Course Schedule
| Date | Topic | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/2, 4:00-5:30 pm | Course Introduction | Will, Alex, and Angeliki | |
| 9/4, 9/8 | Molecular Basis of Behaviors Underlying Addiction | Marina Picciotto | |
| 9/11, 9/15 | The Neuronal Cytoskeleton and Axonal Transport in Health and Disease | Shaul Yogev | |
| 9/18, 9/22 | Neurobiology of Social Cognition | Steve Chang | |
| 9/25, 9/29 | Chemoreception in the Fly | John Carlson | |
| 10/2, 10/6 | Value-Based Decision-Making | Ifat Levy | |
| 10/9, 10/13 | Inhibition and Excitation in Cortical Circuits | Jess Cardin | |
| 10/16, 10/20 | Homeostatic Plasticity and Synaptic Scaling | Susumu Tomita | |
| 10/23 & 10/27 Break | |||
| 10/30, 11/2 (5 - 6:30 pm) | Repeat Expansion Diseases | Junjie Guo | |
| 11/6, 11/10 | Neurodegeneration | Sreeganga Chandra | |
| 11/13, 11/17 | Visual Processing in the Vertebrate Retina | Jimmy Zhou | |
| 11/20, 12/1 | Genetics of Autism Spectrum Disorders | Ellen Hoffman | |
| 11/23-11/29 Thanksgiving | |||
| 12/4, 12/8 | Principles of Feeding Control | Marcelo Dietrich | |
| 12/17 Final Essays Due by 10AM |
Course Format
Each topic will be covered during two classes: the first will be a lecture from a Yale faculty member on the state of a field of neuroscience, and the second a student-led discussion of some pertinent literature. The first class will acquaint us with the fundamentals of a particular field and is an opportunity to ask questions about the research topic. The second class will consist of an in-depth discussion of at least two research papers of the lecturer's choice, and will be led by two students. Consideration will be paid to the following questions: What is the objective of this research? How was it—or has it been—accomplished? Is this good neuroscience, or are there weaknesses from which we can learn?
Participation is one of the requirements for the course. Active participation will enable us to learn from one another and to delve into the details of the two papers. In discussing and learning about the strengths and limitations of a particular approach to neuroscience, hopefully we can begin to understand the interesting questions that drive that particular field and how those questions relate to other fields.
