Course Syllabus

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Semester & Location:

Fall 2024 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:

Elective Course - 3 credits

Major Disciplines:

Neuroscience, Psychology, Pre-Medicine/Health Science

Prerequisite(s):

One course in neuroscience, physiological psychology, biological psychology, or cognitive psychology at university level.
Faculty Members:

Angela Mastropasqua

(current students please use the Canvas Inbox)
Program Contact:

Department email address psy.cns@dis.dk
Time & Place:

Time: Mondays & Thursdays 14.50-16.10

Classroom: Fi6-Metro 103
Office Hours:

Thursday, 13.00-14.00

(please email me to schedule the meeting)

 

Course Description

The aim of this course is to provide an in-depth examination of the cognitive neuroscience of sleep, examining how sleep affects brain function, cognition, and behavior. Students will have the opportunity of exploring the fundamentals of sleep and circadian rhythms, including their underlying neurobiological foundations, their development and functions across the lifespan, and their role in physical and mental health. The course will also give students knowledge on objective and subjective measures of sleep, as well as an overview of sleep disorders, symptoms, treatment, and prevention. Students will engage with research methodologies used to study sleep, like electroencephalography (EEG), electro-oculogram (EOG), electromyogram (EMG), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Following completion of the course, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of sleep in cognitive processes, such as memory consolidation, learning and emotional regulation; the underlying neural mechanisms that regulate sleep and wakefulness, and the implications for both clinical practice and everyday life.  

 

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the fundamental neural mechanisms that regulate sleep and wakefulness.
  • Analyze the role of different sleep stages in cognitive functions such as memory and learning.
  • Evaluate the impact of sleep deprivation on cognition, emotion and behavior.
  • Explore current research techniques used in sleep studies.
  • Discuss the cognitive and neurological implications of sleep disorders.
  • Describe applied methods in sleep and circadian rhythms research.
  • Understand and discuss the interplay between health, sleep and circadian rhythms.
  • Explain and discuss how to prevent sleep disorders in children and adults.

 

Faculty

Angela Mastropasqua: Ph.D. (Cognitive Neuroscience, Graduate School of Systemic Neuroscience, LMU Munich , 2020). M.Sc. (Psychology, University of Turin, 2013). B.A. (Psychological Sciences and Techniques, University of Bari, 2010). Research interest in higher brain functions studied with a multi-techniques approach, in particular combining non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) and neuroimaging. 

 

Readings

Required readings will be listed for each individual class, so please check the calendar to identify what you should read before class. All readings will be available on Canvas. Please note that the following list of journal articles is subject to change.

