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2020/2021

Advances in Communication and Language Neurobiology

Code: 43609 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
4315497 Communication and Language Disorders OB 0 1
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Sonia Darbra Marges
Email:
Sonia.Darbra@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)

Other comments on languages

If students are not competent to Catalan language teaching will be in Spanish

Teachers

Margalida Coll Andreu
Marcos Pallarés Anyo

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites

Objectives and Contextualisation

The goal of this course is to update the knowledge of the functional neuroanatomy of language and communication. For this purpose, we need to understand both the underlying neurobiological mechanism and the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms involved in the related disorders, as well as the crucial role of interactions between genome and environmental risk factors and between the genome and protective environments. It is also necessary to understand the maturation of the nervous system throughout the life span, the experience-dependent functional reorganization and the recent neurochemical advances on communication and language disorders

Competences

  • Apply the fundamentals of bioethics and act according to the ethical code of the profession considering the cultural diversity and the limitations associated with various diseases.
  • Apply the scientific method in professional practice.
  • Collect, analyze and critically use sources of information necessary for the evaluation and speech therapy.
  • Develop professional practice from the perspective of quality and continuous improvement, able to evaluate and optimize.
  • Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
  • Master the skills and resources necessary to teamwork and multidisciplinary groups.
  • Students can communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and rationale underpinning these to specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously.
  • That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
  • That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Adapt performance in the context of the neurobiology of communication and language the code of conduct.
  2. Ask relevant questions and adequately defined research objectives and hypotheses to solve problems in the field of neurobiology of communication and language.
  3. Conduct a critical reading of a scientific publication in the field of neurobiology of communication and language, based on the methodological quality of the research design used and the scientific practice of their results or contributions and relevance.
  4. Conduct a systematic review in the field of neurobiology of communication and language to synthesize the best available scientific evidence.
  5. Design and conduct appropriate to the professional context in the context of the neurobiology of language communication and presentations.
  6. Identify constraints and biases of discipline in the context of the neurobiology of communication and language.
  7. Knowing the language of speech therapy no information sources in the context of the neurobiology of language and communication in order to properly interpret the information provided by other professionals.
  8. Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
  9. Recognizing the importance and identify resources related to the neurobiology of communication and language for a permanent update in the exercise of professional activity.
  10. Recognizing the need for additional neurobiological explorations complementary sources of information collected.
  11. Students can communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and rationale underpinning these to specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously.
  12. That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
  13. That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
  14. Use the documentary sources to obtain relevant information in the field of neurobiology of communication and language, selecting the most appropriate and arguing screening criteria and quality of them.
  15. Write reports in the field of neurobiology of communication and adapting to the standards of major scientific associations language.

Content

Unit 1: Introduction to the Genomics of cognitive capacities.

Unit 2: Genomics and Epigenomics in language and communication disorders.

Unit 3: Genomics and Epigenomics in Intellectual disability.

Unit 4: Advances in functional neuroanatomy of audition, language and communication.

Unit 5: Brain development throughout the life span

Unit 6: Experience-dependent functional reorganization.

Unit 7: Advances in neurochemistry of communication and language disorders

Methodology

The teaching methodology is based on different types of training activities. Depending on the case, master classes, seminars, supervised and autonomous activities will be carried out. 

N.B. The proposed teaching and assessment methodologies may experience some modifications as a result of the restrictions on face-to-face learning imposed by the health authorities. The teaching staff will use the Moodle classroom or the usual communication channel to specify whether the different directed and assessment activities are to be carried out on site or online, as instructed by the Faculty.

 

 

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Exposition 4.5 0.18 1, 12, 11
Master classes 27 1.08 1, 7, 6, 12, 11, 9, 8
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials (on line and one-to-one) 7.5 0.3
Type: Autonomous      
Documentation 8 0.32 3, 4, 13, 10, 8, 14
Preparing oral presentation 7 0.28 1, 5, 15, 2, 6, 11, 14
Reading scientific texts 40.5 1.62 7, 2, 6, 12, 13, 14
Study 40.5 1.62 1, 12, 13, 8
Writing and preparing reports 15 0.6 1, 7, 5, 15, 2, 6, 9

Assessment

Assessment (learning evidences)
 

According to “The assessment guidelines of the Faculty of Psychology”, which are in https://www.uab.cat/web/estudiar/graus/graus/avaluacions-1345722525858.html , the subject will be assessed based on the following learning evidences (EV):

EV1: Critical analysis of bibliographic sources (25% of the final grade)

EV2 (40% of the final grade): Written report about a relevant question on Neurobiology of Audition, language and communication.

 EV2a: Documentation report containing the bibliographic resources that will be used to elaborate the writing report.  (10% of the final grade)

 EV2b:  Written report about a relevant question on Neurobiology of Audition, language and communication (maximum 5 pages). (30 % of the final grade)

EV3:  Oral presentation and defense of the elaborated report. (25% of the final grade)

EV4:  Attendance (10% of the final grade)

 

Total grade

The total grade is obtained from the weighted average of EV1 to EV4 grades. 

