Special Topics: Communicating Neuroscience
Course Number: NEURL-UA 302
Prerequisites: INTRONS (NEURL-UA 100), Molecular and Cellular Biology I (BIOL-UA 21)
Co-requisite: Behavioral and Integrative Neuroscience (NEURL-UA 220)
Semester: Spring
Description: The main objective of this course is to closely examine the relationship between neural science research, popular media, and government policy. Students will analyze scientific research papers and discuss the dissemination of results to the general public. Students will be assigned a scientific article in the field of neuroscience to present to the class. Students will critique both scientific journal articles and corresponding popular press articles, discussing the strengths and weakness of each article. Topics of discussion will include: How are the innovations in the field of neuroscience communicated to the public? What details are edited and filtered out when communicating neuroscience to the public? What is the right balance for communicating research and should limitations be included? What findings are typically highlighted in popular media and why? Students will also discuss the impact of neuroscience research on shaping government policy and contemporary publications in the field.