This was one of my favourite courses in undergrad. As the title of the course indicates, it's about sensory processes, in particular vision (colour, depth, binding) and hearing.

Prof: Ullal: He is one of my favourite profs at Mcmaster. He's always willing to answer any...

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I just took this course the winter of 2011 with Dr.Ullal.. In terms of difficulty I would say it was in the middle.
Midterms- There are 2 midterms each worth 25%. The first one was a little easier than the second. It consisted of multiple choice and short answer and I would say that the short answer was much easier. Sometimes the multiple choice was tricky and had the most random questions ever that I had not seen in his notes or textbook.
Assignment - There was an assignment which was worth 10% where we had to read three articles on autism and write a research proposal. It wasn't actually very hard and most ppl got a 9/10 or 10/10 on it.
Exam- It was worth 40%. It wasn't all that bad. You had to remember really specific things for some of the questions which I didnt really like.

Overall the course is alright, the only thing for me was that I had taken neuroscience the semester before so felt like I was taking the same course all over again, just a watered down version of it. Definitely need to study a lot for the midterms and exams to get a good grade in the course and I found the textbook to be helpful.

I took this course in Winter 2011 with Dr. Ullal

Two Midterms (25% each): Not incredibly difficult, but the problem is that sometimes the most obscure details are tested. You memorize all the details on the slide, yet even seemingly insignificant details are tested instead.

Assignment (10%): Fairly straightforward and easy to do well on. Easy marks.

Exam (40%): I found the exam to be a bit easier than the two midterms because I was accustomed to the testing style. However, studying was easier said than done. There was an overwhelming amount of small details to know and whether or not the small details you remembered well seemed pretty much like pure luck because you couldn't possibly know everything in as great of detail as was necessary.

I didn't mind this course all that much but I very rarely went to class. The early morning time, warm room, poor weather conditions to commute in were all factors behind this. Also, I took Psych 2F03 the semester before which kind of killed my interest in sensory processes before the class started. For the record, I like Dr. Ullal. I think he is a good lecturer, very passionate about the material, and always tries to keep the students engaged. However, this was one of my least favourite courses I have taken at Mac. I wish that there was more of a focus on concepts as opposed to rote memorization. Also, I felt like the lecture material kind of jumped and lacked a cohesive organization. I wouldn't recommend this as an elective, although it is indeed easier than Psych 2F03.

Great class ! enjoyed it !

i know 10% of the questions are from textbook, but i realized from taking psych 2N03 course(by urall) that textbook is really not that helpful(for attaining higher grade although it taught me some concepts in more depth).
Should i buy textbook for this course? Is the material covered in10% not mentioned at all during lecture? Without reading textbook, should I assume that I would certainly lose 10% of grade?

thnks!

Can anyone tell me if it is worth getting the textbook now? I would appreciate an updated answer for those who took the course in the last year!

I took this course in Fall of 2012.

Professor: Dr. Ullal. Perhaps my favourite professor thus far, funny but extremely knowledgeable at the same time. People have complained that his accent makes it hard to hear what he is saying but I had no such problems.

Marks:
25% Midterm
25% Midterm
50% Exam

Evaluations are based 90% lecture material and 10% text readings with a mix of MC and written answer. The text is not a difficult read and goes over some of the experiments from class in further detail. Definitely get a copy if you're aiming for a 12. Lectures are quite interesting and never really get dry. Ullal is very enthusiastic and encourages in-class discussion.

Overall, this is a solid second year course which sets you up nicely for his third-year visual neuroscience if you're into that sort of thing. Study a few days before the tests (know the slides WELL) and exam and you should be fine. I got 12 in both this and Psych 2NF3 also taught by Ullal so believe me, it is not impossible!

Any recent reviews for this course? Has anybody had Nikol Piskuric as a prof?

I have taken the course with Dr. Piskuric and I thought she was great! Textbook helped a lot for me. Not an easy course but a worthwhile one for psych/neurosci interests. There is a lot of content. Her tests are the most challenging part, and I would absolutely recommend both text study and attendance in class to do well on them. I got an 11 in this course, and I think it's 12able, but it does need effort. Piskuric is amazing, friendly, and I have taken multiple courses with her. She was always willing to help and always listened to my feedback. She is genuinely in love with neuroscience and I think that if you are too, you will enjoy this course.