KNES 351 – Foundations of Neural Control of Movement

Fall 2021
Faculty of Kinesiology
Approved by WB: August 2021

Course Information
Instructor Name: Dr. Anthony Incognito Classroom #: ICT 122
Phone Number: 403-220-4528 Day(s) Class Meets: Tuesday and Thursday
Email Address: anthony.incognito@ucalgary.ca Time Class Meets: 8:00-9:15 am
Office #: Virtual Course Website: D2L
Office Hours: Tues & Thurs 9:30-10:30 am Labs: N/A

Course Description:
An examination of the nervous system and its role in controlling movement. Emphasis is placed on understanding the
basic anatomy and neurophysiology of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Topics include the properties of
individual neurons and neural circuits that support human movement. This basic understanding is supplemented by
discussion of neurological injuries, diseases and disorders that compromise human movement.

Prerequisites:
Kinesiology 251 & 260.

Course Objectives:
At the end of the course, you should be able to:

1. Describe the structure and function of central and peripheral nervous system structures that are involved in the
control of human movement.
2. Explain basic neurophysiological processes underlying the control of human movement.
3. Understand how deficits in movement relate to the function of the central and peripheral nervous systems.
4. Develop communication skills by participating in class discussions and completing a blog writing assignment and
popular media group presentation.

Course Content:
Lecture Schedule
Week Dates
1 Sept 7, 9
2 Sept 14, 16
3 Sept 21, 23
4 Sept 28, 30
5 Oct 5, 7
6 Oct 12, 14
7 Oct 19, 21
8 Oct 26, 28
9 Nov 2, 4
10 Nov 9, 11
11 Nov 16, 18
Lecture Topic
Lecture 1 – Overview of the central and peripheral nervous system
Lecture 2 – Sensory afferents and central pathways
Lecture 2 con’t; Lecture 3 – Initiating movement: Spinal reflexes
Lecture 3 con’t; Lecture 4 – Initiating movement: Spinal networks
Lecture 4 con’t
30th – Truth & Reconciliation Day – no classes
Lecture 5 – Initiating movement: Motor cortex
12th - Midterm review - online during class time
14th - ***Midterm Exam I*** - online
Lecture 6 – Sensorimotor control: Cerebral Cortex
Lecture 7 – Sensorimotor control: Basal Ganglia
Lecture 8 – Sensorimotor control: Cerebellum
Fall Midterm Break - no classes
16th - ***Midterm Exam II*** - online

Course Outline Fall 2021/Winter 2022 1|Page

 18th - Lecture 9 – Motor learning: Development
12 Nov 23, 25 Lecture 9 con’t; Lecture 10 – Motor learning: Rehabilitation
13 Nov 30, Dec 2 Lecture 10 con’t; Lecture 11 – Motor learning: Performance
14 Dec 7, 9 Lecture 11 con’t; Lecture 12 – Final exam review

Required Reading Materials:

Lecture 2 – Proske U & Gandevia SC. 2012. The proprioceptive senses: their roles in signaling body shape, body position
and movement, and muscle force. Physiological Reviews. 92(4): Pages 1651-1665.
Link -> https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00048.2011

Lecture 3 and 4 – Côté M-P, Murray LM & Knikou M. 2018. Spinal control of locomotion: Individual neurons, their circuits
and functions. Frontiers in Physiology. 9: All pages.
Link -> https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.00784/full

Lecture 5 – Ebbesen CL & Brecht M. 2017. Motor cortex - to act or not to act? Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 18(11): All
pages.
Link -> https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2017.119

Lecture 6 – Rizzolatti G & Luppino G. 2001. The cortical motor system. Neuron. 31(6): All pages.
Link -> https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627301004238

Lecture 7 – Lanciego JL, Lunquin N & Obeso JA. 2012. Functional neuroanatomy of the basal ganglia. Cold Spring Harbor
Perspectives in Medicine. 2(12): All pages.
Link -> http://perspectivesinmedicine.cshlp.org/content/2/12/a009621.short

Lecture 8 – Hull C. 2020. Prediction signals in the cerebellum: Beyond supervised motor learning. eLife. 9:e54073: All
pages.
Link -> https://elifesciences.org/articles/54073

