Course Syllabus

The Developing Brain

Semester & Location:	Fall 2017 - DIS Stockholm
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Human Development, Neuroscience, Psychology
Faculty Members:	Élodie Cauvet and Janina Neufeld
Program Director:	Carla Cartano - cca@dis.dk
Time & Place:	Tuesdays & Fridays, 11.40 - 13.00 Classroom 1D409

Description of Course

Prerequisite: one semester of neuroscience, physiological psychology, or biological psychology at the university level.

A cognitive behavioral neuroscience perspective will be used to explore the normal development of the child, from infancy to adolescence with regards to perception, attention, language, learning, memory, executive function, emotion and social cognition. Brain structures and functions that support these processes developmentally, such as neuroplasticity and critical/sensitive periods will be considered, as will the implications of culture and the social context.  Scandinavian perspectives will be addressed.

 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Describe the main theoretical perspectives in developmental neuroscience.
2. Describe common research methods, and their uses, in developmental neuroscience.
3. Read and summarize scientific papers within the field of developmental neuroscience
4. Conduct observations of atypical and typical child behavior, and connect to theories of neurological development.
5. Identify milestones of typical development, behavioral and neurological (and identify delays): both through observation of behavior and measures of neurological functioning.
6. Describe cultural differences (especially comparing Scandinavia to North America) that might affect neurological development and behavioral repertoires
7. Describe implications of neurodevelopmental disorders on the brain- and behavior level

 

Faculty

Instructors:
Élodie Cauvet has a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, from Pierre & Marie Curie University, Paris. She has studied developmental issues such as Autism, Dyslexia and language development using neuroimaging and behavioral psychology techniques. She is currently conducting her Post Doctorate at Karolinska Institutet Center for Neuro-developmental Disorders (KIND). With DIS since 2016.

Janina Neufeld has a PhD from Hannover Medical School, and received her Post Doctorate at University of Reading in the field of Human Neuroscience. She is currently working at KIND, using neuroimaging to research neural and behavioral markers for autism. Other interests are synesthesia, perception, empathy and reward pro-cessing. With DIS since 2016.

Readings 

Required Textbook

Johnson, H. & de Haan, M. (2015). Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: An Introduction (4th Edition). New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

Articles and Other Media on Canvas

Adolph, K. E., Cole, W. G., Komati, M., Garciaguirre, J. S., Badaly, D., Lingeman, J. M., ... & Sotsky, R. B. (2012). How do you learn to walk? Thousands of steps and dozens of falls per day. Psychological science, 23(11), 1387-1394.

Adolph, K.E, Berger, S.E., Leo, A.J. (2011). Developmental continuity? Crawling, cruising and walking, Develop- mental Science, 14(2), 306-318.

Anderson, V., Spencer-Smith, M., & Wood, A. (2011). Do children really recover better? Neurobehavioural plas- ticity after early brain insult. Brain. 1-15.

Blakemore, S. J., Burnett, S., & Dahl, R. E. (2010). The role of puberty in the developing adolescent brain. Human brain mapping, 31(6), 926-933.

Brouwer, R.M., Koenis, M.M.G., Schnack, H.G, van Baal, G.C., van Soelen, I.L.C, Hulshoff Pol, H.E., (2015) Lon- gitudinal development of hormone levels and grey matter density in 9 and 12-year-old twins, Behavior Ge- netics, 45(5), 313 – 323.

Carrion‐Castillo, A., Franke, B., & Fisher, S. E. (2013). Molecular genetics of dyslexia: an overview. Dyslexia, 19(4), 214-240.

Decety, J., & Svetlova, M. (2012). Putting together phylogenetic and ontogenetic perspectives on empathy. De- velopmental cognitive neuroscience, 2(1), 1-24.

Ekblad, M., Korkeila, J., & Lehtonen, L. (2015). Smoking during pregnancy affects foetal brain development. Acta Paediatrica, 104(1), 12-18.

Gilbert, C. D., & Li, W. (2013). Top-down influences on visual processing. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(5), 350-363.

Goddings, A-L. (2014). The Role of puberty in human adolescent brain development, Chapter from Brain Crosstalk in Puberty and Adolescence, Ed: Bourguignon, J-P., Carel, J-C., Christen, Y., Springer International Pub- lishing. 75 – 83.

Hepper, P. (2015). Behavior During the Prenatal Period: Adaptive for Development and Survival. Child Develop- ment Perspectives, 9(1), 38-43

Jardri, R., Houfflin-Debarge, V., Delion, P., Pruvo, J-P., Thomas, P., Pins, D. (2012). Assessing fetal response to maternal speech using a noninvasive functional brain imaging technique. International Journal of Develop- mental Neuroscience, 30, 159-161.

