NEUROSCIENCE AND BEHAVIOR

Professors: Allan Berlind (Biology), Catherine Best (Psychology), David Bodznick (Biology), John Seamon (Psychology), Harry Sinnamon (Psychology).

Assistant Professors: John Kirn (Biology), Janice Naegele (Biology)

Neuroscience is a discipline that probes one of the last biological frontiers in understanding ourselves, in that it asks fundamental questions about how the brain and nervous system work in the expression of behavior. As such, the field takes on a clear interdisciplinary character: all levels of biological organization (molecular, cellular, and systems) contribute to our understanding of the nervous system. Neuroscience has been a field of particularly active growth and progress for the past two decades, and it is certain to be an area where important and exciting developments will continue to occur in the foreseeable future. At Wesleyan, the neurosciences are represented by the teaching and research activities of several faculty members in the biology and psychology departments.

I. Requirements for the major

Foundation Courses:

BIOL 205 The Cell and the Molecular Basis of Heredity

BIOL 215 Biology I Laboratory (0.5 credit)

BIOL 206 Eukaryotic Genetics and Developmental Biology

BIOL 216 Biology II Laboratory (0.5 credit)

BIOL 207 Physiology, Ecology, and Evolution

BIOL 217 Biology III Laboratory (0.5 credit)

CHEM 141/142 General Chemistry or Chem 143/144

PHYS 111/112 General Physics or Phys 113/116

Core Course:

NS&B 213 Behavioral Neurobiology

Advanced Courses: Four advanced courses from the following list are required. At least two must be cross-listed with biology and two cross-listed with psychology. Majors are strongly encouraged to take at least one of the Laboratory and Research Courses listed separately below. However, only one course from this list may be counted among the four advanced courses required.

LECTURE AND SEMINAR COURSES

Cross-Listed with Biology:

NS&B 224 Hormones, Brain, and Behavior

NS&B 245 Cellular Neurobiology

NS&B 249 Neural Systems and Behavior

NS&B 345 Developmental Neurobiology

NS&B 348 Animal Orientation and Migration

NS&B 351 Neurobiology of Memory and Learning

NS&B 517 Topics in Neuroethology

NS&B 575 Visual System Development

Cross-Listed with Psychology:

NS&B 221 Human Memory

NS&B 222 Perception

NS&B 242 Clinical Neuropsychology

NS&B 275 Human Brain, Functional Anatomy

NS&B 325 Cognitive Neuroscience: Mechanisms of the Mind

NS&B 329 Seminar on Perception and Visual Cognition

NS&B 340 Movement and Motivation

NS&B 341 Developmental Neuropsychology

NS&B 352 Biology of Language and Communication

LABORATORY AND RESEARCH COURSES

Cross-Listed with Biology:

NS&B 247 Laboratory in Neurophysiology

NS&B 250 Laboratory in Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology

Cross-Listed with Psychology:

NS&B 208 Laboratory in Behavioral Neurobiology

NS&B 381 Seminar in Memory: Theory and Research

NS&B 382 Advanced Research in Perception and Attention

NS&B 385 Behavioral Neurobiological Research

II. Courses of Relevance Outside the Program: Though not requirements of the major, students should be aware that a number of courses in computer science, statistics, organic chemistry, and molecular biology, as well as courses in non-neuroscience areas of biology and psychology complement the NS&B major and should be considered, in consultation with your adviser, when planning your program of study.

III. Substituting Outside Courses for Credit to the Major

A. Foundation Courses: A student who has taken foundation courses outside of Wesleyan may be able to apply them to the major. As a general rule, courses acceptable to the biology, chemistry, and physics departments for university credit are acceptable to the NS&B program for substitution for foundation courses. Generally, the two-semester introductory biology sequence common at other schools would not be sufficient to substitute for all three of the introductory biology courses here.

B. Advanced Courses: Advanced courses, inside or outside of the University, might be acceptable as substitutes for the advanced courses of the NS&B major. In general, only one such course can be substituted, and approval must be obtained in advance from the program director.

IV. Undergraduate Research: NS&B majors are encouraged to become involved in the research of the faculty. Research tutorials and senior thesis tutorials are taken with mode of grading and amount of credit to be arranged with the research supervisor. See the pamphlet "Research in the Neuroscience Behavior Program" available in room 257 HA for descriptions of the ongoing research programs in the laboratories of the NS&B faculty.

V. Seminars: The program periodically invites neuroscientists outside of Wesleyan to come here and describe their research. These seminars, which frequently complement course material, are usually scheduled for 4 p.m. on Wednesday or Thursday. Students are encouraged to attend.

VI. Honors in Neuroscience & Behavior: To be considered for honors, a student must be an NS&B major and have a B average (grade average 85) in the courses credited to the major. The student must submit a laboratory research thesis that was supervised by a member of the NS&B faculty and be recommended for honors by the NS&B faculty.

VII. Petitioning for Exemptions: A student may request a variance from the requirements of the major or for honors by submitting a written petition to the coordinator of the program. The petition should indicate why the requirement cannot be met and the educational justification for the alternative. The petition will be considered by the NS&B faculty and the student will receive a statement of the decision by letter.

VIII. Teaching Apprentice Program: Students are appointed teaching apprentices with the approval of the participating faculty member and the dean's office. The apprenticeship position involves assisting a faculty member in the teaching of a course. Concurrently, the apprentice enrolls in an "apprenticeship tutorial" (NS&B 491/492), which is usually one course credit and operates in either the graded or credit/no credit modes. Apprentices are usually given a modest stipend.

IX. Steps in Becoming an NS&B Major: One or more of the foundation courses in biology (205,206 and 207) are prerequisites for the advanced NS&B courses offered by the Biology Department. Although not legislated as prerequisites, NS&B 213 (Behavioral Neurobiology) and one of the NS&B laboratory courses provide essential conceptual and practical background for independent research in the junior and senior years.

The ideal course sequence would include Biology 205 and 206 along with chemistry in the frosh year. In the sophomore year, one would take Biology 207 in the fall and Behavioral Neurobiology (NS&B 213) along with one of the NS&B laboratories in the spring. The other required courses and research tutorials would be spread out over the last two years.

The major has sufficient flexibility to handle late starts. For example, should a student decide to become a NS&B major having taken only NS&B 213 in the spring of the sophomore year, the student could, in the remaining four semesters, take all of the required courses and have one nonrequired course in each semester without exceeding 4.5 credits per semester. It should be noted that independent research in this case would reduce the opportunities to take courses outside of the major. Additional flexibility can be achieved by taking chemistry of physics during the summer.

X. For more information, see the program director, Allan Berlind.