NSC 243: Syllabus

Fall 2012

Time & Location

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 11:00-11:50am, Gavett 312

Personnel

Professor Renee Miller, Ph.D.
Office: Meliora 106
Telephone: 276-4024
Office Hours: Monday 1:00-3:00, or by appt
e-mail:

Workshop Leader:
Neal Vohora
e-mail:

Course Intent

This course is intended to introduce you to the field of neurochemistry. We will work through sequential units on the chemicals of the brain, the effector mechanisms of chemicals including receptors and signal transduction pathways, how chemicals interact with proteins, metabolism, and lipids, and neurochemicals in disease. The discipline of behavioral neurochemistry includes topics that range from the study of the neurochemical mechanisms that underlie normal behavior to behavioral sequellae that result from severe neurochemical dysfunction. Students will cover these issues in the final quarter of the course in a unit designated as applied neurochemistry. However, throughout the course, the functional aspects of all neurochemical mechanisms will be presented. An introductory knowledge of biochemistry will be helpful in understanding the material presented. NSC 201 is a prerequisite.

Text

Basic Neurochemistry, Eighth Edition. Siegel, G.J, Albers, R.W., Brady, S.T., Price, D.L. (Eds.), Elsevier Academic Press, 2012. This is an edited book with each chapter written by different authors. I am OK with you obtaining the 7th edition at a reduced price, but the chapters are numbered differently so you have to be sure to read the correct material. Other assigned readings are on Blackboard.

Evaluation

The course is arranged into four units. An in-class exam will be given at the end of each of the first three units. The in-class exams involve data analysis and interpretation. Each exam will account for 20% of your final grade. There will be several in-class quizzes that will be short answer questions testing recent lecture material. Quizzes will count for 15% of your grade. Two problem-based workshops will be held for each of the first two units, and one for unit three. These workshops will give you experience in working with and interpreting data. In addition, a portion of each class will be spent on ‘skills’—discussing primary research papers, analyzing data, scientific writing, etc. The fourth unit focuses on applying your understanding of basic neurochemistry to specific issues of function or neuropathology. Each topic in this unit will be covered mini-symposium style with several students responsible for organizing and presenting relevant information about a specific topic. Each individual participant will be responsible for a 10-15 minute oral presentation and a paper covering their topic. The paper will be due one week after the presentation of the symposium. The presentation, paper and overall symposium will account for 25% of the class grade.

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