  • AASM Sleep Education. Healthy Sleep Habits. https://sleepeducation.org/healthy-sleep/healthy-sleep-habits/Links to an external site.
  • Alloy, L. B., Ng, T. H., Titone, M. K., & Boland, E. M. (2017). Circadian Rhythm Dysregulation in Bipolar Spectrum Disorders. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(4), 21.
  • Beaumont M, Batejat D, Pierard C, et al. (2004). Caffeine or melatonin effects on sleep and sleepiness after rapid eastward transmeridian travel. J Appl Physiol; 96:50e8.
  • Borbély, A. A. (1982). A two process model of sleep regulation. Hum neurobiol, 1(3), 195-204.
  • Borbély, Alexander A., Serge Daan, Anna Wirz-Justice, and Tom Deboer. “The Two-Process Model of Sleep Regulation: A Reappraisal.” Journal of Sleep Research 25, no. 2 (2016): 131–43.
  • Brown, G., Pandi-Perumal, S. R., Trakht, I., & Cardinali, D. (2009). Melatonin and its relevance to jet lag. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 7, 69–81.
  • Capellini, I., Barton, R. A., McNamara, P., Preston, B. T., & Nunn, C. L. (2008). Phylogenetic analysis of the ecology and evolution of mammalian sleep. Evolution, 62(7), 1764–1776.
  • Cappuccio, F. P., D'Elia, L., Strazzullo, P., & Miller, M. A. (2010). Sleep duration and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta- analysis of prospective studies. Sleep, 33(5), 585-592.
  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tips for better sleep https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/sleep_hygiene.htmlLinks to an external site.
  • Clawson, B. C., Durkin, J., & Aton, S. J. (2016). Form and Function of Sleep Spindles across the Lifespan. Neural Plasticity, 2016(1), 6936381.
  • Czisch, M., Wehrle, R., Kaufmann, C., Wetter, T. C., Holsboer, F., Pollmächer, T., & Auer, D. P. (2004). Functional MRI during sleep: BOLD signal decreases and their electrophysiological correlates. European Journal of Neuroscience, 20(2), 566–574.
  • Da Costa, D., Lai, J. K., & Zelkowitz, P. (2021). A prospective study on the course of sleep disturbances in first‐time fathers during the transition to parenthood. Infant Mental Health Journal, 42(2), 222- 232.
  • Dodson, E. R., & Zee, P. C. (2010). Therapeutics for circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Sleep medicine clinics, 5(4), 701-715.
  • Goel, N., Basner, M., Rao, H., & Dinges, D. F. (2013). Circadian Rhythms, Sleep Deprivation, and Human Performance. Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science, 119, 155–190.
  • Kantermann, T., Sung, H., & Burgess, H. J. (2015). Comparing the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire and Munich ChronoType Questionnaire to the dim light melatonin onset. Journal of biological rhythms, 30(5), 449-453.
  • Krueger, J. M., Frank, M. G., Wisor, J. P., & Roy, S. (2016). Sleep function: Toward elucidating an enigma. Sleep medicine reviews, 28, 46-54.
  • Mander, B. A., Winer, J. R., & Walker, M. P. (2017). Sleep and human aging. Neuron, 94(1), 19-36.
  • Mollayeva, T., Thurairajah, P., Burton, K., Mollayeva, S., Shapiro, C. M., & Colantonio, A. (2016). The Pittsburgh sleep quality index as a screening tool for sleep dysfunction in clinical and non-clinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 25, 52-73.
  • Nena, E., Katsaouni, M., Steiropoulos, P., Theodorou, E., Constantinidis, T. C., & Tripsianis, G. (2018). Effect of shift work on sleep, health, and quality of life of health-care workers. Indian journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 22(1), 29.
  • Pace-Schott, E. F., & Spencer, R. M. (2011). Age-related changes in the cognitive function of sleep. Progress in brain research, 191, 75- 89.
  • Patel, A. K., Reddy, V., & Araujo, J. F. (2022). Physiology, sleep stages. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
  • Sadeh, A. (2015). III. SLEEP ASSESSMENT METHODS. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 80(1), 33–48.
  • Sadeh, A. (2015). Iii. Sleep assessment methods. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 80(1), 33-48.
  • Saper, C. B., & Fuller, P. M. (2017). Wake–sleep circuitry: An overview. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 44, 186–192.
  • Scott, Elizabeth M., Rébecca Robillard, Daniel F. Hermens, Sharon L. Naismith, Naomi L. Rogers, Tony K. C. Ip, Django White, et al. “Dysregulated Sleep–Wake Cycles in Young People Are Associated with Emerging Stages of Major Mental Disorders.” Early Intervention in Psychiatry 10, no. 1 (2016): 63–70.
  • Semplonius, Thalia, and Teena Willoughby. “Psychosocial Adjustment Throughout University: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Roles of Sleep Quality and Emotion Dysregulation.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 47, no. 6 (June 1, 2018): 1267–78.
  • Sollars, P. J., & Pickard, G. E. (2015). The neurobiology of circadian rhythms. Psychiatric Clinics, 38(4), 645-665.
  • Thorpy, M. J., & Roth, T. (2013). Toward a classification of medications for sleep and circadian rhythm disorders. Nature and Science of Sleep, 5, 143.
  • van Straten, A., van der Zweerde, T., Kleiboer, A., Cuijpers, P., Morin, C. M., & Lancee, J. (2018). Cognitive and behavioral therapies in the treatment of insomnia: A metaanalysis. Sleep Med Rev, 38, 3-16.
  • Walker, M. P. (2009). The role of sleep in cognition and emotion. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1156(1), 168-197.
  • Wulff, K., Gatti, S., Wettstein, J. G., & Foster, R. G. (2010). Sleep and circadian rhythm disruption in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disease. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(8), 589-599.
  • Zucconi, M., & Ferri, R. (2014). Assessment of sleep disorders and diagnostic procedures. Eur Sleep Res Soc, 23(95),110. https://esrs.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2018/09/ESRS_Sleep_Medicine_Textbook_Chapter_B1.pdf

Field Studies

Field studies serve to complement your course work by placing you in the professional field to extend and rethink what we read about, discuss in class, and encounter in practicum. Please be ready for each field study by completing all readings and preparing questions in advance.

