units

BNS3062

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

18 September 2017 27 April 2024
Monash University

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational UnitSchool of Psychological Sciences
OfferedNot offered in 2015
Coordinator(s)Dr Glenn Melvin

Synopsis

This unit examines common neurological conditions that result in behavioural dysfunction, and imaging techniques that can assist their diagnosis. The first five weeks examine the applications, limitations and theoretical bases of X-ray imaging, CT, angiography, PET, MRI, FMRI, SPECT, EEG and MEG. The remainder investigates the neurobiological correlates of traumatic brain injury, brain tumours, epilepsies, cerebrovascular disorders, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis and Fragile X Tremor Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS). Emphasis will be placed on the impact of these disorders on behaviour and cognition, their diagnosis and treatment, and on aspects of patient care.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will:

  1. be familiar with the variety of neuroimaging techniques that are available, and understand the theoretical basis for these technologies and their practical limitations;
  2. understand how imaging techniques can assist the diagnosis of some neurological disorders, and be able to interpret some of the features revealed by these images;
  3. understand the neurobiological correlates of some common neurological disorders and how they are diagnosed and treated;
  4. understand the behavioural and cognitive deficits that accompany some neurological disorders;
  5. appreciate the impact of disorders and their treatment from the point of view of patients and their carers;
  6. have developed confidence in communicating effectively with clinicians, patients and their carers; and
  7. have acquired the ability of writing case reports based on clinical evaluation and interview with patients.

Assessment

Mid-semester written theory examination (short answer and/or MCQ, 2 hours) (30%)
End of semester written theory examination (MCQ, 2 hours) (40%)
Multi-disciplinary neuroimaging assignment (15%)
Patient case reports (15%)

Workload requirements

3 hours of lectures per week (1 x 2 hour; 1 x 1 hour), plus one 2 hour laboratory fortnightly. 6 additional hours per week of study.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

Professor Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis