PSL 1075: Biology in Time
Course Syllabus
PSL 1075: Biology in Time
Course Director: Richard L. Horner, PhD (richard.horner@utoronto.ca)
Weekly 2 hr sessionsFridays 11-1pm, September 16th – December 2nd
Physiology Seminar Room B (Room # 3231B), Medical Sciences Building
Course Description and Syllabus
Description: Time is as much a niche in biology as physical space and behavior, and all of bacteria, fungi, plants and animals retain a sense of time and organize their physiological processes accordingly. The molecular machinery for a hard-wired and well preserved temporal organization of physiological processes, especially circadian and rest-activity cycles, optimally suits every organism and the chemical machinery that drives them to the conditions of life. These rhythms of life are deeply rooted in ancient biology and have been conserved over time. Humans are the only organisms that now purposefully disrupt and coerce the natural rest-activity cycles and daily rhythms of our component cellular machinery to suit the demands of modern society. As examples, sleep and biological rhythm disturbances affect one in four Canadians, and have deleterious effects on cellular, organ, organismal and societal functions and health. Humans also now consume drugs in huge quantities to counter the problems associated with poor sleep, altered waking functions and disrupted rhythms, with enormous costs to the health care system. The goal of this course is for trainees to gain a broad perspective on the important role of time-dependent physiological processes to cellular and organismal functions, and how disruption of these cycles can have deleterious effects on cellular, organ and organismal health. Understanding the cellular and neuronal machinery underlying such time-dependent processes has led to major breakthroughs in topics of broad interest, including mechanisms of sleep and anesthesia, sedation, learning, memory, plasticity and clinical medicine and health care initiatives.
Format and Content: Two trainee presentations (30 min each) per class based on papers in the selected areas, to be followed by general discussion. Original papers, reviews and/or pertinent book chapters will be used as the basis for trainee
presentations and discussion, and will be selected by the faculty facilitators with input from the trainees. Active participation in discussions will be a requirement. For each presentation, two trainee discussants in addition to the presenter will be assigned to review the paper and asked to come to class with prepared questions. Papers and presentations will span basic science to integrative physiology and medicine. Participants do not need to have a strong background in all the topics covered as one of the major goals of the course is to broaden the interdisciplinary background of the participants.
Schedule:
Week 1: Fri Sept 16th
(i) Introduction; (ii) Overview of research facilities, techniques and opportunities for collaboration and enhancement of research as part of the CIHR-funded Team Research and Training Program in Sleep and Biological Rhythms
(http://www.utoronto.ca/sleepandrhythms); (iii) Tour of Center for Biological Timing and Cognition (CBTC, http://cbtc.utoronto.ca/)
Facilitator: R. Horner (richard.horner@utoronto.ca) and M. Ralph (tour of CBTC; ralph@psych.utoronto.ca)
Week 2: Fri Sept 23rd
Daily biological rhythms
Facilitators: R. Horner
Week 3: Fri Sept 30th
The nature of sleep
Facilitators: R. Horner and R. Stephenson (richard.stephenson@utoronto.ca)
Week 4: Fri Oct 7th
Anesthesia and sedation
Facilitators: R. Horner and B. Orser (Beverley.Orser@utoronto.ca)
Week 5: Fri Oct 14th
Learning and memory
Facilitators: R. Horner and S. Josselyn (sheena.josselyn@sickkids.ca)
Week 6: Fri Oct 21st
Brain plasticity and connectivity
Facilitators: R. Horner and P. Frankland (paul.frankland@sickkids.ca)
Week 7: Fri Oct 28th
Sensory-motor function
Facilitators: R. Horner and J. Peever (john.peever@utoronto.ca)
Week 8: Fri Nov 4th
Neurogenetic influences on behavior
Facilitators: R. Horner and J. Levine (jlevmail@gmail.com)
Week 9: Fri Nov 11th
Metabolism and energy balance
Facilitators: R. Horner and D. Belsham (d.belsham@utoronto.ca)
Week 10: Fri Nov 18th
Endocrinology
Facilitators: R. Horner and P. Brubaker (p.brubaker@utoronto.ca) and/or R. Casper (casper@lunenfeld.ca)
Week 11: Fri Nov 25th
Development and aging
Facilitators: R. Horner and R. Stremler (robyn.stremler@utoronto.ca)
Week 12: Fri Dec 2nd
Topics in clinical medicine and health care
Facilitator: R. Horner and B. Murray (brian.murray@sunnybrook.ca)
Evaluation:
Oral presentation - 25%
Original papers, reviews and/or chapters will be assigned to the students. Each student will present the paper to the class and offer a critique. Students will present 2-3 times in this class (depending on enrolment), and presentations will be assessed by all faculty members in the classroom.
Written reports: Midterm – 25%
The midterm written report will be a 3-page mini-review and critique on a paper relevant to the students own research.
Written reports: Final – 35%
The final written report will be a 3-page mini-review and critique on a paper relevant to the students research. Students will be expected to incorporate knowledge gained during the course of this class.
Participation in discussions - 15%
In order for this class to be a success, student participation is a must. To encourage this, students will be assessed on the basis of his/her roles as discussants and general contribution to the in-class discussions.