Reassessment

In order to be allowed to do the reassessment test, the students are required to have completed learning evidences with a weight equal or greater than 2/3 for the whole subject and have obtained a total grade lower than 5 (out of 10). 
Given their specificities, EV3 and EV4 are excluded from reassessment.
Reassessment will consist in elaborating again evidences EV2 provided the student had obtained a grade lower than 5 in EV2b.  
The maximum grade that can be obtained after reassessment is 5 (out of 10)

Subject passed

The subject will be considered passed when the weighted average of all grades (EV1 to EV4) is equal to or greater than 5 (out 10) or its reassessment grade is 5. 

Definition of “Non-assessable student”

Students who have not performed any of the written reports (EV2a or EV2b) or have completed learning evidences with a weight equal or lower than 40,5 % for the whole subject will be marked as "Non-assessable" Grade.

 

Synthesis test

For students with 2ª or later enrollment, the same continuous assessment will be followed, so it is NOT expected that there will be an assessment using a single non-recoverable synthesis test.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
EV1: Critical analysis of bibliographic sources 25 0 0 7, 3, 14
EV2a: Documentation report containing the bibliographic resources 10 0 0 7, 3, 4, 14
EV2b: Written Report ( max 5 sheets) 30 0 0 1, 5, 3, 4, 15, 2, 12, 11, 13, 9, 10, 8
EV3: Oral presentation and defense 25 0 0 1, 5, 2, 6, 12, 11, 8
EV4: Attendance 10 0 0 1, 8

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bishop DV (2009)  Genes, cognition, and communication: insights from neurodevelopmental disorders. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1156:1-18. 

Caspi A; Moffitt TE (2006)  Gene-environment interactions in psychiatry: joining forces with neuroscience. Nat Rev Neurosci. 7(7): 583-590.

Ghosh A, Michalon A, Lindemann L, Fontoura P, Santarelli L (2013) Drug discovery for autism spectrum disorder: challenges and opportunities. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 12(10):777-90

Kleim, J. A. & Jones, T. A. (2008). Principles of experience-dependent neural plasticity: implications for rehabilitation after brain damage. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 51, 225-239.

Lieberman P (2013) Synapses, Language, and Being Human. Science. 342(6161):944-945, 2013

Narbona, J. & Crespo-Eguílaz, N. (2012). Plasticidad cerebral para el lenguaje en el niño y el adolescenteRevista de Neurología, 54 (Supl. 1), 127-130.

Newbury DF, Monaco AP, Paracchini S.(2014)  Reading and language disorders: the importance of both quantity and quality. Genes.  5(2):285-309.

Norton ES,  Beach SD, Gabrieli JD (2015) Neurobiology of dyslexia. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 30: 73-38.

Poeppel D (2014) The neuroanatomic and neurophysiological infrastructure for speech and language. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 28: 142-149.

Purves D, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, Hall WC, Lamantia A-S, Mcnamara JO, Williams, S. Neurociencia (3ª Ed, 2007). Buenos Aires: Editorial Médica Panamericana. Capítulos 21, 22, 23 y 24

Simmons, D (2008) Behavioral genomics. Nature Education 1(1):54.

OTHER  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bates E, Roe K (2001) Language development in children with unilateral brain injury. En: Nelson, C. A.; Luciana, M. (Eds). Handbook of developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. The MIT Press. Pp. 281-308.

Bavelier D, Neville HJ (2002) Cross-modal plasticity: Where and how? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3: 443-452

Canitano R (2014) New experimental treatments for core social domain in autism spectrum disorders. Front Pediatr. 2:61

Dror, AA, Avraham KB. (2009) Hearing loss: Mechanisms revealed by genetics and cell biology. Annu. Rev. Genet. 43: 411-437

Heimler B, Weisz N, Collignon O (2014) Revisiting the adaptive and maladaptive effects of crossmodal plasticity. Neuroscience, 283: 44-63. 

Kral A, Sharma A (2012) Developmental neuroplasticity after cochlear implantation. Trends in Neurosciences, 35(2):  111-122.

Marcus G, Rabagliati H (2006) What developmental disorders can tell us about the nature and origins of language. Nat Neurosci. 9(10): 1226-1229. 

Matsunaga E, Okanoya K (2014) Cadherins: potential regulators in the faculty of language. Curr Opin Neurobiol, 28:28-33

Small SL, Llano DA (2009) Biological approaches to aphasia treatment. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 9(6):443-50

Spooren W, Lindemann L, Ghosh A, Santarelli L (2012) Synapse dysfunction in autism: a molecular medicine approach to drug discovery in neurodevelopmental disorders. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 33(12):669-84 

White EJ, Hutka SA,  Williams LJ, Moreno S (2013) Learning, neural plasticity and sensitive periods: implications for language acquisition, music training and transfer across the life span. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 7, Article 90 

Wong PC, Morgan-Short K, Ettlinger M, Zheng J (2012) Linking neurogenetics and individual differences in language learning: the dopamine hypothesis. Cortex 48(9):1091-10