Lecture 9, 10, 11 – Christiansen L, Lundbye-Jensen J, Perez MA, Nielsen JB. 2017. How plastic are human spinal cord
motor circuitries? Experimental Brain Research. 235: All pages.
Link -> https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00221-017-5037-x

Recommended Reading Materials: (Optional)

N/A

Course Outline Fall 2021/Winter 2022 2|Page

Assessment Components/Expectations
Grading Scale:

Letter Percent Grade Point Value Description

95.0 and
A+ 4.00 Outstanding
above
Excellent – Superior performance, showing comprehensive
A 90.0-94.9 4.00
understanding of subject matter
A- 85.0-89.9 3.70

B+ 81.0-84.9 3.30
Good – Clearly above average performance with knowledge of
B 77.0-80.9 3.00
subject matter generally complete.
B- 73.0-76.9 2.70

C+ 69.0-72.9 2.30
Satisfactory – Basic understanding of the subject matter. Grade
C 65.0-68.9 2.00
point average below 2.00 is not sufficient for promotion.
C- 61.0-64.9 1.70 Minimum grade required if needed as a prerequisite course.

D+ 57.0-60.9 1.30
Minimal pass – Marginal performance, generally insufficient
D 54.0-56.9 1.00
preparation for subsequent courses in the same subject.
Fail – Unsatisfactory performance of failure to meet course
F Below 54.0 0
requirements.

Evaluation of Course Content:

Evaluation for this course will be based on the following items:

1. Midterm Exam I 20% (Online - Thursday, October 14)

2. Midterm Exam II 20% (Online - Tuesday, November 16)
3. Final Exam 20% (In person, date TBD during exam period: December 13-22)
4. Blog Writing Assignment 15% (Choice of Oct 8, Oct 22, Nov 5, or Nov 26)
5. Popular Media Presentation 25% (Monday, December 6)
Total 100%

1-3. Midterms and Final Exam: Lecture content will be examined using written exams, encompassing a combination of
multiple choice, short answer, and diagram/graph style questions. Midterm I will focus on content from Lectures 1-5,
Midterm II will focus on content from Lectures 6-8, and the Final Exam will focus on content from Lectures 9-11. While
each exam has an emphasis on the contents of the lectures mentioned above, the comprehensive nature of motor
control necessitates that information from previous units may be used to answer various questions of any examination.
Each exam is worth 20% of the final grade, for a total contribution of 60% of the overall grade. If the student passes all
three exams with a grade of 65% or higher in each exam, the two highest grades will be weighted at 30% each for a total
of 60% of the final grade, while the lowest exam will be dropped. No exceptions will be made to this rule and this will be
done automatically by the course instructor.
Course Outline Fall 2021/Winter 2022 3|Page
 The midterm examinations will be conducted online. Students will have a 24 hr window to complete the exam
on the scheduled day (i.e. 12:00 am to 11:59:59 pm). Once starting the midterm examination, the exam must be
completed in its entirety within a 115 min (1hr 55 min) window, though the exam is designed to be completed within 75
min (i.e. the length of scheduled class time). The instructor will be available to answer questions (via email) during four
115 min time periods on the examination day (8am-9:55am; 12:00pm-1:55pm; 3pm-4:55pm; 7pm-8:55pm).

4. Blog Writing Assignment: During the semester students will select a recent news story or research article on a topic
related to neural control of movement and write a blog article. The topic and a link to the news or research article must
be posted on D2L. The first student to post the topic and article (link) on D2L claims that topic (determined by the time
stamp on D2L). The student will then write a blog posting on the topic (1-2 pages, single spaced, 12 point font, 2 cm
margins, not including references) and submit the blog post for marking (15% of final grade). Each submitted topic and
article must be unique. It is the responsibility of each student to ensure their subject and article is unique. If a repeat
topic is chosen, the blog submission will be rejected and must be resubmitted. If the resubmission occurs after the
deadline late penalties will be applied (10% deduction per day, including weekends).
Review articles or non-peer reviewed references can only be used for general concepts or population statistics,
and all references should be from reputable sources. The use of questionable references will result in a lower grade.
Citations should be in-text and can be of any format, but the chosen format must be consistently used throughout the
article. The article should be written at a level that is generally understandable for a high school student with no
advanced science training. The blog should summarize the findings of the article and how it relates to the findings of
other studies. This is a critical analysis of the study and an explanation of its significance. Background information should
be provided to facilitate understanding the material in the blog and an understandable/scientifically translated summary
should be presented, along with take home messages for the reader.
Students will be able to sign up for one of four deadlines (Oct 8, Oct 22, Nov 5, or Nov 26). Each due date group
has limited capacity (40 students) and enrollment is on a first come-first served basis. If a student does not sign up for a
group by Friday, September 17, they will be randomly assigned to a group at the discretion of the course instructor.

