Multidisciplinary Laboratory Investigations In Neurobiology

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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.