Biological Psychology
An upper-level course in behavioral neuroscience
Apr 12, 2024
Teaching
The following is a list of classes that I have taught in the past.
Ongoing Courses
Biological Psychology
The physiological basis of behavior, including the genetics and evolution of behavior, central nervous system anatomy and physiology, research methods, diseases of the brain and associated behavioral alterations and the study of selected systems, e.g., sensorimotor, eating and drinking, sleeping and dreaming, language, and sexual behavior.
Cognitive Psychology
Exploration of theory and research related to the mental processes that characterize human thought. In particular, this course examines the nature of how people acquire, remember, and use knowledge. Topics covered include attention, pattern recognition, memory, language, problem solving and reasoning.
Computational Neuroscience and Psychology
This course provides a modeling approach in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. Topics may include decision making, learning models, neuro imaging techniques, and neural networks.
Introduction to Psychology
An introduction to psychology: biopsychology, sensation/perception, learning, memory, language, thought, motivation, personality, emotion, stress, development, social psychology and psychological disorders and therapies. Students will be exposed to and engage in psychological research and activities in order to emphasize the scientific nature of psychology. This course emphasizes a deeper and more comprehensive exposure to particular contemporary psychological topics and issues.
Past Courses
Introduction to Psychology
(2009-2014), The Ohio State University
Memory & Cognition
(2012), The Ohio State University (guest lecturer for 3 weeks)
Social Media and Self-Surveillance
Focuses broadly on how social media shapes the way we work and interact with information and relationships in the digital age. Related topics include influences related to social persuasion, group-think, etc. resulting from “hive mind” behaviors online, as well as the social “justice” phenomenon, and its ability to strengthen/weaken social and political movements. Further, content addresses the risks of curated news feeds, including controversial “experiments” conducted by social media platforms. Finally, the prevailing theme throughout will be the overall effect of “free” services (where the user is the product, such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc.) on individuals’ privacy and rights, and the cognitive dissonance associated with giving away such sensitive information for the sake of convenience.