5. Popular Media Presentation. Students working in groups up to 5 will create an educational video on a topic related to
motor control, motor learning, or a motor disease (25% of final grade). The product should present information on the
topic of interest in a format that is suitable for upload to YouTube. In addition to the video, students will provide a written
report (up to 2 pages not including references, format as noted for the blog article above) (5% of final grade). The written
report should include identification of the target audience, why this audience has been selected, brief explanations of the
content, external references, and (potentially) suggestions for teaching activities. It is strongly recommended that
students discuss the subject and plan of presentation with the course instructor prior to starting the assignment. All
presentations must be published on YouTube by December 6 and the written assignment submitted through D2L on the
same day (i.e. by 11:59:59pm on Dec 6).

Midterm Exam Policy:

The Faculty of Kinesiology policy is that all students are expected to write midterm exams on the dates listed on the course
outline. Special accommodation may be granted by the instructor in exceptional circumstances only, which includes
illness, participation in athletic events (varsity, national or international), domestic affliction, and religious conviction. It
is the student’s responsibility to supply proper documentation and/or notification prior to the originally scheduled
midterm to support their circumstance. Personal travel plans and arrangements are not valid reasons for requesting a
special accommodation for a midterm exam.

Final Exam:
(20%) There will be a final exam scheduled during the University of Calgary’s final exam period for the Fall 2021 semester
(Monday, December 13 to Wednesday, December 22, 2021). The date, time and location of the exam will be scheduled
by the University. The final exam will test your knowledge of key terms and concepts in human motor control and learning.
The format will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and diagram/graph style questions that cover the entire
content of the course, with emphasis on Lectures 9, 10 and 11. The exam will be closed book. Memory aids, such as notes

Course Outline Fall 2021/Winter 2022 4|Page

or slides, will not be allowed in the examination room. Calculators are not required. Bring your Student ID to the final
exam

Late Policy:
Assignments handed in after the posted deadline will be penalized 10% per day, including weekends. All deadlines are
11:59:59 pm on the day indicated.

Contacting the Instructor:

Students requiring assistance are encouraged to speak with their instructor during class or office hours. If you wish to
meet with the instructor outside of office hours, please call or email the instructor to make an appointment.

Email, while commonly used, does limit the effectiveness of communications and may not be the best way for instructors
to answer student questions. Therefore, the instructor may request an online conference call or personal meeting. Your
instructor will inform you as to his/her expectations about emails.

Students’ Union:
The Faculty of Kinesiology representative is Areeb Qayyum and can be reached at kinesrep@su.ucalgary.ca.

Supplementary Course Information

Plagiarism/Cheating/Other Academic Misconduct
(see Calendar https://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/k.html):
A single offence of cheating, plagiarism or other academic misconduct is a serious act that will not be tolerated in the
Faculty of Kinesiology. Penalties for such acts will be determined by the Dean and may result in a failing grade, probation,
suspension, or expulsion. Any student who is uncertain if an action falls into this category should consult the instructor
and/or the Calendar in advance.

Academic Accommodation Policy and Information on Student Accessibility Services:

It is the student’s responsibility to request academic accommodation. If you are a student with a documented disability
who may require academic accommodation and have not registered with Student Accessibility Services, please contact
their office at 403-220-8237. You are also required to discuss your needs with your instructor preferably within the first
fourteen (14) days of this course. Students who have not registered with Student Accessibility Services are not eligible for
formal academic accommodation. For further information, go to http://www.ucalgary.ca/access/.
ucalgary.ca/student-services/access/prospective-students/academic-accommodations.

