I.C. Learning & MemoryMidterm exam:
The students will choose between writing either a literature review, a review based on a paper given in a talk in the ICLM Journal Club, a grant proposal, or preparing 5 researchmaps
The review and grant should not be more than 5 pages (single spaced not including references). Either manuscript should stress novel and creative ideas about the material presented in class or covered in the ICLM Journal Club. The reviews should not be simple rewrites of published literature/reviews. They should instead expand on a new insight or perspective in one of the themes presented in class. The proposal CANNOT be on the general area that you are currently working with or associated with! For example, if you are currently working on laboratory X, you cannot write a review on that laboratory’s specific area.
The grant proposal should focus on the next step of one of the subjects presented in class. It should include a summary with an outline of specific aims of the experiments proposed, an introduction with the background for the experimental plan, and a section with a summary of the experiments proposed (they should be feasible experiments based on published methods). The proposal CANNOT be on the general area that you are currently working with or associated with! For example, if you are currently working on laboratory X, you cannot write a proposal on that laboratory’s specific area.
Here is a general guideline for the grant proposal:
1/2 page for an abstract with clearly outlined specific aims (may no be advisable to have more than 3 aims).
1 page introduction where you tell the reader why the topic is interesting and important and why the previous work leads to the questions posed in the proposal.
3 pages description of the experiments proposed, including specific hypothesis tested by each key experiment and possible alternative interpretations of the results.
1/2 page where you discuss possible problems with the proposed experiments and how you would get around them.
Analysis of 5 research papers using Researchmaps (www.researchmaps.org):
Please choose 5 research papers in learning and memory (related to your own work or to work in the course) and map the experiments in these five papers as we described and discussed in class. Please, use the Researchmaps app for this, as it will facilitate the process of mapping the experiments in those papers. Although we covered the process of mapping research papers in the course, the web page of the app has a number of videos that will help you with this process. If you get stuck, please do not hesitate to contact me with questions (silvaa@mednet.ucla.edu or alcinojsilva@gmail.com). At the end of this process, what will you actually hand in as part of your midterm? You should hand in the 5 research maps you derived for each paper, along with the full citations for those papers. You can copy the research map from the app (www.researchmaps.org) by “printing the screen”, or even by taking a picture with your phone and then incorporating the picture in the exam along with the references for the papers you used.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SEND THE EXAM BY E-MAIL TO silvaa@g.ucla.edu AND alcinojsilva@gmail.com by no later than 9 AM of Monday, May 8, 2024
