Neuroscience

Summary

This neuroscience course progresses from core cellular mechanisms of neuronal signaling to integrated brain systems controlling sensory processing, movement, and behavior, culminating in learning, memory, and nervous system disorders.

Content

Keywords

neuron, ion channels, neurotransmitters, action potential, synaptic transmission, brain anatomy, sensory perception, primary sensory transduction, somatosensation, nociception, hearing, auditory system, cochlea, cochlear implant, vision, retina, primary visual cortex, nerve-muscle synapse, motor neuron, spinal cord, proprioception, reflex pathways, primary motor cortex, basal ganglia, associative learning, long-term potentiation, optogenetics, systems neuroscience

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

General Biology (BIOENG-110)

Recommended courses

• Cellular and Molecular Biology II (BIO-207)
• Biological chemistry I (BIO-212)

Important concepts to start the course

Basic notions of cell biology (cell membrane, phospholipid bilayers, transmembrane proteins) and of physics (electricity) would be good, but are not absolutely necessary. Curiosity and the willingness to learn about new concepts are important.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe Describe the electrical properties of mammalian cells, and to draw a simple electrical equivalent circuit of cells
• Describe Describe the mechanisms of how various classes of ion channels are gated by membrane potential changes, or extracellular/intracellular ligands
• Describe Describe which methods can be used to measure the electrical signaling of nerve cells
• Describe Describe how an action potential is generated in an electrically excitable cell, like a neuron
• Describe Reason how new knowledge of the cellular and circuit bases of simple forms of learning can be obtained in modern cellular, circuits and systems Neuroscience research
• Describe Describe how sensory systems intake information from the outside world
• Describe Describe the basics of motor control and movement
• Describe Describe methods in Neuroscience
• Describe Describe how the visual system forms perception

Transversal skills

• Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
• Manage priorities.

Expected student activities

Students are expected to attend lectures, actively engage in exercises, read the corresponding chapters in the accompanying textbook and the papers handed-out for discussion. During exercises, papers will be discussed in depth, materials reviewed, and simple computational examples will be introduced for analysis of the nervous system.

Assessment methods

Midterm and Final Exam written exam during the semester.

Supervision

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

No

Notes/Handbook

Lecture Slides will be made available after the course.

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/BIO-311