Brain Architecture—course syllabus
Instructors: Larry Swanson PhD, with Joel Hahn PhD and Floyd Gilles MD
Spring 2010 (BISC424; 4 units)
TTh 10-11:50am HNB100
Who the course designed for: Advanced undergraduates and graduate students in neuroscience-related fields.
Objectives: The goal of this course is to understand the general principles of nervous system organization, from the structural, functional, and molecular points of view—in humans and in animals. This knowledge will be used to probe how the brain mediates cognition, emotion, and behavior, and how abnormalities in its circuitry may lead to a wide range of psychiatric, neurological, and metabolic diseases. It can also be used to stimulate new approaches to hardware and software design in computer science. An historical approach is taken so that students gain an appreciation for how scientists actually analyze and think about brain structure and function in the laboratory.
Approach and Course Structure: The outline of lectures and discussion sessions is given below. Basically the lecture component is divided into a four part sequence: an historical overview, then two approaches to overall brain architecture that are especially illuminating because they start with a simple state and follow progressive differentiation to a much more complex state (evolution and embryonic development), and finally an overview of basic functional systems or circuits (divided into four basic parts: motor, state, cognitive, and sensory). In contrast, the discussion sessions are designed to capitalize on great interest in human brain imaging—3-D images of the living, functioning human brain. Over the course of the semester, you will learn how to interpret these images, how they are produced, and what some of the technical limitations of the method are.
Prerequisites: BISC421 (Neurobiology), or equivalent; mainly a real interest in the nervous system
Textbooks (required):
Nieuwenhuys, R., Voogd, J., and Chr. van Huijzen (2008) The human central nervous system, 4th edition (New York: Springer)
Swanson, L.W. (2003) Brain architecture: understanding the basic plan (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
Instructors:
Larry W. Swanson, PhD (Coursemaster) Appleman Professor of Biological Sciences; [email protected]
Floyd H. Gilles, MD (Human brain discussion coleader with Dr. Swanson) Professor & Head of Neuropathology, and Head of Children’s Brain Center, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; [email protected]
Joel D. Hahn, PhD (Associate Instructor) Research Associate, Brain Architecture Center, USC; [email protected]
Grading: There will be three exams: two midterms and a final. The final exam will not be cumulative, but will cover material in the last third of the class. Each exam will count for one third of the grade. Exams will be a combination of essay questions and questions of a factual nature (True/false, fill in the blank, etc.).
Students with Disabilities: Students requesting academic accommodations based on a disability are required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP when adequate documentation is filed. Please be sure the letter is delivered to the instructor as early in the semester as possible. Disability Services and Programs is located in Student Union 301 and the phone number is (213) 740-0776.
Syllabus (subject to change):
Reading assignments will be made in the preceding class and will be posted on Blackboard
Jan 12, 2010
a) History of brain structure-function: What the ancient Greeks thought
b) History of brain structure-function: Renaissance revolution
Jan 14
a) History of brain structure-function: Microscopes and the cell theory
b) Discussion: Axial & coronal MRI and axial & coronal brain slabs
Jan 19
a) Evolution of the nervous system: Nerve nets appear first
b) Evolution of the nervous system: Invertebrates go a long way
Jan 21
a) Evolution of the nervous system: All vertebrates have the same basic plan
b) Discussion: The physics of MRI and relationship to what scanners do
Jan 26
a) Development of vertebrate nervous system: Gastrulation and embryo formation
b) Development of vertebrate nervous system: Neurulation—here it comes
Jan 28
a) Development of vertebrate nervous system: The neural tube and crest
b) Discussion: MRI—gray matter and white matter
Feb 2
a) Development of vertebrate nervous system: Patterns of nerve cell birth
b) Development of vertebrate nervous system: Fundamental parts
Feb 4
a) Development of vertebrate nervous system: Fundamental circuits
b) Discussion: MRI—Human brain big subdivisions
Feb 9
a) Development of vertebrate nervous system: Fate maps
b) Development of vertebrate nervous system: Architectural principles
Feb 11
a) Brain and behavior: Holy Grail— the basic wiring diagram of the brain
b) Discussion: Review for first midterm
Feb 16
a) First Midterm (on material through Feb 9)
Feb 18
a) Brain and behavior: A four systems network model
b) Discussion: MRI—looking at brain cross sections
Feb 23
a) Brain and behavior: Topography versus systems approaches to architecture
b) The motor system: Introduction to motoneuron classes
Feb 25
a) The somatic motor system: Central pattern generators
b) Discussion: fMRI: more on brain cross sections, seeing functional changes
Mar 2
a) The somatic motor system: Central pattern initiators and controllers
b) The somatic motor system: Motor learning and the cerebellum
Mar 4
a) The somatic motor system: Drive and motivation
b) Discussion: fMRI: more functional changes; problems with technology
Mar 9
a) The autonomic motor system: Unconscious control of bodily functions
b) The autonomic motor system: Central control system
Mar 11
a) The neuroendocrine motor system: The body’s master gland (pituitary)
b) Discussion: fMRI: what you can see in mice and in frog embryos
March 15-19: Spring Break
Mar 23
a) The neuroendocrine motor system: The stress system
b) The neuroendocrine motor system: Controlling reproduction
Mar 25
a) The motor system: Integration within and between motor systems
b) Discussion: Review for second midterm
Mar 30
a) Second Midterm (on material through Mar 25)
April 1
a) The behavioral state system: Intrinsic control of sleep and wakefulness
b) Discussion: PET scans— what are we looking at?
April 6
a) The behavioral state system: Circadian and seasonal rhythms
b) The behavioral state system: Reproductive cycles
April 8
a) The cognitive system: Thinking and voluntary control of behavior
b) Discussion: PET scans & MR spectroscopy: chemical localization in the brain
April 13
a) The cognitive system: The cerebral cortex—regions and layers
b) The cognitive system: Cerebral cortex circuitry
April 15
a) The cognitive system: The cerebral nuclei
b) Discussion: Experimental neuroanatomical methods in animals
April 20
a) The sensory system: Vision
b) The sensory system: Hearing
April 22
a) The sensory system: Touch
b) Discussion: Neuroanatomical methods in animals vs. brain imaging in humans
April 27
a) The sensory system: Pain & Pleasure—emotion & mood
b) Modifying architecture: Learning, stress, cycles, and damage repair
April 29
a) Overview of the course
b) Discussion: Review for Final exam (on material starting with Apr 1)
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