This review is for 116B, Grisham's experimental class with fewer people and 10x the chaos. Please heed this warning: do not take this class if you cannot take it pass/no pass. I'm a hard worker but this class was insanity. Little organization, less clarity. You have to write a full research paper that's due on Monday of Week 3. The neuroanatomy quizzes are atrocious, the papers are barely better. Grading is often arbitrary. Take the regular 116, with the other professors if at all possible. I took this as a last resort because I had a bad pass time and I had to graduate. If you take 116B, good luck.

Absolute shit show of a class. Don't take it.

Took this class in Winter of 2023. There isn't a grade breakdown in the syllabus, which was confusing for me, but basically, the grade is split into 3 units. The first unit was the MRI unit/paper, the second was a dementia unit/question-based short answer paper, and the third was a neuroanatomy unit and quiz (which ended up being our final).

For the first two units, you get several "drafts" that you submit for 4 points (out of the 100 for the entire unit). These were graded harshly but offered a lot of feedback and as long as you revised them, you could get full points on the final paper (which was worth 88 and 92 points/100 for units 1 and 2 respectively) pretty easily in my opinion. The TAs were very helpful - they're the ones grading a majority of the papers. Dr. Grisham was also readily available to answer questions - his answers are sometimes confusing but still definitely helped.

The neuroanatomy unit was really interesting. You get to dissect lamb brains, and we had several human brains as well. The slides were a bit confusing, but the TAs did a great job with the final review. Dr. Grisham also loves to talk about brains, so he'll also be really enthusiastic if you ask him any questions. The final was 50 Q short answer (it was not easy). However, I did find the questions fair, and as long as you pay attention in class/slides it was manageable. Office hours during finals week also helped A LOT.

The labs are recorded but quality-wise, not super great. I would recommend going to class AND paying attention. Overall, not the easiest class in the world but still very rewarding and would recommend it.

I loved this class! The most difficult module was with Dr. Wong; we were tested on parts of the brain and given a lab practical to test our knowledge of associated systems, functions, etc. I studied a lot for this module and made Anki cards, created a Goodnotes notebook with all the notes from class + extremely detailed pictures/labels from the past year's lab practical + study guides that my friends and I created. Since I put in so much work into the Anki deck and notes, I was able to score a high grade on the exam and ended with an A in the class. I'm selling this bundle for $20. Text me if you're interested @ 925*856*7077!

Although this class is one of the hardest I have ever taken at UCLA, I hands down think it was my favorite. The small class size was incredible, and with so many TAs and LAs, you felt so supported. By all means, it was difficult and alot of work, but I loved my classmates and honestly always enjoyed my time in lab. I also felt as though I learned things that really mattered.

Don't let the past reviews scare you, this is one of the best (and easiest) classes you could take at UCLA. Dr. Grisham is so sharp and engaging and I never found this class boring, everything you need to know he gives directly to you and the only unit that is super content/memorization heavy is the neuroanatomy unit (which is still manageable, especially if you've taken any classes having to do with neuroanatomy in the past).

The first unit has to do with contrasting two different theories of thought and running our own experiment in order to determine which theory holds more weight. This unit included submitting a few different written assignments (a gist of articles, a draft of an abstract, a written explanation of main effects and interactions, and a full lab report). Don't let these intimidate you, he walks you through all of them.

The second unit is the neuroanatomy unit, where you'll examine brains and learn about different areas and their functions. This unit included two short answer quizzes and one full length short answer exam. Several questions on the exam were straight from the quizzes, and none of them were trick questions or things that had not been extensively gone over in class.

The third unit is analysis of some MRI imaging involving ADHD patients. For this unit we had to answer questions about the results we found in comparison to the results found in an article that he provides us at the beginning of the unit. Again, he walked us through how to answer all of these questions and let us know exactly what he was expecting.

It's super easy to do well in this class. Attendance is mandatory but even if it wasn't you would be unable to pass this class if you tried to do it asynchronously. I wish Dr. Grisham taught every psychobiology class

Class is divided into 3 modules worth 33% of your grade each: western immunoblotting with planarian samples, behavioral experiments with planarians (these two modules focus on the same research question—effect of caffeine on planarian habituation), and neuroanatomy + practical. For me, neuroanatomy was the toughest with the sheer amount of information we had to memorize (identifying brain structures, what pathways they are in, what functions they are responsible for etc.) assessed during a lab practical. For western immuno and behavioral modules, the assessments were lab reports which took a long time (10+ pg full manuscript-style reports with intro, methods, results, discussion) but were graded fairly leniently (I got high As on both). Specific to Grisham, he has an off the cuff lecturing style, and doesn't feel like he prepares a lot beforehand during lectures. But he is kind of funny in a brusque way.

Because I put a lot of work into the class, I am selling my media files of the in-class lab tours (including last year's practical), flashcards on Anki (made from these tours in lab, lecture material, online media), and comprehensive study guide for $20 in a package. This was a great benefit to my own studying and took me many hours to create/compile. Fair warning: what is on the lab practical probably varies from year to year, but there's only so much neuroanatomy to test on. If you are interested, please email me at *************

Dr. Grisham is one of the most caring and tenderhearted professors I have ever met. People are often quick to judge and find that the material is too difficult or that he doesn't leave enough instruction for assignments. However, I discovered that he is accommodating and that the teaching staff genuinely cares for the students and their wellbeing. I love the wet lab, and although the course material can be complex, Dr.Grisham does his best to make it fun and engaging. I highly recommend getting to know him!

I loved this class! The most difficult module was with Dr. Wong; we were tested on parts of the brain and given a lab practical to test our knowledge of associated systems, functions, etc. I studied a lot for this module and made Anki cards, created a Goodnotes notebook with all the notes from class + extremely detailed pictures/labels from the past year's lab practical + study guides that my friends and I created. Since I put in so much work into the Anki deck and notes, I was able to score a high grade on the exam and ended with an A in the class. I'm selling this bundle for $20. Text me if you're interested @ 925*856*7077!

I had this professor and I ended up with C+. Some tips on how not to get a C+: Stay one step ahead and it doesn't hurt to ask other people who've taken his class to see their lab reports and what mistakes they did so that you can avoid them. The first module was anatomy and that was pretty straightforward. Come to class prepared and study hard b/c it's really straightforward. The Swimmy module was so confusing to me! I spent a couple of days trying to understand what to do in class. It really helps if you pay attention and go to class and come to lab prepared b/c if I did that I would have been a lot better off. The last module was uber easy and I felt that I did really well. The extra credit didn't help me much b/c I still ended up with a C. Overall, don't procrastinate and keep up with the work! With Swimmy, don't make stupid mistakes..seriously...that's what got me a C in the first place. Ask to borrow old reports and see what people did wrong. Hope this helps! :)

All in all, this class was never boring cuz Grisham was a really good lecturer.