Neuroscience/BCS 243 - Fall, 2001

Neurochemical Foundations of Behavior

Tuesday, Thursday, 9:40-10:55

Professor Carol Kellogg
 
Office: Meliora 186, x5-4801  Office Hours: After class or by appointment
e-mail: kellogg@bcs.rochester.edu
Web: http://www.bcs.rochester.edu/neuro/
Workshop Leader: David Lyons e-mail: dl008h@mail.rochester.edu 

Course Intent:

This course is intended to introduce you to the field of neurochemistry. Basic neurochemistry includes study of the chemical composition of the brain, brain metabolism and the chemistry of neurotransmission. Methodological development over the latter part of the 20th century has allowed investigation down to nuclear levels. About half of the course will cover the chemistry of neural transmission and a quarter will cover chemical composition and metabolism. The discipline of behavioral neurochemistry includes topics that range from study of the neurochemical mechanisms that underlie normal behavior to behavioral sequellae that result from severe neurochemical abnormalities. These issues will be considered in the final quarter of the course in a unit designated as functional neurochemistry. However, throughout the course, the functional aspects of all neurochemical mechanisms will be discussed. An introductory knowledge of biochemistry will be helpful in understanding the material presented. NSC 201 is a prerequisite for this course.

Text:

No single text satisfactorily covers all the material included in this course. Chapters will be assigned from the following books, all of which are on 2-hr. reserve at Carlson Library.

Basic Neurochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Medical Aspects. Sixth Edition. Siegel, G.J., Agranoff, B.W., Albers, R.W., Fisher, S.K., Uhler, M.D. (eds.), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1999. Twenty-nine of the 54 chapters in this book have been assigned. You might want to purchase this book.

Neurobiology of Mental Illness, Charney, D.S., Nestler, E.J., Bunney, B.S. (eds.), Oxford University Press, 1999. Ten chapters in this book have been assigned.

The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology, Seventh Edition, Cooper, J.R., Bloom, F.E., Roth, R.H., Oxford University Press, 1996. Five chapters in this book have been assigned.

Other readings will be assigned and placed on reserve in Carlson Library.

Examinations:

The course is arranged into four units. An in-class exam will be given at the end of each of the first three units. A take-home exam will cover the fourth unit. The take-home exam questions will be handed out at the last class period and the exam will be due on the day that the final exam for the course is scheduled. Each exam will account for 25% of your final grade. The in-class exams involve data analysis and interpretation. The take-home exam will be an essay format and the answers will require integration of diverse material.

Course Schedule and Assigned Readings

* Additional Readings, On Reserve, Carlson Library


September 4: Overview of the Course
An historical introduction to neurochemistry
PART ONE: General and Macromolecular Neurochemistry September 6: Brain Regulation of its Chemical Environment Siegel, et al., Sixth Edition, Ch. 32
September 11: Carbohydrate Utilization and Energy Metabolism  Siegel, et al., Sixth Edition, Ch. 31
September 13: Calcium: Sculptor and Destroyer of Cells Siegel, et al., Sixth Edition, Ch. 23
September 18: Proteins in the Brain *Tobin, A.J. (1994) Gene expression in the mammalian nervous system. In. Seigel, et al., Basic Neurochemistry, Fifth Edition, Ch. 24, pp. 493-513; 

Charney, et al., Ch. 6;

Siegel, et al., Sixth Edition, Ch. 26

September 20: Lipids: Multiple Roles Siegel, et. al, Sixth Edition, Ch. 2,3;

*Mattson, M.P. (1998) Modification of ion homeostasis by lipid peroxidation: Roles in neuronal degeneration and adaptive plasticity. Trends in Neurosci., 21: 53-57

September 25: External Factors That Influence Brain Funcion: Nutrition and Ischemia/Hypoxia Siegel, et. al, Sixth Edition, Ch. 33,34
September 27: EXAM ONE
PART TWO: Transmitter Neurochemistry: Presynaptic Mechanisms October 2: Acetylcholine *Ch. 8 in Molecular Neurobiology of the Mammalian Brain, Second Edition, McGeer, P.L., Eccles, J.C., McGeer, E.G., Plenum Press, 1987;

Siegel et. al., Sixth Edition, Ch. 10

October 4: Catecholamines Siegel, et al., Sixth Edition, Ch. 12;

