Syllabus¶

BIOL247: Neurophysiology Laboratory

Instructor
Name : Krista Perks, PhD (they/she)
Email : kperks@wesleyan.edu
Office: Shanklin 409
Office Hours: Alternating between Tues 1:30-2:30 and Wed 2:30-3:30 in Hall-Atwater room 290
Fifth Hours: Alternating between Tues 1:30-2:30 and Wed 2:30-3:30 on zoom

Classroom Sessions
Mondays 1-5pm, Hall-Atwater room 290.

Background and Introduction
All living cells maintain a difference between internal (intracellular) and external (extracellular) solutions, including major differences in the concentrations of important ions intracellular vs extracellular. One result of this is that all living cells have a voltage - a potential difference across the cell membrane. This is called the resting membrane potential of the cell.

What makes neurons special and different from almost all other cells is that they make critical use of changes in this membrane potential in order to accomplish their jobs as computational and communication units. As we all know, inputs received at the synapse cause graded changes in potential (via synaptic receptors) that then summate to produce output as impulses.

Neurophysiology is the study of the physiology of neurons and a major part of their physiology are these electrical potentials (electrophysiology). Electrophysiology is the main subject of this course, though we will connect neurophysiology with other tools for studying neurons and animal behavior such as computational models, motion tracking, and genetic tools.

General neuroscience topics covered in this course include: ionic basis of membrane potentials, synaptic physiology, active voltage impulses, sensory responses, simple circuits, motor system physiology.

Classroom Behavior and Expectations
You should expect long, often open-ended labs: there will not be as much structure as you may be accustomed to. Electrophysiology is active and often exploratory in the moment.

You should gain skills in:

Quantitative and analytical thinking
Data analysis and presentation
Communication of experimental observation and data interpretation
Use of instrumentation and basic electronics
Troubleshooting and problem solving
Fine motor skills and surgery

Of you I ask:

100% effort
Independence and self-motivation
Patience when things do not go well
Learn as much as you can about the neurons and systems that you examine
Notice things in your data; pay attention to detail; ask questions (to yourself as well as to others and to me)

We’ll be working together to create an equitable and inclusive environment of mutual respect, in which we all feel comfortable to share our moments of confusion, ask questions, and challenge our understanding. Everyone should be able to succeed in this course. If you do not feel that is the case please let me know. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records.

Course Resources

The course website (which you accessed to read this syllabus) contains all course materials that you will need.
Assignments are handed in and graded via Gradescope.
- Joining the course through your Gradescope account. Course Code: 2KPKDX.
- Additional resources for students

Schedule (subject to change)
See the “Weekly Chapters” section of the course website navigation pane.

Class Preparation
In preparation for class, read the landing page for each week (the title link) and the Lab Manual. Some information in the Lab Manual might not make sense to you before class. We will go over procedures and materials together throughout each lab session.

Grading

Weekly Responses 60%
Due each Sunday by midnight. Each week, there is an associated “Response” document containing prompts that you need to respond to. These assignments will involve using custom scripts in the “Data Explorer” pages to explore, process, and analyze data collected during lab. You may conspire with others to tackle these weekly assignments. However, all work handed in must ultimately be your own.

Capstone 20%
A “Presentation of Learning” in which you pair up with a partner and prepare materials to demo your favorite lab from the semester (whether you will be doing the actual live demos of the experiments will depend on availability of resources, etc). You will prepare individual write-ups of the materials in addition to presenting them in pairs in person. Details will be provided on the course website in the “Wrapping Up” section.

Standards 20%
Along the way, as you complete each classroom session and the assignments, your personal Standards score card will be updated. You will continue, throughout the semester, to work toward proficiency in each category outlined. Your score (0-3) for each standard is continuously updated (not averaged across assignments) to reflect your current level of mastery. Feedback about progress is provided throughout the course in writing and in meetings. You should feel empowered to track your progress, identify next steps in understanding each standard, and communicate your progress to me in addition to me communicating my observation of your progress to you. At the end of the semester (which closes on December 11th), your mastery scores will be averaged across all sections.

Attendence in classroom sessions is mandatory. If unforseeable emergency comes up, please reach out as soon as possible so that we can make a plan.

Animal Care and Use Procedures:
Live animal subjects are generally essential in behavioural research, but nonanimal alternatives such as video records from previous work or computer simulations can sometimes be used. We will be implementing some of these in this course. We will be using the following invertebrate animals in this course: cockroach, crawdad, and fruit fly. We will use humans (ourselves) for one non-invasive module.

Managing pain and distress: It is impossible to know whether earthworms, cockroaches, crawdads and fruit flies experience damage in the same way that we do. Suffering is a negative mental state – a private experience – and, as such, it cannot be measured directly. When assessing the capacity of an animal to experience suffering, we often compare the similarity of its responses with those of ‘higher’ animals, conceptualized in the principle of argument-by-analogy. They clearly lack the brain organization that underlies our experience of pain and the emotional distress that goes with it. However, this does not mean that their minds or lives are necessarily less valuable nor that they have different brain organization that underlies their experience of pain or distress that goes with it.

