Lecture 40: Nerve cells & Changes in Behavior

Dr. Moira van Staaden
office: LSC 304
phone: 2-0341
Email: mvs@caspar.bgsu.edu

Sample essay questions for the Neuroethology of Space and Time

1. Generating a neural representation of auditory space in vertebrates is complicated by the absence of any kind of topographic organization at the receptor (cochlea) level. Nonetheless, in the ICX (or MLD) nucleus of owls we find a topographically organized structure with neurons having frequency independent receptive fields in restricted portions of environmental space (cells that respond to sounds that originate from a restricted portion of the world). How does the auditory system of owls construct the space selective properties of these neurons?
2. Be sure to discuss the importance of phase responding and interaural (inter-ear) time differences. The distinction between perceptual space and cognitive space as I presented it is not simple. Using sound localization in owls and homing in pigeons, discuss at the behavioral level the difference between perceptual and cognitive space.
3. The vertebrate hippocampus has been shown to play a critical role in the memory representation of space. However, not all kinds of memory-based spatial representations require an intact hippocampus. Using data from homing pigeons, discuss the role of the hippocampus in spatial cognition (the memory representation of space). At the neural level, hippocampal cells in rats have space related response properties, but they are different from those found in the auditory system of owls. Discuss the response (electrophysiological) properties of hippocampal neurons in rats.

Neuroethology Essays

Choose ONE of the following topics for your essay. You should aim for about 2,000 words, excluding reference list. Essays due April 7th.

Whodunnit: has neuroethology slain the homunculus?

Pick an animal, and pick a habitat: describe how the habitat influences how the animal perceives its environment.

What are the three different kinds of information that can be contained in a sound wave, and how is this information processed by the insect auditory system.

Why are chemical synapses far more common than electrical synapses in vertebrate nervous systems?

The neural representation of environmental space.

"What is utterly baffling to me is why one cannot be a reductionist and a holist at the same time" - J.T. Bonner, 1988. Evaluate this statement with reference to the current state of neuroethology.

Writing Aides

Having taken English 110, 111 or 112 all students should possess a copy of the textbook by Hairston, M., Ruszkiewucz, J. & Friend, C. (1999) The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers. 5th ed. Longman, New York. We assume that you have read this and refer to it often. There is also a copy at the Reference desk in the Jerome Library. You may find the associated website useful.

The Writing Lab at BGSU provides assistance at any stage in the writing process, either in person by scheduling an appointment, or online through the Online Writing Lab (OWL).

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