Multidisciplinary Laboratory Investigations In Neurobiology

这个项目的重点是为神经生物学的本科生建立一个创新的实验室，通过实验室练习让学生熟悉神经生物学的多学科性质，同时允许他们在整个学期专注于一个特定的实验主题。具体地说，在学期开始时，学生从三个实验主题(鼻涕虫、青蛙或老鼠)中选择一个，并从几个建议主题中选择一个来调查整个学期的项目。学生们自己制定实验的一些细节，比如要调查哪些大脑区域、神经递质或行为任务。这些练习是结构化的，但是开放式的，为学生提供了足够的指导，使他们的努力富有成效，并有足够的空间来追随自己的兴趣。拟议的实验室方法从从业者的角度教授神经生物学和一般科学。该实验室在物理上被安排在三个中心--解剖学、生理学和行为学--在那里探索神经生物学的不同方面。在每个中心为期4周的轮换中，学生们使用不同的技术来研究他们主题的不同方面，研究相同的一般主题，如学习机制。例如，学习可以在行为中心进行诱导和观察，参与学习的神经元的形态和电生理特性分别在解剖学和生理学中心进行研究。到学期末，学生们对他们的主题有了广泛而全面的理解。他们可以欣赏神经生物学的广度，研究神经生物学的三种不同方法的有用性，以及科学发现的兴奋和细致。

This project focuses on the implementation of an innovative laboratory for undergraduate students in Neurobiology, with laboratory exercises designed to acquaint students with the multidisciplinary nature of Neurobiology but at the same time permit them to focus on a particular experimental topic throughout the semester. Specifically, at the beginning of the semester, students choose one of three experimental subjects (slug, frog, or rat) and one of several suggested topics to investigate in semester-long projects. The students themselves develop some of the details of the experiments, such as which brain areas, neurotransmitters, or behavioral tasks to investigate. The exercises are structured, but open-ended, providing students with enough guidance so that their efforts are fruitful and enough latitude to follow their own interests. The proposed laboratory approach teaches Neurobiology, and science in general, from a practitioner's perspective. The laboratory is physically arranged in three centers--anatomy, physiology, and behavior--where different aspects of Neurobiology are being explored. The same general topic, such as the mechanisms of learning, is investigated during 4-week rotations in each of these centers, where students employ different techniques to study different aspects of their topic. For example, learning can be induced and observed in the behavior center, and the morphological and electrophysiological properties of the neurons involved in this learning studied in the anatomy and physiology centers, respectively. By the end of the semester, students have a broad and comprehensive understanding of their topic. They can gain an appreciation for the breadth of Neurobiology, the usefulness of the three different approaches to studying Neurobiology, and the excitement and meticulousness of scientific discovery.