Current CourseS

CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE - lab course

This course is a survey of cellular and molecular neuroscience, a subfield that emphasizes understanding the cells and molecules that underlie nervous system function. We will look at the anatomy and physiology of nerve cells, the mechanisms that underlie neural function, and how these mechanisms allow organisms to function in their environment. It’s a core required upper-level course in the neuroscience major and designed for 16-18 students. It has a weekly lab component. Innovations in this course include the readings and assignments from sociology of neuroscience text, Conviction by Oliver Rollins, and a semester-long CURE that allows students to learn and practice immunohistochemistry. [Link to Materials] [Link to Lab Manual]

Mechanisms of Memory

Research into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of memory often challenge our intuition of how memory works and, indeed, our personal experiences of memory. In this course, we explored classical and contemporary research into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of memory with a focus on non-human animals. The goal was to understand the multifaceted and integrated way that molecules and cells in the nervous system work together to underlie memory. The course relied on research articles and review papers in the field, and students will develop their skills in writing and presenting for scientific audiences. Students choose their own topics for assignments which included leading a class discussion of articles and writing a review paper (iterative with multiple drafts). [Link to Materials]

PAST COURSES

Principles of Neuroscience - lab course

In this course, we explore the various subfields within neuroscience and learn about how each of these subfield address questions of human and animal behaviour. Students explore the biological mechanisms of topics including sleep, emotions, stress, mental health, memory, learning, development, attention, consciousness. This course is designed as a required sophomore-level course for psychology and neuroscience majors. Accompanying weekly labs help students to apply their knowledge. In labs, students use Neuromembrane to simulate action potentials, use brain slices from Grisham et al., 2008, Neurosci Lett to analyze the effect of estradiol on the female bird song system, perform their own sheep brain dissection, design their own project using ELISAs. [Link to Materials]

Advanced topics in neurobiology

This course explores canonical topics in modern neurobiology/biopsychology through discussion primary research articles. The main focus of the course will be on changes in methodologies of biopsychology over time. By focusing on methodology, we can see how research questions are refined or constrained by the methodologies available to us. Students will be able to critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary methodologies in research. We will discuss methods including CRISPR, genetic models of disease, imaging (Calcium, immunofluorescence), genetic tools for manipulation of neurons (e.g. optogenetics).

Robotic animals

This course allows students to explore how complex behaviors result from relatively simple interactions between an organism’s perceptual/motor system and its environment. In teams, students will engage in both engineering design and experimental design. This course centers around a two-part project. In the first part, teams will each design and create an “animal” with a specified set of complex behaviors. In the second part, the teams will then design a series of experiments to “understand” the behavior of the other group's “animal.” [Link to Materials]

Science Communication

SciComm is a projects-based course that provides students with opportunities to practice speaking, writing, and exhibiting on the latest research in psychology and neuroscience-related topics in a variety of settings. Importantly, this course not only cultivates students to be critical consumers of popular science, but critical producers as well. Projects in this course included translating a primary research article into a work of art, writings a news article about a research article, hosting a podcast, and hosting a campus-wide discussion on representation in STEM. For this latter discussion (pictured), SciComm students highlighted differences between the book and movie for Hidden Figures, and talked about how these differences in representation may affect perceptions of women of colour in STEM. [Link to Materials]