PSYC GU4491

This was such a fantastic course. I do not have a neuroscience background, but this class had my attention. We learned about parental care from rodents to humans, and epigenetics was another favorite. We toured her lab, which was so much fun! I walked away with a wealth of knowledge.

I expanded my knowledge on areas of the brain that are often involved with parental care

As a student who doesn't have much background in neuroscience, I was worried that I wouldn't keep up with the course; however, I have gained incredible insight into the nuances and depth of the neuroscience and psychology of the parental brain. Dr. Marlin's course combines robust readings with creative and applicable assignments to foster an engaging, thought-provoking, and fun learning environment. At first, I was questioning of the seriousness of Accessible Sciences project and how heavily it counted towards by grade; but, the it's purpose, I discovered, is truly at the heart of every good scientist's skillset: explaining complex concepts to younger or lay audiences.

more feedback from the professor 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2022 Course: PSYCGU4491_001_2022_3-TheParentalBrain : PSYCGU4491_001_2022_3 - The Parental Brain Instructor: Bianca Marlin

great topic but not well executed. would have loved to really discuss the parental brain, how it works, how it changes and what it means in day to day lives. instead way too much time was spent thinking about how basic science tests the human brain and deciphering graphs in papers. This did not actually help better understand the parental psyche. There was also very little discussion in the class which was too bad as there was such a diverse group of students that focusing discussions on tangible items would have been very interesting instead of the major focus on basic science that was out of reach for most students . Perhaps a bit more focus on how this relates to humans and psych given this is psychology class would improve this course a lot.

I learned extensively about the way that the parental brain affects child development. I learned also about the way that a parental brain functions and how learning is passed down through generations.

I learned how to read a research paper effectively, and how to write an AIMS proposal. I also learned about parental behavior, including the brain areas and hormones involved in both maternal and paternal behavior.

In this course, I was exposed to content covering the ins and outs of the parental brain. This was approached from a biological perspective (e.g. what hormones/pathways are used, what components of systems are essential for relaying messages, etc.) and factored in empirical evidence to provide a comprehensive overview of how people and other species go about caregiving tasks.

I learned how to go about reading a research paper and identifying the meaning behind various images and figures that appear in scientific studies. I also learned a lot of knowledge in relation to parental brain and how experiments are conducted to identify the relationship between parent and child figures.

I learned how to read and critically examine scholarly articles and research papers.