Clinical Neuropsychology with Lab: PSY-123-1 Instructor Information Professor: Steve Rogers, Ph.D. Office: WH 337 Phone: 805-565-6818 E-mail: strogers@westmont.edu Office Hours: MWF 8-9:00am, M: 1-2:00pm, & by appointment Course Time and Location Class Time Location_ Lectures MWF 9:15-10:20am WH 218 Lab M: 2:00-5:00pm WH 218 Course Goals This course is intended to provide students with an introduction to the clinical applications of neuropsychology, including the fundamentals of brain-behavior relationships, neurological illness, and neuropsychological assessment. The format will be composed of both lecture and lab components. Lecture Section In the lecture component, students will be required to learn the basics of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, brain-behavior systems, and major neuroclinical syndromes, including but not limited to degenerative disorders (Alzheimer s disease and other dementias), schizophrenia, mood disorders, brain infections and tumors, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, childhood disorders, and HIV. Lectures will also emphasize the theoretical and empirical foundations of neuropsychological assessment and intervention. Lab Section The lab section of the course will be devoted to providing experience in administering, scoring, and interpreting commonly used neuropsychological measures (i.e., measures of intelligence, memory, attention, language, visuospatial ability, and executive functioning). Students will not only develop a general appreciation of the strategies, processes, and specific instruments by which neuropsychologists assess neurological dysfunction, but they will also develop skills for reading and composing neuropsychological reports. Through lectures and assignments, students will also critically explore and contemplate the relationship between the Christian faith and brain-behavior interactions.
******************************************************************************************** Required Texts Lezak, M.D., Howieson, D. B., Bigler, E. D., & Tranel, D. (2012). Neuropsychological assessment (5 th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Sacks, O. (1998). The man who mistook his wife for a hat and other clinical tales. New York: Touchstone. Salzman, M. (2001). Lying awake. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Recommended Texts American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual of the American psychological association (6 th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author. ******************************************************************************************** Reading assignments The reading assignments in the schedule form the basis of the lectures and discussions, so they are to be read prior to the date for which they are assigned. The readings in the schedule refer to the Lezak et al. (2012) text and chapters (occasionally with respective pages in parentheses) that need to be read for the assigned day. Exams There are three exams for this course. Each will cover material from the content of lectures and readings. Their format will be a combination of multiple choice, labeling, and short answer essays. Course Projects In addition to the reading assignments and exams, there are several required course projects an in-depth analysis of a neurological disorder and case report written in the style of Oliver Sacks, a reaction paper aimed at exploring the relationship between faith and neuropsychology, and three lab assignments. Details for each of these assignments are as follows: 1. Lying Awake Reaction Paper For this assignment, compose an 8-page paper reacting to the book, Lying Awake (Salzman, 2001). The majority of this paper should focus on your thoughts about the relationship between faith and neuropsychology. Among the possible discussion points are: the challenges that neurology or neurological conditions pose to our faith. For example, what if a neurological condition causes our faith to be lost or increased? the conflict or similarities between spirituality and medicine in the way they understand and treat neurological conditions
how Christians should understand neurological disorders and interact with individuals who struggle with these conditions how we can discern when a hallucination, or a religious experience that occurs in the context of a neurological disorder, is divine 2. Neurological Disorder and Case Report This assignment provides an opportunity to learn about a neurological condition, both from academic research and a patient s perspective. After reading The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Sacks, 1998), submit a full case report in the style of Oliver Sacks writing that describes a particular neurological disorder and a patient s experience with this disorder. This assignment therefore involves two parts: A. You will first need to interview someone with a neurological disorder or condition (this can include neurological and/or psychiatric conditions, such as epilepsy, vascular dementia, a certain type of stroke, multiple sclerosis, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, schizophrenia, Broca s aphasia, etc.). Alternatively, you can conduct biographical research on a famous historical person who suffered from a neurological condition (e.g., Ronald Reagan with Alzheimer s disease, the Old Testament Ezekiel with epilepsy, Muhammad Ali with traumatic head injuries). If you decide to interview a patient, ask about his/her present symptoms, history with the condition, family medical/psychiatric history, educational background, psychological symptoms, medical conditions, occupational history, medications, substance use history, and views on spirituality as it relates to their neurological condition. You will also want to describe your own behavioral observations. If you decide to write about a famous historical person, your research should also answer these same questions. B. In addition to gathering information via clinical interview, you will also need to research your chosen disorder through journal articles and academic book chapters. The goal of this research is to comprehensively understand the neurological etiology (brain regions, networks, and neurotransmitters involved, if any), clinical features and symptomatology, neuropsychological profiles, and treatment options for the selected disorder. The majority of your sources should come from journal articles and academic books, with little reliance on internet resources (other than journal articles printed online). You will then compose a paper, written similar to Oliver Sacks style, that integrates your selected patient s experience of the disorder with your academic research. This paper should be approximately 10 pages long, and it requires familiarity with Oliver Sacks writing, so it will be important to read the entirety of his book.
