Neuroscience at an Undergraduate Women's College: Implementing Modern Methodologies at the Cellular, Systems, and Behavioral Levels

这项建议寻求资金，以促进实施示范性神经科学实验室教学序列到跨学科的神经科学未成年人在女子文理学院。所要求的设备将补充和扩大最近获得的生物和生物行为仪器的实用性，以支持两个核心神经科学课程中全新的实验室组件，三个辅助神经科学课程中的神经科学实验室练习的额外序列，以及不同的学生研究项目。改进的神经科学未成年人将向学生介绍神经科学的现代实验技术和方法，并为他们提供实际的实验室经验和机会，为他们的研究生工作做好准备。该仪器建议支持并整合了心理学和生物学系的研究驱动课程以及卫斯理学院以学生为中心的通识教育课程，该课程侧重于实践经验和协作解决问题，作为实用和有效的学习方法。为了实现让学生接触现代神经科学教学，仪器和方法的目标，以及为高年级学生提供设备，以支持复杂的指导和自行设计的神经科学研究项目，我们正在为三个类别的仪器寻求资金：用于研究细胞和系统神经生理学的电生理学设备，用于研究行为的神经元控制的立体定位、刺激和生物行为监测设备，以及阐明神经解剖学关系的模型。将该设备注入我们的课程将大大扩展生物学和心理学学生可用的现代神经科学技术的范围，促进跨学科思维和综合研究项目，并为学生提供更好的概念理解和丰富的实践经验现代神经科学的方法。

This proposal seeks funds to facilitate implementation of exemplary neuroscience laboratory instructional sequences into the interdisciplinary neuroscience minor at a women's liberal arts college. The requested equipment will complement and expand the utility of recently acquired biological and biobehavioral instrumentation to support entirely new laboratory components in two core neuroscience courses, additional sequences of neuroscience laboratory exercises in three ancillary neuroscience courses, and diverse student research projects. The improved neuroscience minor will introduce students to the modem experimental techniques and methodologies of neuroscience and give them the practical laboratory experience and opportunities to prepare them for graduate work. This instrumentation proposal supports and integrates research-driven curricula in the psychology and biology departments and the model seminar-based and leamer-centered general education curriculum of Wesleyan College, which focuses on handson experiences and collaborative problem solving as practical and effective ways to learn.To realize the goals of exposing students to modem neuroscience instruction, instruments, and methods, and of providing advanced students with equipment to support sophisticated directed and selfdesigned neuroscience research projects, we are seeking funds for three categories of instrumentation: electrophysiological equipment for studying cellular and systems neurophysiology, stereotaxic, stimulating, and biobehavioral monitoring equipment for studying the neuronal control of behavior, and models for clarifying neuroanatornical relationships. The infusion of this equipment into our curriculum will greatly expand the range of modem neuroscience techniques available to biology and psychology students, foster interdisciplinary thinking and integrative research projects, and provide students with an improved conceptual understanding of, and a wealth of practical experience with the methods of modem neuroscience.