Neural circuits of motivated behaviors

Summary

Motivated behaviors fulfil the basic physiological needs of animals and enable their safety. In this course, you will learn about the neuronal circuits that process internal states, detect dangers in the environment, and organize appropriate behavioral responses.

Content

Keywords

Mouse model, physiological needs, homeostasis, safety, danger, fear, social behavior, brain anatomy, brain circuits, neurotransmitters, glutamate, GABA, dopamine, neuropeptides, synaptic transmission, methods to study neuronal circuits, optogenetics, electrical signaling of neurons, Ca2+ imaging, adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

BIO-311 (Neuroscience)

BIO-482 (Neuroscience: cellular and circuit mechanisms)

Recommended courses

BIO-377 (Physiology by Systems)

Important concepts to start the course

Basic understanding of the mechanisms of electrical signaling of neurons and synaptic transmission; interest in developing an improved understanding of the neuronal circuit mechanisms that cause motivated behaviors in mice and humans; curiosity to learn about brain mechanisms.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Explain the working principles of current methods used in neuronal circuit research (optogenetics, neuronal tracing, in-vivo activity recordings of single neurons)
• Propose a method to answer specific mechanistic questions in circuit neuroscience
• Assess / Evaluate the conclusions of a research paper in this field
• Explain the basic function of selected neuronal circuits that control innate- and learned behaviors
• Draw simple circuit diagrams, which include the actions of neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and neuropeptides, to illustrate the basic function of a neuronal / endocrine regulation circuit

Transversal skills

• Evaluate one's own performance in the team, receive and respond appropriately to feedback.
• Continue to work through difficulties or initial failure to find optimal solutions.
• Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
• Demonstrate a capacity for creativity.
• Summarize an article or a technical report.

Teaching methods

Lectures (2h weekly); Exercises / group work with the TAs (2h weekly); project work (towards the end of the course)

Expected student activities

• read assigned research papers for the exercises (one per week)
• prepare a presentation during group project work on a specific scientific topic
• prepare for the exercises
• perform group work to discuss the course contents with fellow students and TAs

Assessment methods

Project work in the second half of the semester (30%), and Written exam in exam period (70%)

Supervision

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

No

Bibliography

Specific reading materials, like chapters of Physiology / Neuroscience books and relevant review papers (for background reading), and a single research paper for obligatory reading each week, will be made available on Moodle.