Also, extensive coverage can be found in Cooper, et. al., Chs. 8,9

October 9: Serotonin Siegel, et al., Sixth Edition, Ch. 13 (or Cooper, et al., Ch. 10)
October 11: Amino Acids Cooper, et al., Ch. 6;

Siegel, et al., Sixth Edition, Chs. 15,16

October 16: Peptides and Transmitter coexistence Siegel, et al., Sixth Edition, Ch. 18; Cooper, et al., Ch. 11;

*Furness, J.B., Morris, J.L., Gibbins, I.L., Costa, M. (1989) Chemical coding of neurons and plurichemical transmission. Ann. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol., 29:298- 306

October 18: Other Messengers and Other Actions of Transmitters Siegel, et al., Sixth Ed., Chs. 17, 49
October 23: EXAM TWO
PART THREE: Synaptic Neurochemistry: Postsynaptic Mechanisms October 25: Receptors: Overview and Recognition Site Identification Charney, et al., Ch. 4;

Cooper, et al., Ch. 4 

October 30: Receptor-Effector Mechanisms: Ligand-gated Ion Channels Review receptor coverage in Siegel, et al., Sixth Ed., Chs. 11, 15, 16
November 1: Receptor-Effector Mechanisms: Second Messenger Systems Siegel et al., Chs. 20, 21, 22;

Review receptor coverage in chapters on various neurotransmitters

November 6: Trophic Factor Regulation Siegel, et al., Sixth Edition, Ch. 19;

*Thatte, U. and Dahanukar, S. (1997) Apoptosis. Drugs, 54:511-532

November 8: Importance of Phosphorylation to Brain Function Siegel et al, Sixth Edition, Chs. 24, 25
November 13: EXAM THREE
PART FOUR: Functional Neurochemistry November 15: Neurochemical Aspects of Neuroplasticity Charney et al., Ch. 5;

Siegel, et al., Sixth Ed., Ch 50

20: Neural Mechanisms of Adaptive Responses  Charney, et al., Ch. 36;

*Sapolsky, R.M. (1992). Neuroendocrinology of the stress response. In: Behavioral Endocrionology, M.B. Becker, S.M. Breedlove, and Crew, D. (Eds.), MIT Press, Cambridge, pp.287-324;

*McEwen, B.S. and Magarinos, A.M. (1997). Stress effects on morphology and function of the hippocampus. Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 821:271-284

November 22: Thanksgiving Recess
November 27: Neurochemical Aspects of Major Psychiatric Disorders Charney, et al., Chs. 18, 19, 26;

Siegel, et al., Sixth Ed., Chs. 51,52

November 29: Sex-specific aspects of neural function *Kelley, D.D. (2000) Sexual differentiation of the nervous system, In: E.R. Kandel, J.H. Schwartz, & T.L. Jessell, Eds. Principles of Neuroscience, 4th ed., Ch. 57, Elsevier, NY, pp. 1131-1146;

*Segovia, S. et al. (1999) The development of brain sex differences: A multisignaling process. Behav. Brain Res., 105: 69-80

December 4: Neurochemical Aspects of Substance Abuse Disorders Charney, et al., Chs. 40, 41;

Siegel, et al., Sixth Ed., Ch. 53

December 6: Neurochemistry of motor functions Siegel et al., Ch. 45;

*Lozano, A.M. et al. (1998) New developments in understanding the etiology of Parkinsonās disease and in its treatment. Curr. Opinion Neurobiol., 8:783-790;

*Cha, J-H. J. (2000). Transcriptional dysregulation in Huntingtonās disease. Trends in Neuroscience, 23: 387-392

December 11: Video: MPTP-induced Parkinson's Disease; Hand out final exam
December 19: Final Take-Home Exam Due by 4:00 pm

 

Workshop Schedule

Workshop Leader: David Lyons

Workshops will be held on Monday or Wednesday evenings in Meliora 127, time to be arranged.

Workshop 1: Monday, September 17

Workshop 2: Monday, September 24

Workshop 3: Wednesday, October 10

Workshop 4: Wednesday, October 17

Workshop 5: Wednesday, October 31

Workshop 6: Wednesday, November 7

Workshop 7: Wednesday, December 5 OR Monday, December 10