Johnson, M. H., & DeHaan, M. (2015). Developmental cognitive neuroscience: An introduction. John Wiley & Sons. (selected chapters)

Juárez, S.P., Merlo, J. (2013) The Effect of Swedish Snuff (Snus) on Offspring Birthweight: A Sibling Analysis. PLoS ONE 8(6): e65611. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065611

Klingberg, T. (2014). Childhood cognitive development as a skill. Trends in cognitive sciences, 18(11), 573-579

Kolb, B., & Fantie, B. D. (2009). Development of the child’s brain and behavior. In Handbook of clinical child neuropsychology (pp. 19-46). Springer US.

Kolb, B., Mychasiuk, R., & Gibb, R. (2014). Brain development, experience, and behavior. Pediatric blood & can- cer, 61(10), 1720-1723.

Lacquaniti, F., Ivanenko, Y.P., Zago, M., (2012) Development of human locomotion, Current Opinion in Neurobi- ology, 22(5), 822-828.

Lee, G. Y., & Kisilevsky, B. S. (2014). Fetuses respond to father's voice but prefer mother's voice after birth.
Developmental psychobiology, 56(1), 1-11

Mampe, B., Friederici, A.D., Christophe, A., Wemke K. (2009) Newborns’ cry melody is shaped by their native language, Current Biology, 19(23), 1994-1997.

Newcombe, N. S. (2013). Cognitive development: changing views of cognitive change. Wiley Interdisciplinary Re- views: Cognitive Science, 4(5), 479-491.

Petersen, S. E., & Posner, M. I. (2012). The attention system of the human brain: 20 years after. Annual review of neuroscience, 35, 73.

Quinn, P. C., & Bhatt, R. S. (2009). Perceptual organization in infancy: bottom-up and top-down influences. Op- tometry & Vision Science, 86(6), 589-594.

Rapin, I., (2016). Dyscalculia and the calculating brain, Pediatric Neurology, 61, 11-20.

Reid, V., Dunn, K., Young, R.,Amu, J., Donovan, T. & Reissland, N., (2017). The human fetus preferentially engages with face-like visual stimuli, Current Biology, 27, 1825-1828

Skagerström, J., Alehagen, S., Häggström-Nordin, E., Årestedt, K., & Nilsen, P. (2013). Prevalence of alcohol use before and during pregnancy and predictors of drinking during pregnancy: a cross sectional study in Swe- den. BMC public health, 13(1), 1.

Thompson, B. L., Levitt, P., & Stanwood, G. D. (2009). Prenatal exposure to drugs: effects on brain development and implications for policy and education. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(4), 303-312.

Vandermosten, M., Hoeft, F., Norton, E.S. (2016) Integrating MRI brain imaging studies of pre-reading children with current theories of developmental dyslexia: a review and quantitative meta-analysis, Current Opinion in Behavioral Science, 10, 155-161.

Ward, J. (2013). Synesthesia. Annual review of psychology, 64, 49-75.

Wells, M. B., & Lang, S. N. (2016). Supporting same‐sex mothers in the Nordic child health field: a systematic literature review and meta‐synthesis of the most gender equal countries. Journal of clinical nursing, 25 (23-24), 3469-3483

Wells; M.B. (2016). Literature review shows that fathers are still not receiving the support they want and need from Swedish child health profesionals, Acta Paediatrica, 105, 1014-1023

 

Field Studies

Wednesday, August 30th 8:30-12:30

Neuromethods tour, visiting the MR Center at Karolinska Hospital, the MEG research facility at Karoliska Institutet and the Center of Neurodevelopmental Disor-ders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND). KIND is a combined clinic and research institute, working with chil-dren with developmental disorders such as ADHD and autism. KIND does research using both neuro-psychological assessments and neuroimaging, and provides evidence based therapy for children and parents.

Wednesday, October 4th 13:00 - 17:00

Center för Sinnesstimulering - Korallen
The coral is aimed at children with multiple function impairment between the ages of 0-12 years who suffer from grave intellectual impairment, often in combination with moderate to severe movement impairment. At the coral, they offer an exciting and pleasurable environment. The coral contains five different spaces. In the rooms you can experience the movements of the water, the rhythm of the music, the warmth and vibrations of the water bed, light games and much more.

 

Guest Lecturers

Michael Wells is an American who moved to Sweden after completing his Masters degree in Human Development and Family Science. He has a PhD from Uppsala University in Women’s and Children’s Health. He currently works as postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet where his focus is on the implementation and evaluation of intervention studies: one focusing on creating equality for fathers in the Swedish child health field and another on helping high school dropouts gain employment. He is an expert on parenting and how it is influenced by the child health field and via Swedish family policies.

