Laboratory Techniques in Behavioral Neuroscience

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This project addresses the need for an interdisciplinary laboratory course to prepare students for graduate programs and careers in behavioral neuroscience. The course will give student majors from a number of different departments an opportunity to gain "hands-on" experience with both behavioral and neurophysiological techniques. The techniques will be taught by instructors from both the Department of Psychology and the Department of Biological Sciences. Laboratory exercises include computer simulations of single-cell electrophysiological recordings from the giant squid axon, computer-assisted tutorials in neuroanatomy, administration of drugs by peripheral routes, stereotaxic surgical procedures, and histological analysis. The course will be offered as an elective targeted for a variety of life science majors. Videotaped laboratory procedures (developed and obtained as a consequence of this course), demonstrations, and computer software on structure-function relationships of the nervous system will improve several other psychology and biology courses. The behavioral neuroscience laboratory supported by the equipment requested here will be utilized as both a teaching and research laboratory, with faculty research projects involving undergraduate assistants. To disseminate information to other four year undergraduate institutions, we will conduct workshops and student presentations at the state psychological association. Information will also be disseminated via poster presentation at the annual meetings of the Society for Neuroscience and via a Web page for undergraduates interested in behavioral neuroscience.