Integration of Research into Behavioral Neuroscience Instruction

本项目通过为学生提供从入门阶段到高级独立研究阶段进行复杂的实证研究项目的机会，增强了本科生在行为神经科学方面的学习经验。该项目采用了一种方法，该方法在美国国家科学基金会资助的项目中成功开发，并由华盛顿学院的迈克尔·克奇纳博士使用。克奇纳教授学生如何在他们的项目中使用声惊系统，并使研究经验更容易在几个层次的教学中获得。当前项目的目标是为学生提供有效和客观地收集行为数据的方法。学生们能够在更短的时间内收集更多的数据，并更多地关注于进行假设驱动的系统研究的过程。通过积极参与科学事业，学生可以更好地理解课堂上涉及的概念，并为进行行为神经科学的高级研究做好更好的准备。在专门的研究环境中更常用的两种行为分析正在被用于行为神经科学的几门本科课程。其中一个系统允许对单个动物的运动进行视频跟踪，以及对大鼠之间的社会互动（BM sprujt, T Hol, &; J Rousseau，“用成像技术自动量化单个识别动物的接近，回避和接触行为，”生理学和行为，Vol. 51: 747-752, 1992）。另一项试验评估脉冲前对声惊反应的抑制作用。这些系统允许学生在有或没有专门实验室的课程中积极参与研究过程，在小组中工作。研究课题的例子是与年龄相关的社会互动差异和对新奇事物的反应（见LP Spear，“青少年大脑和年龄相关的行为表现”，神经科学和生物行为评论，Vol. 24: 417-463, 2000）；脑单胺系统在感觉运动门控中的作用（见C Johansson， DM Jackson, J Zhang, & L Svensson，“脉冲前抑制声惊，一种测量感觉运动门控的方法：抗精神病药物和其他药物在大鼠中的作用”，药理学，生物化学和行为，Vol. 52: 649-654, 1995）；和评估精神分裂症的动物模型（MA Geyer, K Krebs-Thomson, DL Braff, & & NR Swerdlow，“精神分裂症感觉运动门控缺陷的脉冲前抑制模型的药理学研究：十年回顾”，《精神药理学》Vol. 156: 117-154, 2001）。用于支持该项目的每一件设备都与校园网相连，学生利用基于网络的课堂支持环境将他们的数据直接加载到课程网站上，并由全班共享。个人网站的创建和关于数据的在线讨论也发生在这种支持环境中。随着学生在课程中的进步，他们对这项资助支持的行为分析越来越熟悉，他们所从事的实验也变得更加开放，更有可能产生新的发现。因此，学生更有可能体验到与科学发现相关的兴奋。该项目正在导致课程中的其他课程的变化，并为其他计划将研究经验整合到行为神经科学本科培训中的机构提供了一个模型。

Psychology - Biological (71)This project is enhancing learning experiences in behavioral neuroscience at the undergraduate level by providing opportunities for students to conduct sophisticated empirical research projects from the introductory level through senior-level independent research. This project is adapting an approach successfully developed in an NSF-funded project and used by Dr. Michael Kerchner of Washington College. Dr. Kerchner teaches students how to use an acoustic startle system in their projects, and makes research experiences more accessible at several levels of instruction. The goal of the current project is to provide the means by which students collect behavioral data efficiently and objectively. Students are able to collect more data in less time and focus more on the process of doing hypothesis-driven systematic research. By actively engaging in the scientific enterprise, students better understand concepts being covered in class and are better prepared for conducting advanced research in behavioral neuroscience. Two behavioral assays that are more commonly used in dedicated research environments are being adapted for use in several undergraduate courses in behavioral neuroscience. One of these systems allows for the video-tracking of individual animal movements as well as social interactions among pairs of rats (BM Spruijt, T Hol, & J Rousseau, "Approach, avoidance, and contact behavior of individually recognized animals automatically quantified with an imaging technique," Physiology and Behavior, Vol. 51: 747-752, 1992). The other assay assesses pre-pulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response. These systems allow students in courses with and without a dedicated laboratory component to actively engage in the research process, working in small groups. Examples of research topics are age-related differences in social interactions and responsiveness to novelty (see LP Spear, "The adolescent brain and age-related behavioral manifestations," Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Vol. 24: 417-463, 2000); the role of brain monoamine systems in sensorimotor gating (see C Johansson, DM Jackson, J Zhang, & L Svensson, "Prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle, a measure of sensorimotor gating: Effects of antipsychotics and other agents in rats," Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, Vol. 52: 649-654, 1995); and assessing animal models of schizophrenia (MA Geyer, K Krebs-Thomson, DL Braff, & NR Swerdlow, "Pharmacological studies of prepulse inhibition models of sensorimotor gating deficits in schizophrenia: a decade in review," Psychopharmacology, Vol. 156: 117-154, 2001). Each of the pieces of equipment used to support this project are linked to the campus network and students take advantage of a web-based classroom support environment to load their data directly into a course web-site, where it is shared by the entire class. Creation of individual web-sites and on-line discussion about the data also occurs in this support environment. As students progress through the curriculum, they become increasingly familiar with the behavioral assays supported by this grant and the experiments that they work on become more open-ended and are more likely to yield novel findings. Consequently, students are more likely to experience the excitement associated with scientific discovery. The project is leading to changes in other courses in the curriculum and provides a model for other institutions that plan to integrate research experiences into undergraduate training in behavioral neuroscience.