We may divide the class into smaller groups, each visiting different sites located in the greater Copenhagen area. Specific field study details are yet to be determined.

 

Guest Lecturers

TBD. At certain points in the course, guest lecturers may be invited to provide their experience and expertise on select topics being covered in class.

 

Approach to Teaching

The purpose of this course is to facilitate dialogue, debate, and critical thinking about the neuroscience of sleep, drawing upon various theoretical and empirical perspectives. This discussion-based format may be somewhat unfamiliar to students, who are often better acquainted with lecture-style courses. In this course, it is expected that learning will occur primarily through reading, discussion, and the exchange of ideas – consequently, the outcome of the course depends largely on your active participation. If you are concerned about your ability to speak up in class (or worry that you may speak too much) please see me so I can help you work on this – I expect that everyone in the course will offer insightful questions and answers during every class meeting.

Please note that our class meetings will typically not involve much repetition of the assigned readings. Thus, you must do the readings in advance to prepare for our class activities and discussions. 

 

Expectations of the Students

As this is a predominantly discussion-based course, its success depends on your serious commitment to truly engage with the material. To that end, I expect you to spend at least 6-7 hours every week outside of class preparing for this course. You must come to class prepared, having closely read and evaluated the reading assignments, and your class discussions should reflect this careful reading. While taking notes on the reading assignments, try to identify which portions of the assignments were particularly notable/important and why they caught your attention. Include summaries in your own words, write questions to yourself, agree/disagree with the content, and generally try to delve yourself deeply into a thoughtful evaluation of the reading assignments.

You are expected to behave professionally and participate actively during class and field studies. This includes all of the following:

  • Attend all class meetings, field studies, and related activities.
  • Be punctual and stay for the entire experience.
  • Contribute to shared learning: ask relevant questions, offer critical reflections, and respond respectfully to others’ comments.
  • Put your phone away and turn off notifications on any other electronic devices.

 

Evaluation

To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work.

You will be evaluated based on your performance on the course assignments as indicated below. Additional details will be provided in class.

 

Grading

Assignment

Percent

Class participation and engagement (including online discussion forums)

20%

Research talk

20%

Co-facilitation of class discussion

20%

Mini behavioral experiment (and self-reflection paper)

15%

Public health campaign focused on sleep (i.e., policy brief or social media campaign, accompanied by a short reflection explaining the various components and scholarly references)

25%

 

Course Policies 

Attendance: You are expected to attend all DIS classes when scheduled.  If you miss a class for any reason, please contact the faculty no later than the day of the missed class. If you miss multiple classes the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student Affairs will be notified and they will follow-up with you to make sure that all is well.  Absences will jeopardize your grade and your standing at DIS.  Allowances will be made in cases of illness or religious holidays, but in the case of multiple absences you will need to provide a doctor’s note.

Academic Honesty, Plagiarism, and Violating the Rules of an Assignment: DIS expects that students abide by the highest standards of intellectual honesty in all academic work. DIS assumes that all students do their own work and credit all work or thought taken from others.  Academic dishonesty will result in a final course grade of “F” and can result in dismissal. The students’ home universities will be notified. DIS reserves the right to request that written student assignments be turned in electronic form for submission to plagiarism detection software. See the Academic Handbook for more information, or ask your instructor if you have questions.

Policy on Late Papers: Late essays will be accepted for up to 3 days after the deadline, but for each day late, excluding the weekends, a 5% penalty will be applied. 

Extensions: You may request an extension for an assignment, but you must ask more than 1 day before the assignment is due. Extension requests on the due date, without an excusable reason, will not be considered.

Policy for Students Who Arrive Late to Class: Please come to classes on time as it is disturbing for the lecturer and other students. Repeated lateness will result in a referral to the head of the Teaching and Learning department.

Use of Laptops or Phones in Class: Computers and iPhones are allowed in class PURELY for academic purposes (e.g. note taking, literature searching, data handling purposes). In case of other private uses such as Facebook, emails or internet surfing, it will have a very negative impact on your participation grade. The use of cell phones during class is strictly forbidden.

Academic Accommodations

Your learning experience in this class is important to me.  If you have approved academic accommodations with DIS, please make sure I receive your DIS accommodations letter within two weeks from the start of classes. If you can think of other ways I can support your learning, please don't hesitate to talk to me. If you have any further questions about your academic accommodations, contact Academic Support academicsupport@dis.dk

Academic Regulations

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

Course Enrollment and Grading

Academic Expectations and Honor Code

 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due