Accommodations on Protected Grounds other than Disability:

Students who require an accommodation in relation to their coursework or to fulfil requirements for an undergraduate
degree, based on a protected ground other than disability, should communicate this need, preferably in writing, to Jodie
McGill, Team Lead Student Advising at jdmcgill@ucalgary.ca. Students who require an accommodation unrelated to their
coursework or the requirements for an undergraduate degree, based on a protected ground other than disability, should
communicate this need, preferably in writing, to the Vice-Provost (Student Experience). For additional information on
support services and accommodations for students with disabilities, visit www.ucalgary.ca/access/.
https://www.ucalgary.ca/legal-services/sites/default/files/teams/1/Policies-Accommodation-for-Students-with-
Disabilities-Procedure.pdf

Intellectual Property:
Course materials created by professor(s) (including presentations and posted notes, labs, case studies, assignments and
exams) remain the intellectual property of the professor(s). These materials may not be reproduced, redistributed or
copied without the explicit consent of the professor. The posting of course materials to third party websites such as note-
sharing sites without permission is prohibited.

FOIP Policy:
Course Outline Fall 2021/Winter 2022 5|Page
The University of Calgary is under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP)
Act. Please refer to the website for further details. https://www.ucalgary.ca/legal-services/access-information-privacy

Internet and Electronic Communication Device Information:

Any surfing of the Internet during lectures that is not directly related to the class discussion is distracting and strictly
forbidden. Additionally, the use of any electronic devices (i.e., cellular phones) for emailing, texting, etc., is strictly
prohibited. Please turn OFF your phone before the beginning of each lecture unless permitted. Instructors have the
authority, at the discretion of the Dean to require that specific course assignments, term papers and academic exercises
be submitted in an electronic format.

Library and Resources in the Library:

Visit the University of Calgary’s library at http://library.ucalgary.ca/.

Wellness and Mental Health Resources

The University of Calgary recognizes the pivotal role that mental health plays in physical health, social connectedness and
academic success, and aspires to create a caring and supportive campus community where individuals can freely talk about
mental health and receive support when needed. We encourage you to explore the excellent mental health resources
available throughout the university community, such as counselling, self-help resources, peer support or skills-building
available through Student Wellness Services (Room 370 MacEwan Student Centre,
https://www.ucalgary.ca/wellness-services/services/mental-health-services) and the Campus Mental Health Strategy
(http://www.ucalgary.ca/mentalhealth/).

Student Success
The Student Success Centre provides services and programs to ensure students can make the most of their time at the
University of Calgary. Our advisors, learning support staff, and writing support staff assist students in enhancing their skills
and achieving their academic goals. They provide tailored learning support and advising programs, as well as one-on-one
services, free of charge to all undergraduate and graduate students. For more information visit:
https://www.ucalgary.ca/student-services/student-success

Student Ombuds Office

The Student Ombuds Office supports and provides a safe, neutral space for students. For more information, please visit
www.ucalgary.ca/ombuds/ or email ombuds@ucalgary.ca

Student Union (SU) Information

The SU Vice-President Academic can be reached at (403) 220-3911 or suvpaca@ucalgary.ca; Information about the SU,
including elected Faculty Representatives, can be found here: https://www.su.ucalgary.ca

Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) Information

The GSA Vice-President Academic can be reached at (403) 220-5997 or gsa.vpa@ucalgary.ca; Information about the GSA
can be found here: https://gsa.ucalgary.ca

Emergency Evacuation/Assembly Points

Assembly points for emergencies have been identified across campus. Assembly points are designed to establish a location
for information updates from the emergency responders to the evacuees; from the evacuated population to the
emergency responders. For more information, see the University of Calgary’s Emergency Management website:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/emergencyplan/assemblypoints

Safewalk
Campus security will escort individuals, day or night, anywhere on campus (including McMahon Stadium, Health Sciences
Centre, Student Family Housing, the Alberta Children's Hospital and the University LRT station). Call 403-220-5333 or visit
http://www.ucalgary.ca/security/safewalk. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at
most parking lot pay booths. Please ensure your personal safety by taking advantage of this service.
Course Outline Fall 2021/Winter 2022 6|Page