3. Lab Assignments A. Clinical interview You will conduct a clinical interview with an older adult (e.g., someone over the age of 60 and different than the individual selected for your Disorder and Case Report), ideally someone with cognitive difficulties. It will be important to ask about his/her present cognitive symptoms, history with these difficulties, family medical/ psychiatric history, educational background, psychological symptoms, medical conditions, occupational history, current medications, and substance use history. Then, using the template provided in lab, compose the Background section of a neuropsychological report. This will likely range between 3 and 5 pages in length. B. Scoring For this assignment, you will calculate the percentiles, z-scores, scaled scores, and classifications from a profile sheet of raw scores that will be provided for you. This will give you an opportunity to practice scoring prior to your final interpretation of the results from your testing case. C. Final Interpretive Report You will administer a neuropsychological battery of tests to the older adult with whom you conducted the clinical interview (see Lab Assignment A above). This means that you will likely need to meet with this individual on at least two separate occasions. After administering the battery of tests, you will score the results and add the written interpretation of the findings and recommendations to the Background section that you composed for the older adult you interviewed. This will create a comprehensive neuropsychological report. To complete this assignment, you will need to hand in your raw testing materials, profile of scores, and final interpretive report (which will contain the clinical interview, testing results, your interpretation of the results, and your recommendations for the tested participant). The final report (including the Background section) will be approximately 10 pages in length. Grading Criterion Assignment Percent of Total
Written examinations 20% each Neurological Case/Disorder Report 15% Lying Awake Reaction Paper 10% Lab Assignments 15% Clinical Interview (5%) Scoring (5%) Final Report (10%) Course grades will be assigned on the basis of the total score, using cut-point scores of 90, 80, 70 and 60 for grades of A, B, C and D, respectively (+ and grades will be assigned at the instructor s discretion). Policies: Attendance: Students are responsible for knowing course material and announcements made during normal class meetings. If you miss a class, get notes from one or two other students, compare those notes with readings, and (if necessary) schedule an appointment with me to answer specific questions. According to Westmont policy, students missing more than six absences during the course of a semester may be dropped from the class with an F. You are responsible for making up any work missed by excused or unexcused absences. Digital Etiquette: This is hopefully self-evident, but you should turn off your cellphone and/or other devices (ipods, etc) before you enter the classroom. If you bring a laptop to class, it should only be used for taking notes pertinent to the class discussion and lecture. If you check your email, browse the web, play Call of Duty or other games, update your Facebook status, text or Tweet friends, or work on assignments for other classes, your mental absence will be counted as a physical absence. Such activities not only distract you, but they also distract anyone around or behind you. If you often seem distracted by what s on your laptop screen, I will ask you to put your laptop away. Late work: Assignments other than exams are due at the beginning of lecture on the day specified in the attached schedule. Assignments turned in after these times incur a 10% per day penalty. Academic
