Stroke affected motor behaviour

Lab Assignment #2

This assignment should be written in the form of a laboratory report. Your job is to compare the motor behaviour of rats before and after stroke. This is based on Lab #G1

The data for this report will be pooled from all of the groups within your laboratory sections such that you will be able to run a statistical analysis for each of the behavioural analyses that were performed. Your goal is to choose one or two relevant comparisons for each of the motor behaviours that you observed.

Your paper should include a title page, abstract, introduction, methods section, results section, and a discussion. The assignment should be approximately 10-15 pages in length. Papers will be graded according to the rubric that follows the details of the assignment.

Introduction Your introduction should place your study in the larger context of stroke, the impact of stroke on behaviour, etc. This should include a justification as to why motor behaviour is important to study post-stroke.

Methods The methods section should describe in sufficient detail the methodologies employed in this week’s laboratory, as well as the surgical procedure that you observed.

Results Your results section should report your findings, including statistics and figures where appropriate. You may wish to report any unusual qualitative data should it pertain to your paper.

Discussion Here you should discuss the behaviours as you observed them, what went wrong, what you might improve (if anything), etc. The implications of stroke on behaviour should be discussed, as well as how your findings fit within the current body of research on the topic.

Lab Assignment #2 Rubric

100 possible marks

A) Abstract	5
• Are all the essential components present and organized logically?
• Is the language clear?
B) Introduction	25
• Is the topic area introduced in a logical/effective manner?
• Is the literature reviewed appropriately?
• Is the focus on concepts rather than individual findings?
C) Materials and Methods	15
• Are all the components present?
• Is there sufficient detail?
• Are the components presented clearly?
D) Results	15
• Are all the components present?
• Is there sufficient detail?
• Are the findings presented in a clear manner?
E) Discussion	30
• Is there an appropriate interpretation of the results?
• Are the findings related back to the literature appropriately?
• Is there an overall conclusion that summarizes the study effectively?
• Is there evidence of creative input and interpretation?
• Is the paper interesting and engaging?
F) Mechanics	10
• Is the primary literature cited effectively and appropriately?
• Has the publication style been followed?
• Are there spelling and grammatical mistakes?