INSC 587
INSC 587 NEUROBIOLOGY OF DISEASE
SYLLABUS and OUTLINE OF STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
Instructor: Dr. Marc Dichter (349-5166; dichter@mail.med.upenn.edu)
Time: Fall, 2007, Tuesday afternoon - 4:00 - 5:30 PM
Thursday afternoon - 4:00 - 5:00 PM
Room: Barchi Library, 140 John Morgan Building
Textbook: There is no one text suitable for the course. Readings will be assigned for each class and more in depth bibliographies will be developed for each topic. Many of the chapters in “The Molecular and Genetic Basis of Neurological Disease” edited by Roger Rosenberg, Stanley Pruisiner, Salvatore DiMauro, and Robert Barchi, Edition 2 or 3, are a good initial source. Copies are available on reserve in the medical library and in the Neuroscience library.
Activities for which students will prepare in advance of class:
For student-led activities the class will be divided into two teams. For each activity, two members from each team will sign up to take primary responsibility for their team’s presentation. The other members of each team will be responsible for assisting their team members and for answering questions during the discussion.
Discussion of clinical trials papers –All students will read a paper(s) describing the results of a clinical trial(s) for a given disease. After the designated students from each team present their paper, other team members will compare and contrast “their team’s paper” with the paper presented by the other team.
Debate on alternative mechanisms – Students will read papers given evidence in support of a particular mechanism as central to the etiology of a given disorder. Members of opposing teams will read papers supporting different mechanisms. The two designated members of each team will present the best evidence in support of “their” mechanism, then other team members may present a rebuttal of points argued by the opposing team.
Presentation on caregiver issues – Two students, one from each team, will work together to prepare a presentation on the psychological, financial, logistic, etc. issues faced by caregivers of persons with AD or PD or other long-term neurodegenerative disorders.
Website review– All students will review a website relevant to a particular disorder and write a 1 page summary written of what impressed them most.
Grading - Grades for the course will be based on presentation(s), written assignments, and ability to answer questions and participate in the discussions during class.
Week # |
TUESDAY |
Lecturer |
THURSDAY |
Lecturer |
1 |
Sept 11 Mechanisms of brain dysfunction (Dichter) Necrosis vs apoptosis or how cells die (Neumar) |
Dichter / Neumar |
Sept 13 NO CLASS - Rosh Hashonah |
|
2 |
Sept 18 Stroke and ischemic brain damage PATIENT PRESENTATION Student review of one Stroke website in advance of class. Students will turn in at the start of class a written 1 page (single spaced) summary of what impressed them most from one of these websites: |
Dichter |
Sept 20 |
Lynch |
3 |
Sept 25 Alzheimer’s Disease Debate: Amyloid hypothesis vs tau hypothesis vs synaptic dysfunction preceeding pathology – from mouse studies |
Dichter |
Sept 27 Overview of clinical trials: acute and chronic
|
Balcer |
4 |
Oct 2 ALS & what familial forms of genetic disease can and cannot tell us about the sporadic cases Debate: Can or cannot familial forms of a disease provide clues about the etiology of the sporadic cases?
|
Dichter |
Oct 4
Student Presentation of Clinical Trials for ALS
|
|
5 |
Oct 9 Schizophrenia Debate: A developmental disease vs a dysfunction of the dopaminergic system? Development disease papers:
Dysfunction of DA (and GLU) system papers:
|
Gur |
Oct 11 Animal models of psychiatric disorders and the role of endophenotypes |
Bucan |
6 |
Oct 16 Huntington’s Disease and other triplet repeat diseases. How repeats in untranslated regions can cause disease? Student Presentation on Caregiver Issues Specific website links and some helpful questions will be provided. |
Lynch |
Oct 18 Using simple biological models for neurodegenerative diseases |
Gitler |
7 |
Oct 23 Parkinson’s Disease Student Presentation of Clinical Trials for PD
|
Lynch |
Oct 25 Mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease |
Rob Wilson |
8 |
Oct 30 Epilepsy - seizure mechanisms PATIENT PRESENTATION |
Dichter |
Nov 1 Mechanisms of epileptogenesis Debate: does preventing damage prevent epilepsy?
|
Coulter? |
9 |
Nov 6 NO CLASS - SfN:meeting is Nov 3-7 |
Nov 8 Depression / Affective Disorders and disorders with complex genetics
Debate: GABA hyp vs. serotonin hyp (or maybe include NE and/or DA)
|
TBD |
|
10 |
Nov 13 Overview of interactions between immune and nervous systems; autoimmune disorders
PATIENT PRESENTATION? Student review of MS Society website in advance of class. |
Kariko |
Nov 15 Multiple Sclerosis Student Presentation of Clinical Trial for MS:
|
Dichter |
11 |
Nov 20 Diseases of Peripheral Nerve; finding the causes of peripheral neuropathies; Charcot-Marie Tooth |
Scherer |
Nov 22 NO CLASS – Thanksgiving |
|
12 |
Nov 27 Disorders of brain development – from learning disabilities to mental retardation; aberrant gene expression during development |
Crino |
Nov 29 Autism, Asberger’s and other autism spectrum disorders. Use of twin studies in complex disorders such as schizophrenia and autism, assessing cognitive function in autistic kids
Debate: social construct theory vs genetics theory vs vaccine theory vs environmental theory. |
Brodkin |
13 |
Dec 4 How do mutations in widely expressed proteins lead to degeneration or dysfunction of small subsets of neurons? Student led discussion of several hypotheses |
Taylor |
Dec 6 Macular degeneration |
Dunaief |