Paradigms in Brain Function

SPRING 2023

Instructor Nasir Raza Awan FCPS, Basmaa Ali MD MBA, Suleman Shahid PDEng, PhD

Room No. 9-G46A

Office Hours Online

Email [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Telephone

Secretary/TA

TA Office Hours

Course URL (if any)

Course Teaching Methodology

• Teaching Methodology: Synchronous lectures

• Lecture details: In Collaboration with LUMSx - All lectures will be recorded in the online-friendly
format

Course Basics

Credit Hours 3

Lecture(s) Nbr of Lec(s) Per Week 2 Duration 75 minutes

Recitation/Lab (per week) Nbr of Lec(s) Per Week 0 Duration 0

Tutorial (per week) Nbr of Lec(s) Per Week 0 Duration 0

Course Distribution

Core No
 Elective Yes

Open for Student Category Juniors, Seniors and Graduate Students

Closed for Student Category Students with no background in Neuroscience

Course Description

This course aims to give its students a foundational understanding of fundamental paradigms of brain
functions. It also explores functional organization of the brain and the hierarchies and constituencies within the
mind. The course will systematically highlight how this foundational understanding of brain will help in
designing better human<->computer/machine interaction.

The course examines organizational, cellular and molecular neuroscience of perception, cognition, sleep,
memory, movement, and processing of information gathered by the sensory organs. It explores how
consciousness and reality are constructed and builds an understanding of the physical, chemical and
molecular basis of consciousness. It examines why consciousness is both a hard and a soft scientific problem.
The course looks at how contextualizing and building a reference library from memory are both critical for and
a hindrance to creativity and how knowledge workers - which is all of us - can ensure optimum functioning of
the brain.

This multidisciplinary course will also equip students to find scientific questions from their own fascination with
the world and how to convert that experience into working hypotheses which can be explored further with
scientific methods of experimentation. The course teaches how to work in teams and how to build intra and
cross-disciplinary collaborations, which are essential to a career in science.

The course comprises a series of lectures paired with in-class activities, presentations, discussions, case
studies, and a semester-long project with applied value. The course requires a basic working knowledge of the
function of the nervous system which can be gained by reading the assigned prerequisite reading.
Specialty experts will be invited throughout this course to share their experiences with projects for scientific
and clinical impact. Students will get to know of the people working in the field both locally and internationally.
They will get a chance to work in multidisciplinary teams and partner with members of the field to research,
understand, brainstorm and prototype solutions to problems outlined in the sustainable development goals.

Course Prerequisite(s)

Read - Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology (24th Ed) chapters on neurophysiology

- The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest by Stieg Larsson
- The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks
- The gods themselves by Isaac Asimov
Pass a quiz on Ganong’s chapters
Watch the movies Matrix, 13th Floor, Avatar, Fisher King, A beautiful mind

Course Objectives

CLO1: Learn paradigms of brain function at a high level and understand functional organization of the brain
so as to trigger novel fundamental research in neurosciences.

CLO2: Apply this conceptual understanding to design in health-tech and in disciplines other than medicine.

Learn how to identify novel scientific questions in neuroscience.

CLO3:
Learn how to do background research for identified novel questions.
CLO4:
Learn how to design logistics for methods and materials for a study to examine the identified novel
CLO5 question in a collaborative group environment.

Collaborate with team members of other disciplines and clinical partners.

CLO6
Inculcate a fascination with novel questions in science in general and in neuroscience in particular
CLO7 and find a way to channel that fascination into meaningful actions in working lives.

Examination Details

Grading Quizzes + CP: 20%

Scheme Individual novel question identification: 10%
Individual background research on novel neuroscience question and its presentation: 10%
Framework of group novel question: 10%
Midterm - 20%
Final Group project: 25%
Logging exercise: 5%

Midterm Yes
Exam

Final Exam NO

Final Group Yes

Project

Assignments

Course Teaching Methodology

• In person course

Harassment Policy
SSE, LUMS and particularly this class, is a harassment free zone. There is absolutely zero
tolerance for any behavior that is intended or has the expected result of making anyone
uncomfortable and negatively impacts the class environment, or any individual’s ability to
work to the best of their potential.
In case a differently abled student requires accommodations for fully participating in the
course, students are advised to contact the instructor so that they can be facilitated
accordingly.
 If you think that you may be a victim of harassment, or if you have observed any
harassment occurring in the purview of this class, please reach out and speak to me. If you
are a victim, I strongly encourage you to reach out to the Office of Accessibility and
Inclusion at [email protected] or the sexual harassment inquiry committee at
[email protected] for any queries, clarifications, or advice. You may choose to file an
informal or a formal complaint to put an end to offending behavior. You can find more
details regarding the LUMS sexual harassment policy here.
To file a complaint, please write to [email protected].

