NEW: All Students must write a CV. For first and second year students, please prepare your CV for the January 12, 2010 ARC meeting. Click here for career development resources and how to write a CV.

Click here to access NGG's MediaSite for Course Lectures, Seminar, Dissertation Talks and other videos. Login: barchiviewer Password: viewerbarchi

Click here to access NGG's Neurobiology of Disease Course Lectures and other information

Click here for NGG Course Offerings, Fall 2009

Click here for NGG Course Offerings, Spring 2010

Click here for a list of NGG-related Journal Clubs and topical Discussion/Reading Groups for Fall, 2009. Second year NGG students are required to participate in a Journal Club and lab/group meeting, where they present a paper once a semester, and present their research once a semester.

Required Courses

These courses are required for all Neuroscience graduate students and cover much of the foundation of modern neuroscience. These courses can be taken as electives by students in other graduate groups and by particularly motivated undergraduates, with permission of the course director.

BIOM600 = NGG Core I Cell Biology

This course is required for all BGS students. It covers basic biochemistry and surveys topics of cell biology including: cell structure, compartmentalization and trafficking, signal transduction, cytoskeleton, membranes and membrane transport. Offered Fall semester.

Course Director: John Weisel weisel@cellbio.med.upenn.edu 898-3573

INSC 572 CORE II Electrical Language of Cells

This course introduces students to the high-speed electro-chemical signaling mechanisms that occur in nerve and other excitable cells during normal activity. Topics considered in substantial detail include: a) a basic description of the passive and active membrane electrical properties; b) the molecular architecture and functional role of ion channels in cell signaling; c) the role of the calcium ion as an ubiquitous chemical messenger, with applications to neuro-secretion; d) excitatory and inhibitory transmission in the central nervous system; e) sensory transduction, as illustrated by the visual, olfactory and auditory pathways. The course assumes a standard background in cell biology, as well as basic concepts from college physics and college calculus. Offered Fall semester.

Course Directors: Doug Coulter coulterd@email.chop.edu, 590-1937 and Mike Nusbaum nusbaum@mail.med.upenn.edu, 898-1585

INSC 573 CORE III Systems and Integrative Neuroscience

This course provides an introduction to what is known about how neuronal circuits solve problems for the organism and to current research approaches to this question. Topics include: vision, audition, olfaction, motor systems, plasticity, and oscillations. In addition, the course aims to provide an overview of the structure of the central nervous system. A number of fundamental concepts are also discussed across topics, such as: lateral inhibition, integration, filtering, frames of reference, error signals, adaptation. The course format consists of lectures, discussions, readings of primary literature, supplemented by textbook chapters and review articles.

Course Directors: Diego Contreras diegoc@mail.med.upenn.edu and Minghong Ma minghong@mail.med.upenn.edu

INSC 577 CORE IV Seminar-Related Journal Club

The goals of this course are to learn how to read and critique research papers; to learn how to present a polished, professional summary of a recent paper, and to acquire some background information and context to more fully appreciate research seminars in the Wednesday INS seminar series. Each Monday session will consist of two 20 minute presentations of a research paper related to that week's Wednesday seminar, followed by student-led discussion. Each Wednesday session consists of attending the one hour formal INS seminar by faculty invited from other institutions to speak about their work, published and unpublished. Attendance at both the Monday and Wednesday sessions is required.

Note: Papers are posted on the INS website  http://www.med.upenn.edu/ins/ under MINS Colloquium Schedule - click on the Journal Club link.

Course Directors, Fall 2009: Jon Raper raperj@mail.med.upenn.edu and Minghong Ma minghong@mail.med.upenn.edu

Elective Courses - by course number

INSC 521-401 Brain-Computer Interface (Spring 2010)

Course Director: Brian Litt; littb@mail.med.upenn.edu, 746-4850

INSC 575 (BIOL 442) Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (Fall - every year)

This course focuses on the current state of our knowledge about the neurobiological basis of learning and memory. A combination of lectures and discussions will explore the molecular and cellular basis of learning in invertebrates and vertebrates from a behavioral and neural perspective.

Course Director: Ted Abel: abele@sas.upenn.edu, 898-5614

INSC 576 (PHRM 550) Neuropsychopharmacology (Fall-every year)

This course provides an oveview of the neurobiology of the major neuropsychiatric illnesses. The course is divided into four modules related to behavioral disorders or disciplines. The specific modules covered are: affective and anxiety disorders, substance abuse, schizophrenia, and fundamentals of stress neurobiology. Each module covers a specific area using the following format: 1) clinical features and overview, 2) basic and clinical neuroscience studies relevant to understanding the pathobiology of these disorders, 3) current treatment practices for each set of disorders; and 4) mechanisms of current treatment and future treatment needs. Each of the modules present material that integrates clinical and basic neurobiology approaches to research on these neuropsychiatric disorders to emphasize translational links between patient treatment and laboratory studies.

