BIOL1131 Neuroscience Assignment
Task:
Topics
The topics options for the assignment are listed below. Once you have decided which topic you wish to pursue please join the group in People on Canvas for that topic. Total number of people per topic will be capped at 40 – if you change your mind you can allocate to a different group if there are still places. While you can discuss the topic with other people in your group, this is an individual assignment and will be assessed accordingly.
Disease based topics
How neurological diseases or disorders affect a person’s functional abilities. Discuss the cause and incidence of one of the diseases/disorders listed below. Describe the pathology that occurs to the nervous system (that is what happens to neurons), and the neuroanatomical pathways involved that produces the symptoms of the disease. Remember to include two recent research studies on the topic (see references section above).
1.Multiple sclerosis
2.Schizophrenia
3.Post-traumatic stress disorder
4.Autism spectrum disorder
5.Stroke (focus on a type of stroke)
Anopsia (focus on a type of anopsia)
6.Central Sensitisation and its role in chronic pain
Discuss the mechanisms underlying central sensitization and the parts of the nervous system that undergo alteration.
Compare and contrast hyperalgesia and allodynia.
Briefly summarise two recent research studies focused on central sensitization (these primary research papers can be located using PubMed or Google Scholar). For each study, state why this study is important in the overall field of pain research and what it means for pain management.
Motor related
1. Discuss the role of the Reticular Activating System (RAS) in regulating muscle activity and muscle tone during sleep. What sleep-related disorders might be attributable to dysfunction of the RAS?
2. Discuss the neurochemistry thought to explain Parkinson’s and Huntington’s Diseases, and the probable site(s) of these neuropathologies in the brain.
3. Discuss the contribution of Wilder Penfield to the mapping of cortical function, and if recent developments in medical imaging support the idea of a cortical sensori/motor ‘homunculus’.
