lectures, 54 practical classes, including seminars in laboratory of cognitive psychophysiology. SFU has a modern research infrastructure (e.g., EEG- amplifier, eye-tracker, biofeedback system etc.). During practical classes of this course students will use this tools, modern scientific (EEG, VEP) and statistic methods (GWAS). The grade consists mostly of written examination, including theoretical and practical parts (creating the design of research, statistical processing of EEG data, GWAS etc.). After the successful completion, the students will gain 5 credits.

Course content № Subject Assignments Duration (in hours) 1. Neurogenetics Colloquium, oral 18 Morphological basis of neurogenetics. presentation, test Genetic bases of the in phylogenesis and ontogenesis Models and mechanisms of neural induction Regionalization of the nervous system. Genetic basis of Molecular-genetic mechanisms of mental processes Genetic and molecular aspects of behavior in norm and pathology. Genes of brain factors and systems, their contribution to the formation of psychophysiological and psychological characteristics. Analysis of the genes’ associations with the psychological characteristics of people. - wide data analysis GWAS. The possibilities of using twin, molecular-genetic methods, as well as genome-wide data analysis in psychology and . 2. Neurophysiology of behavior Colloquium, 18 The nature of the total bioelectric activity of the design of the brain. Electrographic correlates of brain research, test information processes. The doctrine of coding information in the central nervous system. Theories of neural ensembles of the brain. EEG correlates of human functional status Methodological features of registration and analysis of the total electrical activity of the Markers of background (spontaneous) brain activity, reflecting the individual typological characteristics of people Components of evoked brain activity, reflecting the individual typological characteristics of people The use in psychology and of the methods of dipole analysis, as well as low-resolution tomography (Loreta) in order to determine the localization of sources of evoked brain activity. The use of methods in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. 3. Neurobiology of behavior Colloquium, article 18 The methodology of the approach and the main review, test directions of neurobiological research. Cellular basics of neurobiology. The chemical basis of neurons’ communication. Hypothesis of polygenesis of mediators. The molecular nature of synaptic transmission. Genetic and molecular foundations of brain plasticity. Distribution of functions in the nervous network. Command neurons. Principles of decision making in the nervous network. Trigger and modulate behavior. Modulatory neurons as a functional class. Cyclical reflex acts. Organization of the motor program of cyclic acts. Behavior selection and behavior switching. The hierarchy of forms of behavior. Command neuron, command function. Neurochemical mechanisms of switching behavior. Addressed and unaddressed release of mediators. The simplest forms of plasticity of behavior. The relationship of and sensitization. Cognitive Neurobiology. Neural mechanisms of short-term and long-term forms of addiction and sensitization. Associative forms of plasticity of behavior. The conditioned reflex (SD) and behavior. Complex forms of learning. The emergence, storage and reproduction of acquired forms of behavior. The reversibility of learning and the irreversibility of development. Neural correlates of conditioned aversive reactions. Morpho-functional foundations of behavior. Ontogenetic development of neural networks and behavior. Memory and development. Localization of plastic changes in the development of SD Neurogenetic studies of the mechanisms of brain plasticity. The role of early genes. Ontogenesis, development and memory. Plasticity of behavior in ontogenesis. Relationships between network functioning, representation, consciousness and other cognitive processes Advanced cognitive neurobiology: consciousness and perception, multisensory integration, oscillatory networks, human invasive electrophysiology Cultural neurobiology, . 4. Interdisciplinary approach to the study of the Individual Task, 18 nature of mental phenomena. Test Interdisciplinarity in modern : psychology, genetics, physiology of higher nervous function. Trends in modern research in neuroscience. Computer models of neural networks The problem of neurodegenerative diseases from the perspective of an interdisciplinary approach. An interdisciplinary approach to . BCI systems. Neurointerfaces and . Anthropomorphic robots and exoskeletons, the mechanisms of their device and use in neurorehabilitation and the service sector. Brainfitness and neurogaming. Neuronet and neurocommunications.

Individual Task grading is intended to show you how well you are progressing in learning the course material. Individual Task is due at the beginning of class time on the due date.

Literature

1. Adolphs, R. (2001). The neurobiology of social cognition. Current opinion in neurobiology, 11(2), 231-239. 2. Adolphs, R. (2001). The neurobiology of social cognition. Current opinion in neurobiology, 11(2), 231-239. 3. Benjamin, D.J., et al. (2012). The promises and pitfalls of genoeconomics. Annual Review of Economics, 4(1), 627–662. 4. Bulik-Sullivan, B., et al. (2015). LD Score regression distinguishes confounding from polygenicity in genome-wide association studies. Nature Genetics, 47(3), 291-295. 5. Dishman, R. K., Berthoud, H. R., Booth, F. W., Cotman, C. W., Edgerton, V. R., Fleshner, M. R., ... & Kramer, A. F. (2006). Neurobiology of exercise. Obesity, 14(3), 345-356. 6. Evans, L.M. et al. (2018). Comparison of methods that use whole genome data to estimate the heritability and genetic architecture of complex traits. Nature Genetics, 50, 737-745. 7. Gazzaniga et al., The Biology of the Mind, Norton & Co. (latest edition) 8. Johnston D., Wu S. M. S. Foundations of cellular neurophysiology. – MIT press, 1994. 9. Kandel et al., Principles of Neural Science, McGraw-Hill (latest edition) 10. Korte, A., & Farlow, A. (2013). The advantages and limitations of trait analysis with GWAS: a review. Plant methods, 9(1), 29. 11. Pennartz, C. M. (2015). The brain's representational power: on consciousness and the integration of modalities. MIT Press. 12. Rao M. S., Jacobson M. (ed.). Developmental neurobiology. – Springer Science & Business Media, 2006. 13. Schmidt R. F. et al. Fundamentals of neurophysiology. – Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. 14. Shepherd G. M. Neurobiology. – Oxford University Press, 1988. 15. Visscher, P. M., Brown, M. A., McCarthy, M. I., & Yang, J. (2012). Five years of GWAS discovery. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 90(1), 7-24. 16. Visscher, P. M., Wray, N. R., Zhang, Q., Sklar, P., McCarthy, M. I., Brown, M. A., & Yang, J. (2017). 10 years of GWAS discovery: biology, function, and translation. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 101(1), 5-22. 17. Visscher, P.M., Hill, W.G., Wray, N.R. (2008). Heritability in the era — concepts and misconceptions. Nature Review