The exams are not cumulative. The first exam will cover the first 6 lectures only, the second exam the next 6 only, and the third exam the final 5 lectures. That is not to say that some of the material you have learned earlier in the course won't be necessary to answer questions on later material. For example, we will cover glial cells in the first 1/3 of the course. There could be a question on the second exam something like "How do you think a glial cell could help with neurotransmitter re-uptake?" This does not have to do with glial cells per se, so is fair for the second exam.

The overall course score will be the sum of the scores on each of the three one-hour exams. Note that the final is also a one-hour exam but you will have the entire 2-hour final exam period to take it. I will make up a scoring system based on what happens on the first exam. There will be some breakpoints set such as 85% A and A-, 78%- 85% B grades and so forth. Sometimes one or a few people get scores in the 90+ percent range and the next highest score is 60%. Well not really, but a bit of an exaggeration to make a point. If this happens, then I may change the scoring scheme so that 85% of the 4th highest person is an A grade, etc.

Those taking the course as 562 will have an extra assignment. Sometimes this is an individual project, sometimes a group project, and sometimes the extra work is an additional question on one or more of the hour exams. Occasionally this can be negotiated. For example, a graduate student working on a project in neurobiology might want to do some extra library research in that area and use it as the 562 project.

Historically it is common for the top 20% of the students in neurophysiology to get an "A" or "A-" grade. Most of the class will get A's and B's. Even though it is a difficult course, typically only the better biology majors attempt it, so mostly the class is made up of good students.