CELLULAR
NEUROSCIENCE
(Psychology
120/Biology 153)
[last
edited 9/22/2009]
Tuesday-Thursday1:15-2:30
Room 041, Jordan Hall
Scope of course
The course is designed to provide a foundation
needed
for the eventual understanding of the neural basis of behavior and
cognition.
We will consider data and theories of brain-behavior relationships from
research in the neurosciences. Progress in neuroscience requires a
detailed
knowledge of brain function and so cuts across areas such as
neurophysiology,
neuroanatomy, and neurochemistry. In the first part of the course we
will
take a reductionistic approach and focus on the basic element of
nervous
systems -- the neuron. The objective is to understand the signaling
capacities
of neurons in terms of cellular mechanisms. In the second part of the
course
we will take a more integrative approach and consider how we might
understand
how simple sensory, motor, and learning capacities arise from the
operations
of neural networks. We will also consider how hormonal and neural
elements interact to produce motivation and emotions.
The course emphasizes fundamentals. It should
give you a solid grounding in the basic operating principles of neural
tissue, and let you progress with confidence to more advanced courses.
This is not a survey course, although we will touch at least briefly on
many areas of current research.
Staff
...........*** ...........***Head Teaching
Assistant. Office hours other than shown can be arranged
by
appointment.
Discussion sections
The twice-weekly discussion sections have been discontinued. To replace
these, you are encouraged to visit the course assistants during their
office
hours or by appointment. You are also encouraged to ask questions
via email (see email addresses under Staff).
Questions and answers (without identifying the questioner) will be
posted
on the Web so that all students can have the benefit of the
exchange.
Background section
An extensive handout for the background section is on the
web.
After you have enrolled in the course, you can get to that material by
clicking here.
Mechanics of the course
Illustrated lectures. A given topic will be covered by both lectures
and readings, but the way in which the material is presented will
usually
differ somewhat. Different perspectives should make new ideas
easier
to assimilate. As the course progresses, some topics will be covered
only
by readings or lectures. That will allow us to cover more ground with
only
minor loss in depth of understanding. Lecture notes
(unfortunately
without most of the visual material) will be available on the web.
Grading.
Grading is based on one midterm and a
final exam. The midterm counts for ~1/3 of your grade, the final ~2/3.
The final will cover the entire course. Exams are multiple choice and
short essay. Course grading will conform to the norm in
many Stanford
courses.
Students who are on the distribution, and this is expected to be all
students
who devote appropriate attention to the assignments, will receive an A
or B, with an approximate division of 1/3 and 2/3. There is one
rigid
part to this course: the final exam is
only given at the time and
date assigned by the university. No exceptions are made to this
policy,
so if you don't want to take the exam at the assigned time for some
reason
(for example, because you have two other exams the same day), please do
not take the course.
Text: Eric
R. Kandel, James
H. Schwartz, Thomas M.
Jessell:
Principles of Neural Science, 4th edition (McGraw-Hill)
This is a large, comprehensive text appropriate for a
full-year course. Of the 63 chapters, only 19 are assigned
reading
for this course. However, the text costs little more than diluted
versions, and can serve as a rich resource for students who have more
than
a passing interest in neuroscience. The
chapters and parts of chapters to be read are listed in the schedule
(these can change, so use the web rather than a printed version) and
additional guidance will be given as we proceed. Chapter numbers
in parentheses means you should 'read lightly' as opposed to studying
the chapter. Usually a good method is to start is to read the
section headings, and the opening paragraph; also look at the figures
and read the figure captions. If you read something that is also
covered or referred to in lecture, that part should be read more
carefully. If you read something that you find interesting, you
might guess that your instructors find it interesting too, although
this is not a certain guide.
Recommendation letters
Students who do well in the class often request
letters of recommendation. I am happy to write letters, but I
only
do so in August of each year, so you should plan accordingly. Instructions
can be found on my teaching
page.
Website
The website provides you flexibility in reviewing notes and keeping
track of what is going on in the course. A great advantage of the
web is that links provide a convenient method to move around on a site
and to switch among related topics. Attempts in the past to
incorporate these webpages with CourseWorks have created unacceptable
problems, which is why they are still independent.
The lectures are password protected. You will be given a
password
in class. Passwords are a source of frustration for everyone, and
I would like to eliminate them. However, for a variety of reasons
it isn't yet practical to do that.
In the event of an earthquake during class
Palo Alto is Earthquake country. In the event
of
an earthquake, you should immediately take cover as best as
possible in the auditorium. Make sure that your head and neck are
below the level of the seat backs. Brace yourself, and wait for
the
shaking
to cease. After the earthquake has stopped, remain calm and
listen
to your instructor and teaching assistants for instructions. In
an
orderly manner, you will be evacuating the building and moving to the
Emergency
Assembly Point in the Oval on
the north side of Jordan Hall. Be prepared to
assist
others who may be injured or need help, and expect aftershocks.
Spend a moment right now determining good places to
take
cover, and think about several ways in which you might exit the
building
should an earthquake occur. It is also a good idea to locate the
closest fire extinguisher and first aid kit. If you have a
disability
or for any reason might require extra assistance in the event of an
earthquake,
please let the instructor know so that your needs can be taken into
account
in our preparations for emergencies. You are encouraged to review
the Stanford
University Environmental Health and Safety Web Site for more
information.
If you have further questions about earthquake safety, please don't
hesitate
to ask your instructor.
If you have trouble viewing web pages try Firefox,
which is the browser I use.
Each lecture except the introductory lecture is preceded by an outline.
By clicking on either the outline topic or the pebble in front of it,
you
can jump to that section of the lecture: use the back button on your
browser
to return to the index. There is also a search function
on
the course outline page that will list all pages that contain the term
you are trying to find.
Links also allow you to pursue a topic in greater depth by providing
instant access to supplementary material and original articles.
However,
that immediately raises the perennial question: "What are we required
to
know for the exam?" When a link takes you to material that could
be covered on the exam, it will be followed by the sign [required].
However, I hope you find that many of the non-required links take you
to
material that is useful and interesting. In many cases, pursuing
those links will increase your understanding of the required
material.
Links are hidden all over the place in these pages. For example,
in this page the pebbles in the outline are links.
Another advantage of the web is that it makes it easy to revise the
material, but that again poses a problem. Each page has a date
indicating
when it was last edited. Make sure you are using the latest
version
of the web page when you are studying. To prevent chaos, I stop
posting
updates to a given page on the day after the lecture that corresponds
to
that page. However, updates posted that late will usually be to
correct
errors. If there must be an occasional exception to that rule we
will call it to your attention.
Please let me know (wine@stanford.edu)
about any problems with the pages. A major problem of which we
are
fully aware is the lack of graphics in many pages, and the poor quality
of some of the graphics we do have.
Scope
of course