Columbia University

W3005y/w4005 Neurobiology II: Neural circuits Spring 2008

Syllabus 11/19/07

Lectures: Tu./Th. 4:10-5:25 Room: 517 Hamilton

Course website: https://courseworks.columbia.edu/

Instructor: Rafael Yuste, rmy5@columbia.edu

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-4 pm, 1002a Fairchild

Teaching Assistants:

Justine Barry jb2524@columbia.edu (recitation TA)

Christine Denny cad2125@columbia.edu (recitation TA)

Adam Packer ap2416@columbia.edu (recitation TA)

Samit Chakrabarty sc808@columbia.edu (recitation TA)

Tanner Mullen trm2120@columbia.edu (grading TA)

REQUIREMENTS: This course is the "capstone" course for the Neurobiology and Behavior undergraduate major at Columbia University. It is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Knowledge of Cellular Neuroscience (how an action potential is generated and how a synapse works) will be assumed. It is strongly recommended that students take w3004 Neurobiology 1: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, or a similar course, before enrolling in w3005. Students unsure about their backgrounds should check a representative syllabus of w3004 in

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/courses/w3004/index.html

TEXT: Required: Neuroscience: Purves et al, 2008, Sinauer, 4^th edition. The text is available at the Columbia Bookstore. During the weekly recitations, students will present and discuss papers from the primary literature posted on the course website: https://courseworks.columbia.edu/

EXAMS: Three examinations are given. Each test covers material discussed in class and primary research articles discussed in the recitations. The exams take place during class. Rescheduling of exams is only granted under exceptional circumstances, in cases of serious illness or personal crisis, and the student is required to present a letter from the undergraduate dean as well as other supporting evidence (such as doctor’s notes, airline tickets etc.).  Please note all exam dates and make travel arrangements accordingly.

RECITATIONS: Students read and discuss in depth selected research papers posted in the Courseworks website. Weekly attendance at the recitations is mandatory and active participation counts in the final grade. Recitations will take place on

Mondays 5.45-6.45pm, room 1000 Fairchild- TA: TBA

Tuesdays 5.45-6.45pm, room 1000 Fairchild- TA: TBA

Wednesdays 5.45-6.45pm, room 1000 Fairchild-TA: TBA

Thursdays 5.45-6.45pm, room 1000 Fairchild-TA TBA

All students need to sign up for one recitation by emailing the corresponding TA in the first week of classes. The first recitations will be January 28^th-Feb 1^st.

GRADING: Each exam will contribute 30% towards the semester grade. Participation in the recitations is required for a passing grade and will determine the remaining 10%.

LECTURE PLAN

A. Neural Development:

Introduction and Neuroanatomy (Appendix) Jan 22^nd

Early Brain Development (Ch. 22) Jan 24^th

Construction of Neural Circuits (Ch. 23) Jan 29^th

Modification of Brain Circuits (Ch. 24) Jan 31^st

Repair and Regeneration (Ch. 25) Feb 5^th

B. Sensory Systems:

Vision: the Eye (Ch. 11) Feb 7^h

Central vision (Ch. 12) Feb 12^th

Central vision 2 (Ch. 12) Feb 14^th

Auditory System (Ch. 13) Feb 19^th

Chemical Senses (Ch. 15) Feb 21^st

FIRST EXAM Feb 26^th

Somatosensory system (Ch. 9) Feb 28^th

Pain (Ch. 10) Mar 4^th

Electric fish Mar 6^th

C. Motor Systems:

Motor system 1 (Ch. 16) Mar 11^th

Motor system 2 (Ch. 17) March 13^th

Basal Ganglia (Ch. 18) March 25^th

Cerebellum (Ch. 19) March 27^th

SECOND EXAM April 1^st

D. Higher brain functions:

Models of brain function April 3^rd

Sleep and internal states (Ch. 28) April 8^th

Learning and Memory (Ch. 31) April 10^th

Language (Ch. 27) April 15^th

Emotions (Ch. 29) April 17^th

Decision making (Ch. 26) April 22^nd

Sex and the brain (Ch. 30) April 24^th

Consciousness April 29^th

THIRD EXAM May 1^st

Recitation papers:

• Recitation 1 (January 28^th-31^st): Verhage et al. (2000). Synaptic assembly of the brain in the absence of neurotransmitter secretion. Science 287:864-9.

• Recitation 2 (February 4^th- 7^th): Zuo et al. (2005) Long-term sensory deprivation prevents dendritic spine loss in primary somatosensory cortex. Nature 436 :261-5.

• Recitation 3 (February 11^th- 14^th): Shuler and Bear (2006). Reward timing in the primary visual cortex. Science 311:1606-9.

• Recitation 4 (February 18^th -21^st): Chalasani et al. (2007). Dissecting a circuit for olfactory behaviour

in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature 450:63-70.

Exam week February 25^th- 28^th: No recitations

• Recitation 5 (March 3^rd-6^th): Huang et al. (2006). The cells and logic for mammalian sour taste detection. Nature 442:934-8.

• Recitation 6 (March 10^th- 13^th): Brecht et al. (2004). Whisker movements evoked by stimulation of single pyramidal cells in rat motor cortex. Nature 427:704-10.

• Recitation 7 (March 24^th- 27^th): Hahnloser RH, Kozhevnikov AA, Fee MS. (2002) An ultra-sparse code underlies the generation of neural sequences in a songbird. Nature 419:65-70.

Exam week March 30^th- April 3^rd: No recitations

• Recitation 8 (April 7^th- 10^th): Hopfield and Tank. (1986) Computing with neural circuits: a model. Science 233: 625-33.

• Recitation 9 (April 14^th- 17^th): Paton et al (2006). The primate amygdala represents the positive and negative value of visual stimuli during learning. Nature 439:865-70.

• Recitation 10 (April 21^st- 24^th): Yang and Shadlen (2007). Probabilistic reasoning by neurons. Nature 447:1075-80.

Exam week April 28^th- May 1st: No recitations