Hormones act throughout the body to coordinate basic biological functions such as development, differentiation, and reproduction. This course will investigate how hormones act in the brain to regulate physiology and behavior. We will study how the major neuroendocrine axes regulate a variety of functions, including brain development, reproductive physiology and behavior, homeostasis, and stress. The regulation of these functions by hormones will be investigated at the molecular, cellular, and behavioral levels.

This course provides an introduction to the neuroscience of emotions. We will explore the brain structures, neural circuits, and physiological processes that underlie emotions and subsequent behaviors. Topics include but are not limited to the role of the different brain regions, neurotransmitters, neuroimaging techniques, emotional regulation, the impact of emotions on cognition and behavior and the role of emotions in the development of AI.

This course does not count towards the Neuroscience major.

How is intelligent behavior produced by the brain and how can it be replicated in machines? What role, if any, does our conscious experience play in producing intelligent behavior? This seminar explores human intelligence through the perspectives of neuroscience, cognitive science, and computer science, integrating studies of the brain, the mind, and the computations needed to create intelligent machines. This interdisciplinary approach has accelerated the pace of research aimed at understanding how intelligent agents use vision to recognize objects and events; navigate through a complex, dynamic environment; use language to communicate; and develop a conscious awareness of the world. Through exploration of current research and hands-on computer activities, students will learn about methods used to probe neural circuits and visualize brain activity; investigate human performance and behavior; and build computer models that capture the remarkable abilities of biological systems.

This course delves deeper into key concepts in neuroscience that were introduced in NEUR 101, including neural circuits and brain disorders. The course will also introduce additional topics, such as computational approaches and sensory systems. In the associated laboratory students will learn neuroanatomy and histological techniques, as well as practice modeling neurons computationally and scientific communication.

This course will build on the foundation acquired in NEUR 101 and NEUR 201, focusing on a deeper understanding of specialized topics in neuroscience, including mechanisms of learning and memory, movement control, and cognition. Students will explore how these processes are studied across species and integrated at the systems and computational level. The accompanying laboratory provides experience with widely used neuroscience methodologies including animal behavioral analysis and electrophysiology. Students will learn to effectively communicate their research findings both orally and in writing.

This course has a required co-requisite laboratory - NEUR 202L.

This is a required co-requisite laboratory for NEUR 202.

A guided group research project focusing on selected topics from the literature and experimental research methods of neuroscience. Specific topics will vary with each instructor and semester.

NEUR 250, NEUR 250H, NEUR 350, and NEUR 350H provide students with an opportunity to engage in research with a faculty member. More information is available on the Research and Internship Opportunities tab on the Neuroscience Department website. Registration takes place via the Registrar's Independent Study App.

NEUR 250, NEUR 250H, NEUR 350, and NEUR 350H provide students with an opportunity to engage in research with a faculty member. More information is available on the Research and Internship Opportunities tab on the Neuroscience Department website. Registration takes place via the Registrar's Independent Study App.

Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. In this course, you will become familiar with the functions of glutamate in healthy neurotransmission, plasticity, and disease including stroke, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and depression. In addition, you will continue to improve your ability to critically read scientific literature. This course is designed to be interactive, and lectures will be supplemented by in-class activities and discussions. In the laboratory portion of this course, you will have the opportunity to study the role of glutamate receptor mutations on C. elegans behavior, and study the role of glutamate receptors in long-term potentiation. Through these experiences you will improve your reading, critical thinking, writing, problem solving, and oral presentation skills.

This course has a required co-requisite Laboratory - NEUR 305L.

What are the neuronal mechanisms and computations that allow an animal to translate sensory information into appropriate decisions and behavior? Neuroethology seeks to understand how a nervous system translates information from the external and internal environment to behavior by examining the whole animal in its natural state. Topics will be introduced via textbook and primary literature and reviewed in lecture, followed by student-led presentations and discussions. What are the moral and societal implications of gaining a better understanding of how the brain controls behavior? We will end with an introduction to the neuroscience of morality and philosophy. This is a Maurer Public Speaking course and will offer multiple opportunities to learn and practice skills for speaking for a technical and non-technical audience.

This course has a required co-requisite Laboratory - NEUR 310L.

Although we spend a major part of our lives sleeping, we understand surprisingly little about sleep and dreaming. In this course we will discuss recent advances made in the field of neuroscience of sleep. Course topics include basic neurobiology of sleep (what is sleep, how is it regulated) as well as specialized discussions of sleep-related learning and memory investigated in different model systems. You will get familiar with these topics through a combination of in-depth review sessions, in-class activities and student presentations of the primary literature. In the laboratory section of this course, we will design and execute a complete, novel, experiment with a small group. We will investigate sleep, learning and memory in different model organisms. The project groups will write up their results in a research article to be submitted to the undergraduate journal "Impulse". Assignments are given to hone presentation and writing skills and to give students the opportunity to explore their favorite topic in more detail. In this Maurer Public Speaking Intensive course, we will build towards presenting in front of a larger audience through multiple public speaking assignments.

This course has a required co-requisite Laboratory - NEUR 325L.

Neuropharmacology is the study of how drugs act on the nervous system. In this course, you will learn the molecular mechanisms of drug action, increase your depth of knowledge of the various neurotransmitter systems, and apply this knowledge to understand how drugs are used to treat disorders of the nervous system including pain, sleep disorders, affective disorders, addiction, schizophrenia, neurodegeneration, seizures, and stroke. You will have the opportunity to discuss primary literature, lead class discussions, and investigate the properties of drugs that appear in the popular press. Through these experiences you will improve your reading, critical thinking, writing, and oral presentation skills.

The electrical activities of neurons in the brain underlie all of our thoughts, perceptions, and memories. However, it is difficult to measure these neural activities experimentally, and also difficult to describe them precisely in ordinary language. For these reasons, mathematical models and computer simulations are increasingly used to bridge the gap between experimental measurements and hypothesized network function. This course will focus on the use of mathematical models and computer simulations to describe the functional dynamics of neurons in a variety of animals. Topics will range from single neuron biophysics to the analysis of circuits thought to underlie sensory perception and memory. Topics will be introduced by background lectures, followed by student-led presentations of primary literature and construction of a computer model of the system studied. Lab will introduce students to computer programming of mathematical models in MATLAB and the neuron-simulator NEURON.

This course has a required co-requisite Laboratory - NEUR 335L.

A guided group research project focusing on selected topics from the literature and experimental research methods of neuroscience. Specific topics will vary with each instructor and semester.

NEUR 250, NEUR 250H, NEUR 350, and NEUR 350H provide students with an opportunity to engage in research with a faculty member. More information is available on the Research and Internship Opportunities tab on the Neuroscience Department website. Registration takes place via the Registrar's Independent Study App.

NEUR 250, NEUR 250H, NEUR 350, and NEUR 350H provide students with an opportunity to engage in research with a faculty member. More information is available on the Research and Internship Opportunities tab on the Neuroscience Department website. Registration takes place via the Registrar's Independent Study App.