Animals as varied as sea slugs and humans display a number of types of learning, ranging from the capacity to acquire species-specific behavior to the ability to form arbitrary associations. Just as varied are the philosophies governing the choice of how to best study the neurobiology of learning and memory. Through class discussion, student presentations, and a critical reading of the primary literature, the advantages and disadvantages of these various approaches will be investigated. While the specific focus of this class will be on learning and memory, other ways in which the brain "learns" will also be explored. Normal brain ontogeny relies to some extent on invariant cues in the animal's environment, making this process somewhat analogous to learning. In fact, the neural substrates for learning are likely to be a subset of the basic step used during brain development. Moreover, the developmental rules guiding brain assembly place constraints on the "what, how, and when" of brain function and learning. Therefore this course will also cover select topics in basic developmental neurobiology.
COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Seminar
Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: NSM BIOL
Prerequisites: BIOL245 or BIOL249 or BIOL345
Last Updated on MAR-10-1997
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