Paradigms in Brain Function

Course Overview

Lecture/ Topics Recommended Objectives/

Module Readings Application

Week 1: Neuroscience: The big picture

1. Course Introduction: Ganong’s chapters on Neurophysiology Excite the

• What can you expect to (Chapters 4, 6 and 7) with details of students about
learn from this course? neuronal cell excitation, principles of what they are
• What do you need to nerve conduction and chemistry of the about to learn
know to gain the synapse
maximum from this Give them a
course? (Prerequisite for the course) clear idea of
• Structure of the course what is expected
• Introductions of of them in the
instructors and students course
Expectations from students:
• Showing up
• Class participation
• Readings

Deliverables for the course:

Formulate a question that you
find fascinating in
neuroscience and do
background research and
design a study to push the
research forwards on that
question

sleep, memory and dream

logs

2. • Basic Ganong’s chapters on Neurophysiology To create a

neurophysiology of (Chapters 4, 6 and 7) with details of Functional map
the neuron, a neuronal cell excitation, principles of of brain in the
 Course Overview

spontaneous nerve conduction and chemistry of the minds of the

electricity generator synapse students
• Difference between
a neuron (a (Prerequisite for the course) To introduce
generator) and a them to the idea
receptor (a of vast varieties
All of this is cell function and cell physics
transducer) of intelligence in
mediated by movement of ions and
• explain the neurotransmitters nature
hierarchies within
brain function
shedding light on the
redundancies and
complementary
collaborations within
the brain

Week 2: Perception

3 Brief introduction of vision and Molecular structure of light-sensing Appreciate how

hearing proteins and morphing of rhodopsin perception
Processing of vision and processing is
hearing Ganong’s chapters on Neurophysiology sophisticated
• Neural pathways (Chapters 9, 10) and complicated
• Basic principles of
stimulus recognition (Prerequisite for the course)
and processing
• Transducers
converting one form
of energy into
another

4 Brief introduction of touch, Chemistry of somatosensory receptors, Understand how

pain and proprioception ion channels and nerve conduction the general
Processing of Neural sensory
pathways The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest perception
Smell and Taste makes us
develop a 3D
Ganong’s chapters on Neurophysiology model of the
Higher order understanding of (Chapters 8)
sensory perception, world around us
contextualizing the sensory which we
input, giving meaning to the (Prerequisite for the course) mistake for
input reality
• Stimuli are different,
Conduction is the
same, Destination is
destiny
• Conscious and
subconscious
perception
• Sensory deprivation -
The silent room, the
black dunk
• Relay centers
Proprioception
• 3D map of the body
in the world
• Reality is different
from perception
 Course Overview

• Can we create new

sensations?
• Sensory extension
• Hearing aids, brain-
computer interface,
eye glasses to
hubble to electron
microscope
• Clothes, cars
• Converting one
sensation into
another
• Tracking stock
market via vibration
on your back
• Example of
complicated
processing of space
map in the brain -
parallel parking
• Multimodal
Computing

Week 3: Conjugation of Sensory Input and making sense of the world

5 • Language, Speech Start with video clips Sapiens pp1-150

and Communication Chimp
• Design for Dolphin
Disabilities Human

6. Punishment and Reward Molecular Neurochemistry of pain

• Philosophical
understanding of Ganong’s chapters on Neurophysiology
pain - basic survival (Chapters 8)
mechanism
• Pain is an alarm (Prerequisite for the course)
• What makes pain
unpleasant?
• Neural pathways
• Noxicity vs pain
• Gamification (HCI)

Deliverable:

Week 4: Movement

7 Movement is so effortless for Movement planning and execution

the healthy that we don’t
automatically appreciate the Molecular basis of nerve-muscle junction
complexity
Ganong’s chapters on Neurophysiology
Thought (Chapters 12)
Plan
Execution
 Course Overview

Fine tuning (Prerequisite for the course)

Continuous correction
1. How the brain is
basically a movement
simulator BA
•

8 Motor systems NA
a. Output is ONLY
motor - Brain is tuned to
execute motor responses
as the only evidence of
being conscious
b. Fine tuning of
execution
Robotics – Human
Robot Interaction

Deliverable:

Week 5: Sleep & Dreams

9 Sleep Electrical activity of the brain, sleep-wake

1. Why do we need sleep states, & circadian rhythms
and its critical role in
memory modification Ganong’s chapters on Neurophysiology
and active forgetting (Chapters 14)
a. Sensory sorting
b. Neurochemical basis
of Sleep (Prerequisite for the course)

Designing for wellbeing

(Sleep apps, tracking apps,
healthcare apps)

10 Dreams
a. Neurochemical basis of
dreams
b. Pathological dreams
c. Lucid dreams
d. Why do we dream?

Dreams and Virtual Reality

Week 6: Mid term - Presentations of selected individual questions and what research into them
shows.

