Neural Systems and Behavior

描述（由申请人提供）：自1978年以来，海洋生物实验室的神经系统和行为（NS&B）暑期课程一直在为优秀的博士前和博士后学生在其研究生涯的早期阶段提供现代行为神经生物学概念和方法的强化培训。20名学生在该领域一些最好的教师和研究人员的指导下沉浸在讲座和实验室工作中8周，并由特邀研讨会演讲者和驻校学者加强。这种高度综合和互动的形式在标准的大学培训中很少可用。学生来自不同的背景，包括神经科学，生物学，心理学，医学，数学，物理和工程。1995年担任课程领导的新的联合主任保持了NS&B的传统核心优势，同时结合了新的练习和教师。广泛的动手实验室培训与国家的最先进的设备，包括各种无脊椎动物和脊椎动物的准备。实验室部分分为四个2周的周期，从基本的电生理技术开始。然后，学生继续研究神经回路的神经调节和重构，在三个互补的准备研究听觉信息的接收和处理，以及在行为，神经元群体和突触水平上研究的学习和记忆。除了传统的电生理技术，学生学习补丁和全细胞记录，正常和敲除小鼠的定量行为分析，在空间学习过程中自由行为啮齿动物的多电极记录，脊椎动物大脑的原位细胞内记录，脑切片记录，复杂系统的计算方法，计算机数据采集和分析，细胞培养记录，和神经解剖学技术，包括原位杂交。从过去和最近的NS&B校友/AE课程评估表明，该课程是非常有效的准备学生在神经生物学和行为的创造性和生产性的研究事业。要求提供资金，以继续提供目前形式的这一独特培训机会。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Since 1978, the Neural Systems and Behavior (NS&B) summer course at the Marine Biological Laboratory has been providing intensive training in the concepts and methodology of modern behavioral neurobiology to outstanding pre- and postdoctoral students during early stages of their research careers. Twenty students are immersed for 8 weeks in lectures and laboratory work under the mentorship of some of the best teachers and researchers in the field, augmented by invited seminar speakers and Scholars-in-Residence. This highly integrated and interactive format is rarely available during standard university training. Students come from diverse backgrounds including neuroscience, biology, psychology, medicine, mathematics, physics and engineering. New Co-Directors who assumed leadership of the course in 1995 have maintained the traditional core strengths of NS&B while incorporating new exercises and faculty. Extensive hands-on laboratory training with state-of-the-art equipment includes a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate preparations. The laboratory section, which is divided into four 2-week Cycles begins with fundamental electrophysiological techniques. Students then move on to investigate neuromodulation and reconfiguration of neural circuits, the reception and processing of auditory information studied in three complementary preparations, and learning and memory studied at the behavioral, neuronal population and synaptic levels. In addition to conventional electrophysiological techniques, students learn patch and whole-cell recordings, quantitative behavioral analyses of normal and knockout mice, multi-electrode recordings from freely-behaving rodents during spatial learning, in situ intracellular recording from vertebrate brain, brain slice recordings, computational approaches to complex systems, computerized data acquisition and analysis, cell culture recordings, and neuroanatomical techniques including in situ hybridization. Course evaluations from past and recent NS&B alumni/ae suggest that the course is highly effective in preparing students for creative and productive research careers in neurobiology and behavior. Funding is requested to continue this unique training opportunity in its present form.