Kristiina Tammimies is a senior researcher at Karolinska Institutet. Her research aims to understand how genetic factors contribute to the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and how these factors translate into biological pathways affecting brain development using genome-wide techniques such as whole genome sequencing. Here Kristiina will give an introduction into genetic factors affecting NDDs and the techniques used to to study them.

 

Approach to Teaching

We are enthusiastic teachers and we try to make all classes interactive and interesting. Classes include both lectures by the teacher and discussions led by the students. Both are mixed during each class. 

It is very important for us that the content is clear for all students. So you are encouraged to ask questions and talk to us if you feel that there are still unclear zones after the classes.

 

Expectations of the Students

Students are expected to participate actively in class. This includes taking part in the discussions,  asking or answering questions. There are no stupid questions and we encourage and reward student expression. Opinions should be expressed especially when they refer to scientific content. Students have to inform the teachers in advance in case they can not attend a class. Missing a class unexcused will affect the active participation grade.

Students are expected to answer the quiz online before the class.

Students are expected to read the required readings before class.

Students are responsible for their learning. This implies taking the notes from the lecture, summarizing the content of both lectures and discussions.

Slides include graphs, pictures and illustrations necessary to understand the class. Students are expected to take notes complementing and explaining the slides. Slides are a support and should be treated as such and not as the main source of info required. Class content delivered by the teachers need to be written down by the students individually. 

Main discussion will be summarized by the students and transcribed on white board and picture of these will be available on Canvas in respective classes.

Evaluation

The course consists of lectures, discussions and assignments at home and in class. For evaluation, we are taking into account the students attendance of the classes and the active participation in the discussions. In discussions and assignments, students are required to demonstrate that they read the literature for the classes and that they are able to apply their knowledge. Showing independent and critical thinking is also subject to evaluation.

Grading

Detailed assignment descriptions and grading rubrics for each assignment are available on canvas.

Assignment	Percent
Active class participation (including quizz)	15%
Basic Concepts - written Exam	10%
Prenatal development and Dietary advice: cross cultural comparison	15%
Scientific paper presentation and evaluation	20%
Typical and atypical child behavior	20%
Final written exam	20%
Total	100%

Descriptions of assignments

Active class participation (15%): The student is active in discussions and group work. Active participation and engagement includes asking questions related to readings and material presented in the class and taking part in discussions and being active during field trips and guest lectures. Active participation means to contribute on own initiative. See Canvas for a class participation grading Rubric#0_Active_class_participation.docx.

Basic concepts - written exam (10%):

Due Date: IN CLASS September 8th.

Short exam covering basic neurological concepts, based on Johnson and DeHaan (2015), chapters 1 and 2, and Kandel (2000) chapter 1 and 2. Covered topics are types of neurons, principles of electric and chemical functions of neurons, general architecture of the adult brain, and the most widely used research methods for neuroscience, (e.g. fMRI, EEG, lesions) and basic genetic concepts. The test will take about 45 minutes, and consists of 13 short answer questions. The test will be conducted during class time, and no study materials will be allowed during the test. The purpose of this first exam is to ensure a common ground of basic knowledge, on which the remaining course will continue to build upon using more in-depth analysis and a focus on developmental issues. More information, including a study guide (study_guide_exam1.docx), are available on Canvas (Rubric #1_basic_concepts_exam.docx).

Prenatal development and Dietary advice: cross cultural comparison (15%): 

Due Date: October 6th midnight for the essay + presentation on the 6th of October at 11:40 (normal class time)

Each student chooses one dietary element (e.g. alcohol, vitamin A, caffeine, unpasteurized milk, raw meat, sushi ... ) on the 15th of September. She/he writes an essay describing:
- how pregnancy and future mother might be impacted by the comsumption of the element
- how prenatal development (in particular neurological) is hypothesized to be affected by the product,
- what cognitive/behavioral deficits (attention, perception, executive function, memory, etc.) this might result in after birth.
The student should also evaluate what level of scientific evidence supports the advice. A discussion about the effect of culture on the consumption of this dietary element must be included by comparing at least 2 different countries/culture. It should include how/if the recommendation differ depending on country, and how/if the difference in recommendation affect the child population (it this is known). The essay should be 4 page long (not counting title page and references), APA style (double line spacing) and handed out through Canvas on October 6^th. See Canvas for a detailed grading rubric (Rubric #2 prenatal dietary advice.docx). Each student prepares a brief presentation for class (5-minutes; not included in grade), to be presented October 6^th. Note that each student must choose a different food product.