Week 7: Memory

13 Memory Required Reading: The man who mistook his

a. Forms of memory – gene wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks
pool, epigenetic, individual, Movie Avatar (not the Anime Avatar, the last
registration, recall air-bender)
 Course Overview

b. Where is the knowledge of

the world located?
c. Memory Pathways and
Learning, memory, language, & speech
processing in the brain
d. Neurochemistry of Long-term
vs Short-term Cellular and molecular processing of
Memory

Ganong’s chapters on Neurophysiology

(Chapters 15)

(Prerequisite for the course)

14 a. Deterioration of Watch the Star trek episode on introduction

Memory of Borg
b. Memory
enhancement
c. Memory, Knowledge
and Wisdom
d. Cyber philosophy
and the memory network of
Gaia & bee hive

Week 8: The Emotional Brain

15 Neurochemical basis of Molecular basis of emotions and mood

May be emotional underpinning of all
will brain function - evolutionary Association of feelings with perception
become reason
2
lectures The mismatch between the
speed of human evolution and
humanity’s dominance on the
planet.

Emotions color perception

and its understanding, the
cognition

The Deceiving Brain - how

emotional states can make us
believe and change our reality
(not a different perspective,
not a different stimulus, not a
different neural pathway - but
still a different understanding)

Neurological underpinnings of
decision making
Intuition Vs Emotion

Design and Emotions

Affective Computing
16 Anxiety and depression Molecular basis of depression and
anxiety
 Course Overview

a. Networks and their

chemicals, the
neurotransmitters
b. Chemical and
electrical (and magnetic)
tweaking of these circuits
c. External physical
manifestations of emotional
states
d. Anxiety and
depression tracking apps
Post chemo cessation of
neurogenesis in the
hippocampus

Week 9: The (ill-)Logical Brain

17 Brain hierarchies and neuro Required Movies:

decision-making The 13th Floor
Parallel tracks & combined Matrix
function enhances
performance Big history selected portions
https://www.bighistoryproject.com/home
Role of Safety
Pleasure and Pain in Books: Griffith Lecture Series at Univ
decision making Glasgow

Connectome
Cerebral decision making
Respiratory decision
Motor decision

18 Nature of Reality Movies:

- How is reality constructed Fisher King
- Is reality really agreed A Beautiful Mind
upon??

Perception of Reality
- Context and its role in
normal life
- Schizophrenia: Disturbance
of this construct

From reality to virtual

reality – Interaction of
mind, body and
technology

Week 10: Brain Health

 Course Overview

19 Optimal Functioning of the

Brain (BA)
a. Optimal metabolic pathways
for the brain
b. Plumbing system of the brain
c. Brain nutrition
d. Neuronal stressors

20 Where does creativity come Introduction of

from The Dancing Vu Li Masters by Gary Zukav
Inspiration

Awake master with sleep EEG

waves

Deliverable:

Week 11: AI and VR

Required Reading:

21 Intelligence and AI

22 Reality and AR/VR

Week 12: The Grand Unification - Consciousness

23 Consciousness 1 (NA) The gods themselves by Isaac Asimov

a. Hard and soft scientific Chemistry of neural correlates of

problem consciousness
(Consciousness about
being conscious)
Soft Problem: Solvable

Hard Problem
b. Revisiting Gaia: Is the
earth conscious?
c. Universal consciousness
d. Transcendental or mystic
consciousness

24 Consciousness 2 Philosophical basis of the “Hard

Problem”
e. Life vs consciousness
f. Objective determination of
consciousness
g. Locked-in Syndrome Vs
Persistent Vegetative State
h. Death and transplantation
 Course Overview

The Final Frontier… grounds

for the grand unification of all
sciences

Week 13: Presentations of Group Projects.

Textbook(s)/Supplementary Readings

No dedicated book! Chapters, articles from different books and sources mentioned above.