Honesty: All students are expected to subscribe to the highest ideals of academic integrity. Any form of academic dishonesty will be dealt with as severely as allowed by the college, most likely a grade of F in the course and recommendation of dismissal from the college. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, and falsification. Be familiar with the College s plagiarism policy, found at: http:// www.westmont.edu/_offices/provost/plagiarism/plagiarism_policy.html Plagiarism: You are responsible for knowing the entire Westmont College Plagiarism Policy, which is available at: http://www.westmont.edu/_academics/pages/provost/ curriculum/plagiarism Academic Accommodations: Students who have been diagnosed with a disability (chronic medical, learning, physical, or psychological) are strongly encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) as early as possible to discuss appropriate accommodations for this course. Formal accommodations will only be granted for students whose disabilities have been verified by ODS. For more information, contact Sheri Noble, Director of Disability Services (565-6186, snoble@westmont.edu) or visit the website http://www.westmont.edu/_offices/ disability). ODS is located in Voskuyl Library rooms 310A and 311. Confidentiality: Due to the possibility that confidential material may emerge within class sessions, it is essential that we be ethical in our treatment of others and uphold the highest principles of confidentiality. Respect the trust of your classmates by maintaining strict confidentiality of all discussions occurring within the class. Take your Professor to Lunch: One of the things I value the most is the opportunity to develop relationships with students. The classroom environment does not always allow for more personalized attention or one-on-one exchanges, but I am always open to getting together for coffee or lunch. Feel free to take advantage of the Take Your Professor to Lunch passes that the Office of Campus Life makes available.
Tentative Schedule for Lectures, Assignments, and Exams Date Topic Reading Assignments Exams/Papers 8/31 What is neuropsychology? 9/2 Methods; Why do we call it Clinical? L1; L2 (pp. 15-18) 9/4 Basic Neurophysiology L 3 (pp. 41-45) 9/7 9/9 Basic Neuroanatomy L 3 (pp. 45-57; 69-100) 9/11 9/14 9/16 Lateralization & specialization L3 (pp. 57-69); L8 (pp. 361-370) 9/18 9/21 Cognitive domains & assessment L2 (pp. 21-40) 9/23 9/25 9/28 Exam #1 9/30 Dementias & progressive disorders L7 (pp. 237-238; 251-270) 10/2 10/5 10/7 Vascular Disorders L7 (pp. 229-237; 238-242) 10/9 10/12-13 Fall Holiday 10/14 Epilepsy L7 (pp. 242-249) 10/16 10/19 Toxic & Infectious Processes L7 (pp. 304-319; 327-330) Lying Awake Paper 10/21 10/23 Traumatic Brain Injuries L7 (pp. 180-229) 10/26 10/28 Disorders of Movement L2 (pp. 32-33), L7 (pp. 271-289) 10/30 11/2 Disorders of Perception L2 (p. 26) 11/4 11/6 Exam #2 11/9 Disorders of Attention 11/11 11/13 Disorders of Thought and Mood L8 (pp. 381-387) 11/16 No class 11/18 11/20 Tumors L7 (pp. 333-338) 11/23 Case/Disorder Paper 11/25-27 Thanksgiving Holiday 11/30 Disorders of Language L2 (pp. 33-34) 12/2 Childhood Disorders 12/4 12/7 Multiple Sclerosis L7 (pp. 290-303) 12/9 Neuropsychology and faith 12/11 Jeopardy Review Final Interpretive Report Finals Wednesday, 12/16, 8-10:00am Exam #3
Tentative Lab Schedule Date Topic Reading Assignments Lab Assignments 8/31 Gross Cognitive Tests; Adult IQ Testing: WAIS-IV 9/7 L 5 9/14 Child IQ Testing: WISC-IV; WJ- III 9/21 9/28 Clinical Interviewing; Attention & Executive Measures 10/5 10/12 Fall Holiday 10/19 Memory Measures 10/26 Clinical Interview 11/2 Language & Visuospatial Measures 11/9 Mood and Psychological Measures 11/16 Scoring L 6 and 8 11/23 11/30 Report Writing & Interpretation Scoring Assignment 12/7 Neuropsychology Movie
PSY-123 Course Learning Outcomes in Relation to Program Learning Outcomes The College and the Department each maintain separate but overlapping list of goals and outcomes for our students. Each psychology course is designed not only to develop the skills and knowledge appropriate to that course, but also to help students develop toward these goals. Although most of our courses are designed to contribute to all of our goals, some courses focus more particularly on one or a few. PSY-123 focuses on the specific departmental outcomes, with the delineated course learning outcomes, checked in the list below: Knowledge Base. Our students will be able to articulate both (a) the structure of the academic discipline of psychology and (b) the key elements of content within a wide variety of areas within psychology, integrating