Unit information: Synaptic Cell Biology in 2019/20

Unit name	Synaptic Cell Biology
Unit code	PHPH30022
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Professor. Molnar
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None.
Co-requisites	None.
School/department	School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

This Unit will concentrate on molecular and cell biological research approaches to neuroscience, and how this has contributed to important advances in the field. The topics covered will focus on cell signalling mechanisms in the central nervous system (CNS). These processes will be studied in the contexts of synaptic plasticity and neurological disorders. The unit aims to develop an understanding of molecular and cellular events involved in dynamic regulation of information transfer in the CNS:
• classification, structure, function and regulation of neurotransmitter receptors
• glutamate receptor trafficking, with a focus on receptor subunit assembly, phosphorylation/de-phosphorylation and interacting regulatory proteins
• structural plasticity of synapses
• genetic aspects of synaptic function.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• An in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of selected aspects of neuronal molecular cell biology, with an ability to keep up-to-date with recent developments in the field.
• The ability to gather information from the primary scientific literature and to critically evaluate the material and appraise competing theories.
• An understanding of the experimental tools used to study synaptic plasticity at the molecular cell biology level.

Teaching Information

Seminars

Assessment Information

The unit will be assessed through a 3-hour summative examination in May/June, which contributes 90% of the unit mark and consists of two sections. In Section A (50%), students will be expected to answer one essay question from a choice of 3, which will assess their knowledge and critical understanding of the field, and their ability to gather information from the primary scientific literature. In Section B (50%), students will be expected to answer one multi-part compulsory question assessing data handling/data interpretation and experimental design skills. The remaining 10% of the unit mark will come from completing coursework. The coursework will be either an essay, data interpretation or experimental design question of a similar format to that used in the summative exam.

Reading and References

Reviews and key references from the current scientific literature