Essentials of Behavioral Neuroscience: From the Cell to the Human Organism. An Integrative Laboratory and Service Learning Experience

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Psychology - Biological (71) This project is creating a behavioral neuroscience laboratory, developing experiments for undergraduate students, and creating outreach service learning opportunities in collaboration with the surrounding educational community. The core objective is the development of a new behavioral neuroscience laboratory sequence entitled "Essentials of Behavioral Neuroscience: From the Cell to the Human Organism; An integrative laboratory and service learning experience." This two-semester sequence is providing opportunities for students to learn the basic principles of brain and behavior relationships with "hands-on" laboratory experiences. These labs are being adapted from several already developed sources (many of which have received previous support from NSF) as well as new labs developed by the co-investigators. This compilation of laboratory experiences includes labs from the classic physiological psychology manual published by Oakley and Schafer (1978), Carol Ann Paul's "Discovering Neurons: The Experimental Basis of Neuroscience," J. Alexander Dale's CCLI project titled "Incorporation of Electrophysiology into Psychology Courses" (9351304), and other basic labs which the co-investigators are constructing. The lab facility is being built around five "ADInstruments Powerlab" workstations that support both in vitro and in vivo cellular recording and direct measurement of human physiology from basic physiological processes to EEG. The second objective is the creation of novel service learning experiences for the students and faculty of the University of Portland. One of these is a new summer day camp program that provides an educational opportunity for local high school students called "Brain Explorers," a neuroscience-themed summer day camp for at-risk youth in North Portland. Undergraduate students enrolled in the behavioral neuroscience laboratory sequence are being given the opportunity to enroll in a service learning seminar course, where they work as a team to develop materials for the Brain Explorers outreach effort. The intellectual merit of this project lies in greatly expanded opportunities for students at the University of Portland to explore the complexities of the nervous system through novel and previously unavailable methods. Participating students are being prepared to engage in the technical, critical thinking, and problem solving skills necessary to further their understanding of the neural sciences. The broader impacts of this project are the enhancement and expansion of the University of Portland neuroscience environment that is making possible enhanced interdisciplinary communication and collaboration.