| Unit name | The Rhythms of Life |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHPH30027 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Piggins |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience |
| Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
In this unit you will study biological timekeeping. You will investigate how neural mechanisms of circadian rhythms, arousal and sleep interact to coordinate many aspects of physiology, cognition, and behaviour.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit builds on the principles of neuroscience (and physiology) that you have learnt in the first two years of your programme. It will give you greater knowledge of our understanding of molecular neuroscience in the field of biological timekeeping at the cutting edge of research. It will also provide you with an overview of how time of day influences our major body systems such as cardiovascular and metabolic function. Further, you will gain insight into brain control of sleep and how short and long-term loss of sleep impact health and cognition, both on an individual level as well as that of society. You will also increase your skill in critical analysis and data interpretation, which will support your learning in other units including your research project.
An overview of the unit
In this unit you will learn about the neural and molecular bases for circadian rhythmicity in both simple and complex neural systems. The unit will cover how physiology and behaviour changes from day to night and from summer to winter and how brain state changes across the sleep-wake cycle and how important these states are in cognitive performance. You will also learn about how circadian clocks develop and how they decline with age.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will have a greater understanding of advanced aspects of the neurobiology and physiology of circadian rhythms and how it fits within the discipline through engaging with cutting edge research in the primary scientific literature. You will gain insight into how specific techniques are used to answer scientific questions, how to analyse and critically appraise data.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, you will be able to demonstrate:
Teaching in this unit is based on conventional lectures and workshops. In the workshops, you will work in groups in which you will be encouraged to engage with the primary scientific literature and time will be given to discussion of the content of the literature and how it fits within the field of study. This aid in developing your team work and presentation skills. This will ensure that you have a good grounding in the subject and that you develop your critical analysis skills, which will support your research in other areas of the discipline and in your research project.
You will also have workshops that will support development of your skills through practice in essay writing, data handling and interpretation and experimental design.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Units will include an essay and a data interpretation workshop where you will have the opportunity to produce a formative piece of work to be assessed within the workshop. The workshops will enable you to become familiar with the marking criteria and how they are applied. You will have the opportunity to write your answers under ‘exam conditions’. This will help you to gain experience of the timing of the exam. In the workshops you will discuss possible answers so that you can self-assess or peer assess your work, with an opportunity to discuss alternative approaches to answering the questions. As well as providing you with feedback on your work, this will support the development of your critical appraisal skills.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Exam: Essay (50%) and Data Interpretation (50%)
For the essay, you will be given guidance on the topics that will be covered and you will be expected to answer one essay question from a choice of three, which will assess your knowledge and critical understanding of the field, and your ability to gather information from the primary scientific literature.
When assessment does not go to plan
The reassessment task will be in the same format as the main assessment. This will take place in the reassessment period.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHPH30027).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
