NRSC 7670 Special
Topics in Neuroscience:
Neuroethology
1 cr hr. , Tuesday
and Thursday (September 17 – November 5)
3 – 4 pm
RC1N-7108 (7Fl
Neuroscience Conference Room)
Instructors:
Tom Finger (tom.finger@ucdenver.edu)
Jenn Stratford (jennifer.stratford@ucdenver.edu)
John Thompson (john.a.thompson@ucdenver.edu)
Abby Person (abigail.person@ucdenver.edu)
Neuroethology is the study of natural behaviors and their
underlying neural mechanisms in diverse species. Every behavior represents the
outcome of interplay between environment and brain. In particular,
understanding the neural mechanisms that underlie natural behaviors,
colloquially referred to as the "four f's" (i.e. fighting, fleeing,
feeding and... procreation) provide insight into how the external world
activates neurons in the brain to drive our behavior.
By the end of this course, students
will understand:
1.
The historical underpinnings of neuroethology
2. How
information about a stimulus is acquired and represented in the nervous system
3. How
behaviors are coordinated and controlled by the nervous system and how
specialized neural circuits serve specialized behaviors
4. How
advantageous model organisms can shed light on neural mechanisms across
species; examples of animals that exhibit unique, tractable behaviors.
Each week will consist of a lecture and student
paper presentation of associated primary literature. Every Thursday,
an instructor will present a lecture on material relevant to that week’s
topic. Every Tuesday, students will lead a discussion of
literature related to the previous week’s topic. For example, the first lecture
on Predator Avoidance is Thursday,
September 19 and discussion of the relevant primary literature is Tuesday,
September 24 (see timeline below for more details). Note that the first week will include 2 lectures on Tuesday and
Thursday.
To obtain credit for this course,
students are required to:
1.
Attend every class
2.
Actively contribute to each paper
discussion class period
3.
Lead one paper discussion (topic assignments
TBD)
4.
Complete assigned readings prior to each meeting
5.
Contribute ideas, thoughts and questions about
each week’s assigned readings prior
to each meeting to the course blog online (see further details below)
Our class blog, The Four F’s can be accessed at:
If you prefer, you have several options
to add the course blog to an RSS feed.
1.
Enter the link listed below manually into an RSS
reader (such as Newsblur, etc.):
2.
If you rather use the RSS readers Newvibes, My
Yahoo or Atom, you can subscribe to the RSS feed directly from the course blog
website:
If you have any questions or problems
accessing the course blog, please contact Jenn Stratford (see above for contact
details).
All course materials
(assigned readings, relevant book chapters) will be available on the course
Dropbox site, which can be accessed at:
or email Jenn Stratford and she
will send you a link to the Dropbox via email.
If you have any problems accessing
Dropbox, please contact Jenn Stratford.
Course Outline (tentative)
Tuesday, September 17: Introduction to Neuroethology Lecture. Instructor: Abby
Thursday, September
19: Predator Avoidance
Lecture. Instructor: Tom
Tuesday, September 24:
Discussion on predator avoidance. Instructor: Tom
Thursday, September
26: Foraging and Feeding Part 1.
Lecture. Instructor: John
Tuesday, October 1: Discussion
on Foraging and Feeding. Instructor: John
Thursday, October 3:
Foraging and Feeding Part 2
Lecture. Instructor: Jenn
Tuesday, October 8: Discussion
on Foraging and Feeding Part 2. Instructor: Jenn
Thursday, October 10:
Navigation Lecture.
Instructor: Tom
Tuesday, October 15: Discussion
on Navigation. Instructor: Tom
Thursday, October 17:
Agonistic Behaviors Lecture.
Instructor: Jenn
Tuesday, October 22: Discussion
on Aggressive Behaviors. Instructor: Jenn
Thursday, October 24:
Mating Behaviors Part 1
Lecture. Instructor: John
Tuesday, October 29: Discussion
on Mating Behaviors Part 1. Instructor: John
Thursday, October 31:
Mating Behaviors Part 2
Lecture. Instructor: Abby
Tuesday, November 5: Discussion
on Mating Behaviors Part 2. Instructor: Abby
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