Distance Learning Neuropsychology Course
"A fascinating insight into the field of neuropsychology."
" The online courses are very easy to use and follow. Prompt friendly replies from tutor to any queries. Course structure flows freely. Very satisfied with course and results..."- Diana (completed ACS Online course in Intro to Psych and Psych & Counselling)
How is a person’s psychology is affected by anatomical and physiological characteristics of their nervous system?
The nervous system allows humans to adapt to changes. Changes can occur inside (e.g. too little oxygen while running) or outside (e.g. the anticipation of food or the chill of a winter wind). The nervous system will perceive the change and will take actions to adjust to it. The nervous system is rather like the look-out on a river boat - it monitors conditions and gives warnings when something unusual or dangerous is ahead. Once the warning is received, the body is able to take steps to avoid or correct the situation. The nervous system has to be highly complex to be able to perform such sophisticated services.
Until the late 1800’s, scientists did not know if the nervous system was made up vast networks of connected nerve cells, or whether the cells were separate. We now know that they are, and that they carry out their enormous task of keeping the body alive and functioning, and our minds working, by means of chains of action. The human brain is estimated to have around 100 billion nerve cells working to help create apparently seamless and integrated action, thought, and body function. To understand how they interact, we must learn about their individual structure and behaviours.
Pre-requisites
COURSE STRUCTURE
There are ten lessons in this module as follows:
Lesson 1
Foundations of Neuropsychology - What is neuropsychology? The Information Processing Approach. Studying the human mind, techniques used, brain scans, animal studies, methods of investigating the brain, psychological tests, Stroop test.
Lesson 2
Neurophysiology – Neurons, parts of a neuron, neurotransmitters, effects of neurotransmitters, neurotransmitters and their effects, endorphins, disorders associated with neurotransmitters, glia cells, Schwann cells, nerve impulse, synaptic transmission, nerve impulse, neuromuscular transmission.
Lesson 3
Neuroanatomy – the nervous system, parts of the central nervous system, the brain, the spinal cord, spinal nerves, blood brain barrier, peripheral nervous system, autonomic nervous system, sensory somatic nervous system, spinal nerves, cranial nerves, how the nervous system works (a summary), problems with brain functioning, cerebral palsy, brain tumours, injuries to the head, epilepsy, headaches, mental illness, meningitis and encephalitis.
Lesson 4
Laterality and Callosal Syndromes – Brain lateralisation, left handedness, cognitive neuropsychology, callosal syndrome, complete severance, split brain, complete severance, split brain syndrome, lobotomy, psychosurgery, Dual brain theory.
Lesson 5
Cognition, Personality and Emotion – Brain damage, emotion and moods, Phineas Gage, brain damage and emotion, frontal lobe, higher level functioning, the Limbic system, neurotransmitters, neuropsychology and emotions research.
Lesson 6
Perception Disorders – Hemispatial neglect, causes of hemispatial neglect, auditory perceptual disorder, agnosia, visual agnosia, types of visual agnosia, prosopagnosia, simultanagnosia, optic aphasia, hallucinogen persisting perception disorder.
Lesson 7
Motor Disorders – Parkinson’s Disease, motor disorders resulting from traumatic brain injury, non traumatic and/or genetic paediatric movement disorders, cerebral palsy, motor conditions, Gerstmann’s Syndrome, apraxia, motor skills disorder, motion dyspraxia, neural transplants and Parkinson’s Disease, gene therapy, how does gene therapy work, ethical issues surrounding gene therapy,
Lesson 8
Language – Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, speech, language, speech and language disorders, apraxia, aphasia, stuttering, neurogenic stuttering, Troyer syndrome, speech disorders.
Lesson 9
Dementia – Kinds of dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Vascular Dementia, Multi-infarct Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, Pick’s Disease, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Huntingdon’s Disease, Pseudo-Dementia, spotting dementia and other conditions,
Lesson 10
Neurodevelopment - Major processes of neurodevelopment, neurogenesis, migration, differentiation, apoptosis, aborisation, synaptogenesis, Asperger Syndrome, neuroplasticity and brain damage.
