Results for NBIO

Influences on public debate and policy of scientific advances in the study of the brain and behavior: theories of brain function; philosophical and scientific approaches; advances in the neurosciences, possible uses in medical therapy, and interventions involving genetic screening, genetic selection, enhancement of neurological functioning, and manipulation of behavior; questions related to medical therapy, social policy, and broader considerations of human nature such as consciousness, free will, personal identity, and moral responsibility. May be taken for 2 units without a research paper.

Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (Staff)

Investigations sponsored by individual faculty members. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Influences on public debate and policy of scientific advances in the study of the brain and behavior: theories of brain function; philosophical and scientific approaches; advances in the neurosciences, possible uses in medical therapy, and interventions involving genetic screening, genetic selection, enhancement of neurological functioning, and manipulation of behavior; questions related to medical therapy, social policy, and broader considerations of human nature such as consciousness, free will, personal identity, and moral responsibility. May be taken for 2 units without a research paper.

Structure and function of the nervous system, including neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and systems neurobiology. Topics include the properties of neurons and the mechanisms and organization underlying higher functions. Framework for general work in neurology, neuropathology, clinical medicine, and for more advanced work in neurobiology. Lecture and lab components must be taken together.

Advanced seminar. The principles of information processing in the nervous system and the relationship of functional properties of neural systems with perception, behavior, and learning. Original papers; student presentations. Prerequisite: NBIO 206 or consent of instructor.

Contemporary cognitive neuroscience, emphasizing the use of the primate visual and oculomotor systems to explore neural mechanisms underlying perception, attention, learning, and decision-making. Eight foundational topics in cognitive neuroscience; intensive study and critical discussion of selected papers from the contemporary literature. Student presentations, seminar-style discussions. Class enrollment is limited to 12 students. First priority will be given to students from the neurosciences graduate program.

Small group course for first year MSTP and Master's in Medicine students only. Focus is on pathways for combining science and medicine during graduate and postdoctoral training and in one's career, and practical aspects of translational medicine. Guest lecturers are physician-scientists who have advanced the frontiers of translational medicine. Previous lecturers have included Drs. Gilbert Chu, Jamie Topper, Irv Weissman, Beverly Mitchell, Geoff Duyk, William Mobley, Judy Shizuru, Carla Shatz, Linda Boxer and David Cox. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

The role of glia in the brain, including development, normal functioning, and disease. Topics include astrocytes, microglia, oligodendrocyte lineage, the blood brain barrier, and neuroimmunology with special emphasis on tools for studying glia. Preference to graduate students.

Topics include molecular, genetic, behavioral, electrophysiological, imaging, and computational approaches used in the field of neuroscience. Presentations and discussions led by senior graduate students, assigned readings from the primary neuroscience literature, and optional laboratory demonstrations. Intended for graduate students from any discipline and for advanced undergraduates in the biosciences, engineering, or medicine.

Student-instructed. For students with no math background beyond basic calculus, or as a review for more advanced students. Techniques useful for analysis of neural data including linear algebra, Fourier transforms, probability and statistics, signal detection, Bayesian inference, and information theory.

For graduate students. Includes lectures for BIO 154. Cellular and molecular mechanisms in the organization and functions of the nervous system. Topics: wiring of the neuronal circuit, synapse structure and synaptic transmission, signal transduction in the nervous system, sensory systems, molecular basis of behavior including learning and memory, molecular pathogenesis of neurological diseases.

How synapses, cells, and neural circuits process information relevant to a behaving organism. How phenomena of information processing emerge at several levels of complexity in the nervous system, including sensory transduction in molecular cascades, information transmission through axons and synapses, plasticity and feedback in recurrent circuits, and encoding of sensory stimuli in neural circuits.

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Provides an opportunity for student and faculty interaction, as well as academic credit and financial support, to medical students who undertake original research. Enrollment is limited to students with approved projects.

Investigations sponsored by individual faculty members. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.