Course overview
The aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of a range of diseases and conditions affecting the central and peripheral nervous systems. Building upon prerequisite knowledge in neuroscience, anatomy, physiology and pathology introduced earlier, the course covers both the pathophysiology and treatment of injury and disease of the brain and spinal cord. Students will learn through the lecture series delivered by expert researchers and clinicians, and patient perspectives sessions, with a particular focus on current research, treatment and lived experience. Students will work in small teams to review current literature, develop critical thinking skills to deliver a creative group presentation to address a topical question in neuroscience. Students will enhance their understanding of disease mechanisms and treatment through engagement with the patient perspectives series, presented by individuals with lived experience of neurological disease/injury. This course will provide students with a foundational understanding of current medical research fields and technologies. The course has been designed to enhance student’s understanding of biological and pathological processes and stimulate an interest in how scientific research and methodology is applied to investigate these. The course aligns with the program objectives to provide deep discipline knowledge of the nervous system in health and disease. In addition, this course enhances research and communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving, all of which are core to the program and essential for advanced study in neuroscience.
Course learning outcomes
- Understand the pathogenesis and management of common and important neurological diseases including cerebrovascular disease, brain injury, neurotransmitter disorders and dementia
- Acquire the ability to relate these basic pathological processes to the pathogenesis of these common and important neurological diseases
- Gain knowledge and understanding of the predisposing factors, causes, pathogenesis, morphology, potential complications and how they arise, natural history of, and the main symptoms and signs of such diseases
- Correlate clinical features with causes and mechanisms of disease
- Understand how knowledge of pathological processes can be utilised in the investigation, management and prevention of disease
- Use and understand terminology for the field of neuosciences correctly and contextually
- Ability to verbally present a scientific topic to an audience of peers
- Acquire, read, interpret and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner
- Acknowledge and reference sources of information appropriately
- Work in groups and individually in the pursuit of scientific knowledge