What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?
This is an individual module course. The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study. If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it.
If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you. If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course. If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments. There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax. Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process. You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above. You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.
Aims
To describe the relevance of neuropsychology to managing psychological disorders.
To explain the physiology of the nervous system.
To describe the anatomy of the nervous system.
To describe how conditions within the brain affect the way in which a person is physically capable or incapable of performing a variety of different tasks.
To explain how various aspects of a person’s thought processes may vary according to that person’s neurobiology.
To describe a variety of perceptual disorders.
To explain a variety of motor disorders.
To explain the neuropsychology of language.
To differentiate between different dementias.
To explain aspects of development in neuropsychological terms.
Duration: 100 hours
EXAMPLES OF WHAT YOU MAY DO IN THIS COURSE
Extract from Course Notes:
The nervous system allows humans to adapt to changes. Changes can occur inside (e.g. too little oxygen while running) or outside (e.g. the anticipation of food or the chill of a winter wind). The nervous system will perceive the change and will take actions to adjust to it. The nervous system is rather like the look-out on a river boat - it monitors conditions and gives warnings when something unusual or dangerous is ahead. Once the warning is received, the body is able to take steps to avoid or correct the situation. The nervous system has to be highly complex to be able to perform such sophisticated services.
Until the late 1800’s, scientists did not know if the nervous system was made up vast networks of connected nerve cells, or whether the cells were separate. We now know that they are, and that they carry out their enormous task of keeping the body alive and functioning, and our minds working, by means of chains of action. The human brain is estimated to have around 100 billion nerve cells working to help create apparently seamless and integrated action, thought, and body function. To understand how they interact, we must learn about their individual structure and behaviours.
NEURONS
The nervous system contains two kinds of cells: neurons, which receive and transmit messages, and glia, which help maintain neurons and facilitate their functioning.
The cell body or soma is the place in the neuron where major metabolic activity occurs, as it does in all animal cells. The soma of a neuron is enclosed in a plasma membrane that separates the cell from its environment. Water, oxygen and carbon dioxide can move through the membrane, and certain ions (atoms with a positive or negative charge), such as calcium, potassium, and sodium, can pass through the membrane in special channels.
The membrane also encloses a fluid called cytoplasm, within which float all the structures essential to the proper functioning of the cell. These structures, called organelles, have specific functions, and include:
· a nucleus (lacking in red blood cells), which contains chromatin (active DNA) and a nucleolus (formed from chromatin) that produces ribosomes;
· ribosomes, where the cell builds the protein it needs;
· mitochondria, where energy is produced for all the cell’s activities;
· endoplasmic reticulum, a network of tubes that moves proteins to different parts of the cell;
· lysosomes, which recycle cell material and repair the plasma membrane; and
· the Golgi complex, a network of sacs that stores hormones for secretion by the cell.
A Second Extract From the Course -
Endorphins
Endorphins are neurotransmitters that are similar to the chemical morphine. They have the effect of reducing pain. Endorphin’s become more active in the body during extreme exercise (eg. long distance running). Narcotic drugs have an affect similar to endorphins (in effect duplicating the affect of an endorphin, but they are not natural; and may have side effects that endorphin’s do not have). It is thought by some that acupuncture works through it’ affect upon releasing endorphin’s throughout the body. Research has shown that acupuncture does work to reduce pain for a significant proportion of people tested; but not all.
If you would like to see our range of psychology books, please visit - http://www.acsbookshop.com/books_productcategory.aspx?id=14
For more information on the range of careers available in psychology, have a look at - http://www.thecareersguide.com/articles.aspx?category=14
We have some interesting articles on psychology and counseling at - http://www.acs.edu.au/psychol/
More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses
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Sample Course Notes
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