PHY2011

Neurosciences

Dr Ramesh Rajan

8 points - Three 1-hour lectures, one 1-hour tutorial and 4 hours practical per week - First semester - Clayton - Prohibitions: PHY2051, ASC2716 and ASC2727

Objectives On the completion of this subject students will have learnt the structure and function of nerve, receptor, muscle and hormonal cells; understand how nerve cells and hormonal cells communicate with other cells and organs in the body; understand how specialised receptor cells provide information, through the senses, about the world and how this information is carried to the brain for analysis; understand the ways in which the muscular, autonomic and endocrine systems mediate the body's responses to the world through movement, involuntary body functions or general hormonal actions; understand the laboratory techniques used in the study of physiology.

Synopsis This subject is designed for BSc students proceeding to third-year physiology as well as for those who wish to study physiology in second year only. PHY2011 is designed to provide an understanding of the body's communications and signalling systems. It studies the form and function of the general nervous system, sensory systems, central nervous system, muscular system, autonomic nervous system and endocrine system. Subject material is divided into four themes. The first theme 'The world within', studies the structure and function of cells and cell membranes, how the properties of cell membranes are responsible for membrane potentials in excitable cells and action potentials in nerve cells and how nerve cells communicate this information to other cells. The second theme 'Registering the world outside', examines how excitable receptor cells detect sound, light, smell, taste, touch and painful stimuli. The third theme, 'Analysing the world outside', examines the central nervous system and how sensory information is transmitted to the brain for analysis in different brain areas. The final theme 'Responding to the world outside: effectors', studies (a) the mechanisms of muscle movement, (b) how the autonomic nervous system controls involuntary body functions, such as body temperature, gut motility, and (c) the role of the endocrine systems in maintaining homeostasis. A quota will apply for entry into second-year physiology, and consequently entry into this subject will be competitive.

Assessment Early-semester multiple-choice question test: 8% - Late-semester multiple-choice question test: 7% - Practical written examination: 25% - Theory written examination: 50% - Practical book assessment: 10%

Recommended texts

Rhoades and Pflanzer Human physiology 3rd edn, Saunders, 1996
This book is appropriate for most, but not all, of the subject. For the remaining sections it is recommended that students refer to Berne and Levy Physiology 3rd edn, Mosby 1993, which also presents a more detailed treatment of the entire subject material.

Back to the 1999 Science Handbook