1 - 10 of 17 results for: COMPMED

Preference to freshman. Behavior is what makes animals special (thirsty plants don't walk to water), but why do animals behave the way they do? What does their behavior tell us about their inner lives, and about ourselves? What do lipstick and cuckoos and fireflies have in common? Why would nobody want to be a penguin? What do mice say to each other in their pee-mail? Learning how to think about questions like these gives us a unique perspective on the natural world. Format: Discussion and criticism of video examples, documentaries, and research papers. Topics: History and approaches to animal behavior; development of behavior, from genetics to learning; mechanisms of behavior, from neurons to motivation; function of behavior, from honest signals to selfish genes; the phylogeny of behavior, from domestication to speciation; and modern applications of behavior, from abnormal behavior, to conservation, to animal welfare, and animal consciousness.

Preference to sophomores. Focus is on the laboratory mouse, a widely used and important research model. Topics include the ethics of animal use in research; the natural history, origin and husbandry of the mouse; characteristics of key mouse strains; its anatomy and physiology; common diseases and their effects on research; coat color genetics relative to human diseases; immunodeficient mouse models; and genetic engineering of mice. The laboratory includes necropsy, handling, introduction to anesthesia and surgery, identification methods, and common research techniques using live and dead mice. Enrollment limited to 14 students.

Functional organization and evolution of the vertebrate nervous system. Topics include paleoneurology, cladistic analysis, allometry, mosaic versus concerted evolution, and evolution of brain region structure, connectivity, and neurons. Comparisons between structure and function of vertebrate forebrains including hippocampi. Evolution of the primate visual and sensorimotor central nervous system as related to vocalization, socialization, and intelligence.

For students interested in a career in veterinary medicine. How to meet the academic and practical experience prerequisites for admission to veterinary school. Networking with other pre-vet students. Periodic group meetings with guest speakers presenting career options in veterinary medicine. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

May be taken as a prelude to research and may also involve participation in a lab or research group seminar and/or library research.

Emphasis is on providing introductory training and practical, hands-on research animal biomethodology. Topics include basic care and principals guiding the use of research animals, animal health and welfare, enrichment, basic mouse handling, rodent breeding, and the principals of rodent aseptic surgery and anesthesia. The objective of this course is to teach basic skills in animal handling, animal care and biomethodological research techniques. Content delivered online and in-person.

Functional organization and evolution of the vertebrate nervous system. Topics include paleoneurology, cladistic analysis, allometry, mosaic versus concerted evolution, and evolution of brain region structure, connectivity, and neurons. Comparisons between structure and function of vertebrate forebrains including hippocampi. Evolution of the primate visual and sensorimotor central nervous system as related to vocalization, socialization, and intelligence.