them with each other. PSY-123 s associated course learning outcome is for students to demonstrate an understanding of the basics of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, brain-behavior systems, major neuroclinical syndromes, and neuropsychological assessment (i.e., administration, scoring, and interpretation). Scientific Research Methods and Skills. Our students will be able to recognize, describe, and implement a variety of research methods and skills common to the psychological sciences. Written and Oral Communication. Our students will be able to write and speak in genres appropriate to the academic discipline of psychology. Values and Character. Our students will value, appreciate, and welcome, through understanding and demonstrative action, a. scientific methods. Students will see empirical, evidence-based methods as essential and as complementary to other methods of knowing. b. ethics. Students will be committed to high ethical standards, including professional, discipline-specific domains and their own personal lives. c. faith. Students will be able to articulate the interactions between psychology and faith. PSY-123 s associated course learning outcome is for students to critically explore and analyze the relationship between the Christian faith and brain-behavior interactions. d. openness to experience. Students will understand the importance and desirability of a diversity of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds (including ethnic, sociocultural, and gender diversity). They will embrace ambiguity, being comfortable without closure or black-and-white answers, and valuing questions as much as answers. Applications. Our students will apply psychological principles, knowledge, and skills to their own lives and to the transformation of their worlds. Domains to which these are applied include: a. personal (personal development, relationships, personal experience, etc.) b. community and societal/global concerns and issues c. integration with other academic disciplines
The psychology department has identified specific, assessable learning outcomes for each of the departmental goals (in parentheses below), and has associated each outcome with a college-wide goal (identified in bold below). Departmental learning outcomes most pertinent to PSY-123 are checked in the list below: Knowledge Base: Demonstrate the ability to identify, recognize, or otherwise articulate key elements of content (e.g., core concepts, theories, and individuals) within a wide variety of areas in psychology. (Goal: Knowledge Base) Competence in Written and Oral Communication: Write efficiently, creatively, and competently using APA style in both theoretical/review and research report genres. (Goal: Written and Oral Communication) Christian Understanding/Practices/Affections: Demonstrate ability to identify important contemporary areas of overlap between psychology and Christian theology and spirituality, and are both affectively positively disposed towards them and inclined towards practicing them. (Goal: Values and Character) Critical and Interdisciplinary Thinking: Demonstrate ability to recognize good vs. bad experimental designs, theories, and arguments in psychology, and also reasoning linking psychology to other disciplines. (Goal: Scientific Thinking, Methods, & Skills) Diversity and Global Awareness: Engage as active global citizens with an awareness of cultural diversity, one s own culture/s, and the responsibility of self towards others. (Goal: Values and Character) Active Societal/ Intellectual Engagement: Engage as active agents in their local communities, bringing their intellectual and academic abilities and interests to bear on improving the lives of those around them. (Goal: Applications) Creative Expression: Recognize the creative aspects of theory construction, experimental design, application and collaborative work in psychology, and demonstrate such creativity in their own disciplinary work. (Goal: Scientific Thinking, Methods, & Skills). We encourage students to visit the departmental web page and talk with their academic advisors for more information about learning outcomes and goals, and about the structure of our curriculum.