Professional Documents
Culture Documents
class: Tue,Thur,8:009:15a,VH131
JamieTheobald,PhD
prereq: GeneralBiologyI&II
BiologicalSciences
text: PrinciplesofNeuralScience,5thed.
OE204
Kandel,Schwartz,Jessell,Hudspeth,Siegelbaum
Tue,Thur,10:00a12:00p
McGrawHill,NewYork,2013
3053487319
text: AnAnthropologistonMars
theobald@fiu.edu
OliverSacks,Picador,1995
web: http://faculty.fiu.edu/~theobald/courses/zoo4744neurobiology/
Descriptionandlearninggoals
Neurobiologytheofstudywhatnervoussystemsdoandhowtheydoitisoneofthegreat
frontiersinscience.Howdoesahoneybeelandonaflower,oraturtlefindthebeachofitsbirth
decadeslater?Whydowesleepanddream?Howdoesapitcherthrowinthestrikezone,ora
hitterattempttoconnect?Whatarecolors,warmth,andflavors?Thesequestionssamplethe
enormous field of neural science. This course will examine neural function at the levels of
moleculesandcells,systemsandphysiology,andfinallydevelopmentandbehavior.Wewill
discussthehistoryofexperimentsandmodelorganismsthatbringustoourcurrentlevelof
understanding.Bytheendofthiscourseyoushouldbeableto:explainthephysical,molecular,
and cellular basis of active membranes; predict how molecular changes affect large scale
function; compare transduction and encoding in different sensory systems; understand the
productionofcoordinatedmovement;followdevelopmentalprocessesthatbuildthenervous
system;andassesstheroleofexperience,learning,andotherhighlevelprocessesinshaping
behavior.Dependingonquestionsandinterest,Imayaddtopics,ordropsomethatwedon'tget
to.Iwouldratherskipsectionsthanrushthroughmaterial.
Grading
ZOO4744:3exams(25,30,and35%)+inclasswrittenquestions(10%)
ZOO5785:3exams(20,25,and30%)+inclasswrittenquestions(10%)+presentation(15%)
The exams will be short answer and plotting. They aren't explicitly cumulative, but
understanding previous material is necessary. They will only cover topics that Ive done in
lecture,butdoingwellwillrequireyoutothinkthroughproblemsyoumightnothaveseen
beforeinotherwords,rotememorizationwontcarryyouthrough.Theintentistogetyouto
thinkhardaboutthematerialandaskquestionswhenyoudontunderstand.Nothingismore
importantthanregularattendanceandaskingquestions.Illcurveexamsbyscalingthescoresto
thetopscore.Forexample,ifthetopscoreis90%,Illdivideeveryscoreby0.9togetthe
recordedscore.Youcanmakeupamissedexamonlyifyouprovidewrittendocumentationof
theemergencythatkeptyouaway.Graduatecreditrequiresapresentationonatopicinthe
neurobiologyliteraturegiventothewholeclass.Meetwithmeearlyinthetermtodiscuss.
Finally,gradeassignmentswillfollowasimplescaleof:90%orbetter=A,80%orbetter=B,
70%orbetter=C,60%orbetter=D,otherwisefail.Scoringwithin1%of90or80willgetyou
a+,forexample89%willearnaB+.Pleasemakeyourselfawareoftheuniversitypolicieson
academicmisconductandsexualharassment,andthendontdothosethings.
Neurobiology:ZOO4744andZOO5785,Fall2016,3credits
week
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date
topic
reading
23 Aug
Introductionandstructure
25 Aug
Ionchannels
Kandel4,5
30 Aug
Membranepotential
Kandel6
1 Sept
Passivesignaling
Sacks1
6 Sept
Actionpotentialgeneration
Kandel7
8 Sept
Actionpotentialpropagation
Sacks2
13 Sept
Synaptictransmission
Kandel8,9
15 Sept
Synapticintegration
Kandel10
20 Sept
Review
22 Sept
Exam1Structureandtransmission
27 Sept
Sensorycoding
Kandel21
29 Sept
Touch,temperature,pain
Kandel23
4 Oct
Haircells,balance,andhearing
Kandel30
6 Oct
SmellandTaste
Kandel32,26
11 Oct
Vision,color,motiondetection
Sacks3
13 Oct
Musclecontractionandbiomechanics
Kandel34
18 Oct
Motorunits,force,andfatigue
Kandel33
20 Oct
Motorplanningandmotorlearning
Sacks4
25 Oct
Review
27 Oct
Exam2Sensoryandmotorsystems
1 Nov
Neurogenesis
Kandel53
3 Nov
Axongrowthandsynapseformation
Kandel54
8 Nov
Synapsesandexperience
Kandel55
10 Nov
Learning
Kandel65
15 Nov
Memory
Sacks5
17 Nov
Sleepanddreams
Kandel51
22 Nov
Language
Kandel60
24 Nov
Thanksgiving
Sacks6
29 Nov
Mentalhealthanddisorders
Sacks7
1 Dec
Review
8 Dec
Exam3Developmentandbehavior
7:309:30VH131