Course Director: Irwin Lucki lucki@pharm.med.upenn.edu, 573-3305

INSC 578 (BIOL 488) Advanced Topics in Behavioral Genetics (Spring - even years)

This course focuses on the use of genetic techniques to study the molecular and cellular bases of behavior. Particular emphasis will be given to the role of genetic approaches in understanding the biological processes underlying learning, memory storage, circadian rhythms and drug abuse. Reverse genetic approaches utilizing gene knockout and transgenic technology, and forward genetic approaches using mutagenesis and quantitative genetic techniques will be discussed, as well as application of these studies to different model organisms (fly, zebrafish, dog, mouse). Genetic approaches to behavior and complex disease in humans will be illustrated with the series of lectures on tauopathies, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Course Directors: Ted Abel abele@sas.upenn.edu and Maja Bucan bucan@pobox.upenn.edu, 898-0020

INSC 579 Synaptic Transmission (Fall - odd years)

This seminar course will involve critical reading and discussion of classic and modern papers in synaptic physiology. Approximately half the time will be spent on the neuromuscular junction, with the balance covering central synapses. Prerequisites: Core II and III or permission of the instructors.

Course Directors: Tom Parsons thd@vet.upenn.edu, 221-2554 andMatthew Dalva dalva@mail.med.upenn.edu,746-2752

INSC 582 (PHRM 540, PSYC 605) Behavioral Neuropharmacology (Spring - even years)

This course examines how behavioral studies influence current concepts of the physiological roles of particular neurotransmitters in the brain. -- animal models of neurological diseases -- animal models of psychiatric illness -- neurochemical mechanisms of psychotropic drugs

This course examines how behavioral studies influence current concepts of the physiological roles of particular neurotransmitters in the brain. -- animal models of neurological diseases -- animal models of psychiatric illness -- neurochemical mechanisms of psychotropic drugs

Course Director: Irwin Lucki: lucki@pharm.med, 573-3305

INSC 589 Neuroendocrinology (Spring - odd years)

This course will begin with an overview of neuroendocrine systems followed by a discussion of the neuroanatomical basis of neuroendocrine systems.  There will be a series of lectures on the unique functions of various hormone receptors, including steroid and peptide receptors, all of which are expressed in brain.  We will focus on specific neuroendocrine systems, including reproduction, metabolism, stress and fluid balance.        

Course Director: Lori Flanagan-Cato flanagan@cattell.psych.upenn.edu, 898-4085

INSC 592 (PSYC 600-304 and 600-302) Cognitive Neuroscience (Fall - every other year)

This course will review what has been learned about the neural mechanisms underlying intelligent behavior in humans and animals. The course will be organized by the traditional topic areas of cognitive science, specifically: Vision (early vision through object recognition), attention, learning and memory, motor control, planning and problem-solving, and language. Within each topic we will attempt to integrate the results of the different neuroscience approaches to each topic, including the study of human neurological patients, lesion studies in animals, single unit recordings, neural network modelling, and functional imaging techniques. This course can be taken as 1 c.u. (600-304 and 600-302) or as 0. 5 c.u. (600-304 or 600-302).

Course Director for 600-304 (Fall 1st half, 0.5 c.u.): Russell Epstein rae@cattell.psych.upenn.edu, 573-3532

Course Director for 600-302 (Fall 2nd half, 0.5 c.u.): Amishi Jha apjha@psych.upenn.edu, 746-0425

INSC 593 Structural Neurobiology (Spring - every year)

The goals of this course are to learn the basic structural features of the vertebrate brain at several levels of scale: macroscopic (gross = major subdivisions, major connecting tracts), microscopic (histological organization of some regions of major current interest, e.g., hippocampus, and ultrastructural (structure of synapses, circuits); to learn to find your way around the brain using various available maps/atlases and MRIs, and become proficient with light microscopy.

Course Directors: Yale Cohen yalecohen@gmail.com and Josh Gold jigold@mail.med.upenn.edu

INSC 594 Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience (Spring - even years)

This course surveys recent theoretical models of neural function. Students will be introduced to the basic techniques of modelling and computer simulation. Topics include models of synaptic plasticity, neuronal processing and oscillations, and models of various brain regions including cortex, thalamus, cerebellum, and hippocampus. Particular emphasis will be placed on models of the visual system from development to perceptual phenomena such as structure-from-motion, shape-from-shading, and stereopsis. Higher level processes including cortical integreation will be considered. Applied neural network models of Hopfield, Sejnowski, and parallel distributed processing will also be presented.

Course Director: Vijay Balasubramanian vijay@physics.upenn.edu, 573-0982

595 Behavioral Neuroscience (Fall - even years)

Course Director: Harvey Grill: grill@cattell.psych.upenn.edu, 898-7213

INSC 596 (PHRM 510) Neurochemistry/Neuropharmacology (Spring - every year)

The goals of this course are to provide a general overview of the biochemical properties of the nervous system, and to provide in-depth information on neurotransmitter and effector systems.  Emphasis will be placed on the wealth of new molecular information that is being gathered to examine how cells of the nervous system function and communicate.