Scientific paper presentation and evaluation (20%): 

Due Date: October 27th

Students will evaluate a scientific article in pairs at home and prepare a powerpoint presentation including the methods, outcomes and conclusions from the article (max 8 slides). They will further evaluate the quality of the article according to guidelines discussed beforehand and present their evaluation. Each student pair gives a joint 5 to 10 minute presentation for class followed by a 5 minutes discussion with the rest of the class (powerpoint-slides are handed in for grading through Canvas), for October 27th. See Canvas for a detailed Rubric #3 scientific paper evaluation.docx.

 

Typical and atypical child behavior (20%): 

Due Date: November 21st

Before class:The students watch two video clips picturing typically developing children and the developmental milestones acquired at both specific ages (18 months and 3 years). They also watch 5 video clips picturing atypical behaviors from children of the same ages. They take short notes.

In class: In groups of 2: Each group gets assigned to one specific video of atypical kid. They watch it together once. Then each student chooses one cognitive/behavioral skill in which the toddlers differ. This skill will constitute their essay's topic. The group then watches the video a couple of times paying specific attention the chosen skill. Then each group discusses the chosen skills and how it relates to the video. Questions will guide the discussion. 15min. Whole class: each groups feeds back the chosen cognitive skills and the summaries of the discussions. Then all discuss together. During the time left, they start writing their essay and ask more questions.

Assignment: Using course literature but also scientific literature search, each student individually writes a brief essay (4-5 pages, excluding references) covering how this skill typically develops through infancy (including milestone-ages), and what neurological development can be linked to it. The essay should refer the observed differences between toddlers regarding this skill, exhibited during the video-recordings.

 Examples of chosen topics can be a specific language skill (naming activities or objects, or responding to requests from parents), interacting with objects and the environment, attention, social skills or decision making. Assignment is started in class on November 14th and handed in through canvas on November 21st.

See Canvas for a detailed grading rubric (#4). Rubric #4_typical_atypical_child_behvior.docx  

Final written exam (20%):

Due Date: IN CLASS: TBA

Covering course concepts and milestones for neurological and behavioral development. The exam will last for 2 hours, and consist of 12 short-answer questions, 2 essay questions and 12 multiple choice questions. No study materials will be allowed. The purpose of the final written exam is to assess the understanding of the contents and learning objectives of the course. As compared to the basic concepts exam (#1), this written exam will focus on developmental issues (but concepts from the whole course, including the first weeks, may be included). The whole content of the class can be tested. The study guide includes all the learning objectives (for each class) that can be tested during the final exam. More information, including a detailed study guide and grading rubric rubrics #5_final_exam.docx, are available on Canvas
 

Disability and Resource Statement  

Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Academic Support (acadsupp@dis.dk) to coordinate this.  In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations within the first two weeks of classes.

 

Policies

Attendance

You are expected to attend all classes, guest lectures, workshops and field studies. If you must miss a class for religious holidays, medical reasons, or other valid reasons, you must let us know as far in advance as possible (at least 1 hour prior to start of the missed class) and obtain information about the work you must do to keep up in class. If you miss a class for any other reason (sudden illness, family emergency, etc.), you should get in touch with us as soon as possible (at least 1 hour prior to the start or the class) and arrange to make up the work missed.

It is crucial for your learning that you stay on task and hand in assignments on or before the due date. All work– including in-class projects – have to be completed in order to pass the class. Late papers or projects will be marked down with 1/3 of a grade for each day it is late.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism and Violating the Rules of an Assignment

DIS expects that students abide by the highest standards of intellectual honesty in all academic work. DIS assumes that all students do their own work and credit all work or thought taken from others.   Academic dishonesty will result in a final course grade of “F” and can result in dismissal. The students’ home universities will be notified. DIS reserves the right to request that written student assignments be turned in electronic form for submission to plagiarism detection software.  See the Academic Handbook for more information, or ask your instructor if you have questions.

Policy on late papers – Late papers will be accepted, but your grade for the paper will be reduced by  one third of a grade for each day that it is late. If you are unable to hand in an assignment due to sudden illness or family emergency, you need to contact us at least 24 hours before the due date to ask for an extension which will be evaluated on an individual basis.

Use of laptops or phones in class – Students are allowed to have laptops in class and encouraged to use it as little as possible (for example to look for information during a discussion when stated, or to take notes). Note that the use of laptop in classrooms has been studied and science shows that it decreases attention and learning outcomes. (see About the use of laptops in classrooms, which we will discuss in the 3rd class).