For vertebrates, IACUC is the regulatory division that oversees the ethical care and use of animals in teaching and research. There is currently no standardized regulatory measures covering the care and use of invertebrates in teaching and research. For this course, I follow the guidelines outlined by the Association for the Society of Animal Behaviour, including the following: “Pain or suffering should be minimized both in duration and magnitude as far as possible under the requirements of the experimental design. Attention should be paid to the provision of proper pre- and post-procedural care to minimize preparatory stress, and immediate and residual effects. When a study involves any procedure or condition likely to cause more than momentary, low-intensity pain, discomfort or distress,then appropriate anaesthesia, analgesia, tranquillization and/or adjunctive relief measures should be used, sufficient to prevent or alleviate the discomfort, unless this would jeopardize the aims of the study.”

For any invasive procedures, we will be using the standard protocol of cooling (on ice) to anaesthetize the animal. Because invertebrates do not regulate their body temperature, cooling slows all metabolic processes, including the neural processes involved in perception and movement.

Environmental impact: Since Procambarus is raised in large numbers for food, its use in lab exercises has minimal environmental impact. Cockroaches and fruit flies have a reproductive strategy in which massive numbers of individuals are produced. In nature, the majority will not make it to adulthood. The number of these animals that we use in this lab therefore have minimal impact on their ecology.

Email Policy
I do my best to respond to emails within 24 hours. However, I cannot guarantee email communication over the weekend as this time is reserved for family.

Time Commitment
Attendence in classroom sessions is mandatory. If your in-class work is finished before the classroom session ends, you can use the additional time to work on Take Home work or explore the preparation further. I have designed the class so that it should be feasible to satisfactorily complete the requirements with approximately twelve hours per week of time commitment (as per the standards for a full credit course). If you are spending more time than this on a regular basis I encourage you to check in with me.

Covid Safety
Covid-19 remains a major public health crisis, and as such a threat to education. In line with peer institutions and CDC guidelines, to protect the particularly vulnerable among us, and to preserve our ability to meet in person, masking is the default for our classroom and lab instruction. Please wear N95, KN95, or KF94 masks. Your mask should fit properly over both your nose and mouth. If you need a mask, please let me know. After the first two weeks of instruction, and upon evidence of low community spread (as defined by the CDC), we may decide to make masking optional after an anonymous survey of the class. Please test yourself at any signs of Covid symptoms. If you have tested positive or have symptoms that you think are Covid related, please do not come to class. We will make arrangements for you.

Writing Workshop Working on your writing? Don’t go it alone! Instead, make a free one-on-one appointment with peer writing tutors at the Writing Workshop. Trained to help Wesleyan writers at any stage of the writing process, writing tutors are available for online appointments, Sunday - Friday at a range of times. Let us help you get your ideas out of your head and onto paper!
Make an appointment by going to Wesportal→ Academics–>Writing Workshop Account. You’ll be asked to make an account before being brought to our online scheduler.
Want semester long support? Apply for a writing mentor who will work with you for an hour every week. Focus on specific writing tasks like organization and time management with the help of a trained peer all while earning a .25 credit!
Learn more here or email Professor Lauren Silber or the Ford Fellow.

Accommodation Statement (Students with Disabilities)
Wesleyan University is committed to ensuring that all qualified students with disabilities are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, its programs and services. To receive accommodations, a student must have a disability as defined by the ADA. Since accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible. If you have a disability, or think that you might have a disability, please contact Accessibility Services in order to arrange an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations. Accessibility Services is located in North College, rooms 021/218, or can be reached by email or phone (860-685-2332).

Religious/Spiritual Observances Resources

If you anticipate that your religious/spiritual observance may conflict with academic obligations such as attending class, taking examinations, or submitting assignments, you can work directly with your professor to make reasonable arrangements. Should you require additional support or guidance, please feel free to reach out to Rabbi David Teva, Director of the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at dleipziger@wesleyan.edu or any of the chaplains in the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at https://www.wesleyan.edu/orsl/index.html.

For a list of a religious holidays celebrated by members of the Wesleyan community, go to Wesleyan’s Multifaith calendar which can be found at: https://www.wesleyan.edu/orsl/multifaith-calendar.html.

Discrimination and Harassment
Wesleyan University is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working, and living environment. Wesleyan will not tolerate acts of discrimination or harassment based upon Protected Classes or related retaliation against or by any employee or student. For purposes of this Wesleyan policy, “Protected Classes” refers to race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, political affiliation or political philosophy. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against should contact the Office for Equity and Inclusion at 860-685-4771. The responsibility of the University Members has more information.

Title IX Resources
If trauma inhibits your ability to fully participate in class, please contact Debbie Colucci, Title IX Coordinator,, or your class dean. Additionally, and if you are comfortable, you can work directly with your professor to make reasonable arrangements. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions about process. Thank you for your consideration.

Honor Code
All students of Wesleyan University are responsible for knowing and adhering to the Honor Code of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council – Office of Student Affairs. Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). The Office of Student Affairs has more information.

I remind students of the Wesleyan honor code which you signed as a first-year student. I value your academic integrity and therefore require that you include the pledge and also sign/date all material you hand in. Unpledged work will not be accepted or graded.

For written and multimedia work: In accordance with the Honor Code, I affirm that this work is my own and all content taken from other sources has been properly acknowledged

It is expressly forbidden to submit a paper from another course without my permission. While written reports will be accepted, they must be accompanied by an electronic format too. Submitting only in electronic format is acceptable. Please note that active checking for plagiarism will occur. Ensure that all sources are cited and in sufficient detail for the reader to locate your primary source. Consult with me if you are uncertain whether a source needs citing. Don’t risk plagiarism as this is an academic violation with severe consequences. Should I suspect the honor code has been violated, I will consult the Vice President for Student Affairs to decide whether to refer the matter to the Honor Board.