Course Director: Ben Giasson, giassonb@mail.med.upenn.edu, 573-6012

INSC 597 Developmental Neurobiology (Fall - every year)

The goal of this course is to examine the principles underlying nervous system development. This is not a survey course in Developmental Neurobiology. Rather, the course will focus on selected topics, for which we will discuss the molecular and cellular strategies employed in different model organisms. Topics may include Formation of Neural Tissue; Specification of Neural Cell Types; Cell Migration; Synapse Formation. Each week includes two 1.5 hrs classes, of which the first 30 minutes will consist of a faculty presented introduction/background to this class's topic. The background will vary with each topic, and rather than providing a comprehensive overview of the current field, will focus mostly on the biological principles . The introduction/background will be followed by a discussion of one paper. Each week includes two classes lectures and a small group discussion in which one or two important papers are analyzed in detail.

Course Director: Greg Bashaw bashaw@mail.med.upenn.edu 898-2745

INSC 598 Advanced Systems Neuroscience (Fall - odd years)

This course takes an integrative approach to the study of nervous system function. We will explore neural strategies used by different modalities to encode sensory information. Information coding in these systems will be analyzed at different levels, ranging from synaptic input analysis at single sensory neurons and their effect on local network processing to larger scale population analyses. In a few of the systems, we will also explore how sensory information is transformed into motor commands that specify specific behaviors. The course will consist of an introductory section to provide a conceptual framework for studying neural circuits at the systems level. This will be followed by four additional sections that each explores specific neural systems within the context of this conceptual framework. Prerequisite: Core III (INSC 573- Systems Neuroscience) or Permission of Course Director.

Course Director: Marc Schmidt marcschm@sas.upenn.edu

INSC 600-008 Behavioral Genetics of Psychiatric Disorders

This course focuses on the use of genetic techniques to study the molecular and cellular bases of behavior. Reverse genetic approaches utilizing gene knockout and transgenic technology and forward genetic approaches using mutagenesis and quantitative genetic techniques will be discussed, as well as application of these studies to different model organisms (fly, zebrafish, mouse). Genetic approaches to behavior and complex disease in humans will be illustrated with the series of lectures on tauopathies, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Course Directors: Ted Abel abele@sas.upenn.edu Maja Bucan bucan@pobox.upenn.edu, 898-0020

INSC 600-009 Neurodevelopmental Disorders

This course focuses on the study of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and mental retardation. We will examine the neurobiological basis of these disorders, examine mouse models and discuss the social, economic and political impact of these disorders.

Course Directors: Ted Abel abele@sas.upenn.edu and Maja Bucan bucan@pobox.upenn.edu, 898-0020

INSC 618 Recovery After Neural Injury (Spring - odd years)

The human nervous system is subject to several types of injury, (traumatic, ischemic, epileptic, demyelinating, and/or inflammatory, etc.) that cause serious functional deficits. The mechanisms used by the central and peripheral nervous systems for functional recovery from these injuries will be described in this course. The molecular and cellular pathobiology of CNS injury will be reviewed and methods to enhance functional recovery will be discussed in detail. These include the limitation of secondary neuronal damage by pharmacological manipulation (neuroprotection), the promotion of regeneration and plasticity, the application of bioengineering strategies, and the use of behavioral rehabilitative approaches. The course format is a combination of lecture, journal club style student presentations and classroom discussion.

Course Directors: Robert Neumar neumarr@uphs.upenn.edu 898-4960, Frank Welsh fwelsh@mail.med.upenn.edu 662-7925

INSC 705-401 Neuroethics (Spring 2010)

Neuroscience is increasingly affecting all aspects of human life, from the relatively familiar medical applications in neurology and psychiatry, to the new applications in education, business, law and the military. Today's neuroscience graduate students will be among the scientists, citizens and policy makers who will lead society through the maze of decisions regarding the appropriate uses of neuroscience. This course provides a survey of the key ethical, legal and social issues at the intersection of neuroscience and society.

Course Director: Martha Farah mfarah@cattell.psych.upenn.edu, 573-3531

INSC 727 (PSYC 727) Electronics for Scientists (Spring - every year)

This course is a tutorial for independent study and is primarily intended for students actively involved in project work to design and construct electronic instrumentation either for their research, general interest, or other application. Students receive instruction and guidance on an as-needed basis for learning and project accomplishment. See course web-site for additional information.

Course Director: John Andrews-Labenski: 898-8092, jala@psych.upenn.edu, http://www.sas.upenn.edu/psych/shop/psyc727

INSC 670 (PHRM 670): Current Topics in Neuropharmacology (Fall - every year)

In this course, students critically review current topics in neuropharmacology literature, develop skills in oral presentation of scientific data and analysis of experimental results, and interact with faculty members working in fields associated with the topics discussed. The faculty members serve as experts in the areas discussed to provide perspectives or guide the discussions, but the emphasis is on efforts by the students. Typically, each session will employ a seminar format. The students are expected to critically read the designated papers and sufficient other references to place the paper in context, then clearly and critically present its results and conclusions and lead a round-table discussion with the other studetns. The course is designed to help students develop skills to independently and critically analyze scientific papers. Grading will depend on both the presentation of papers and the participation in class discussions.

Course Director: Jim Eberwine, eberwine@pharm.med.upenn.edu