LSC-30053 - Special Senses

Coordinator: Samaneh Maysami Room: HUX-304 Tel: 01782 733671

Lecture Time: See Timetable...

Level: Level 6

Credits: 15

Study Hours: 150

School Office: 01782 734414

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None.

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2020/21

The special senses comprise the senses housed within the cranium (vision, hearing, balance, smell, taste). Each system is explained in terms of transduction (how the effective stimulus is converted into electrical signals in the periphery), transmission (how these signals are conveyed to the brain), processing (how the nervous system analyses the information) and perception (what aspects of the stimulus humans or certain animals become aware of). There is also some focus on common disorders of these systems. Module activities include lectures and tutorials. Supplementary reading material is provided for those who have a limited neuroscience background.

Aims

To provide an in-depth understanding of the neurophysiology and neuroanatomy of the vertebrate special senses, focusing on transduction, transmission, processing and perception of sensory stimuli.

Intended Learning Outcomes

evaluate how these sensory systems perform their physiological role including some species-specific specialisations and adaptations: 1
compare and contrast the mechanisms of sensory transduction and processing (serial and parallel) in the special senses: 1
analyse, summarise and evaluate concisely a selected research paper drawing on module-acquired knowledge where necessary: 1

Study hours

18 Hours lectures
7 Hours tutorials
123 Hours private study
2 Hour exam

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Open Book Examination weighted 100%
Online seen exam
The paper will be released on KLE as a Word document at 9am on the morning of the exam. Section A will contain compulsory, short answer questions. Section B will contain a choice of 1 out of 3 essay-based questions. Students should answer each question using Word, clearly labelling each question as they provide their answers. Work will be submitted to Turnitin no later than 5pm on the day of release. International students will be asked to notify the School if they need an extension due to different time zones. Although students have been given significant time to complete this exam script, we expect most students to spend no more than 3 hrs. Answers should be as accurate and concise as possible. For short-answer questions, students should pay careful attention to the number of points that each question is worth. In general, we would expect only one or two sentences for each point. For essay-based questions, typical answers would be in the range of 500-750 words per question. We recommend that students do not exceed 750 words per essay-based question as we will be assessing the quality of your answer, not the quantity.

LSC-30053 - Module Specification School of Life Sciences Faculty of Natural Sciences

LSC-30053 - Module Specification
School of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences