Cellular Mechanisms of Memory

This course examines the molecular mechanisms of neuronal plasticity in order to develop an understanding of how learning and memory occur at the cellular level. Topics include an analysis of the cellular processes that have been proposed to be at the core of memory formation, with discussion of the electrophysiological methods that have been used to analyze these processes; the biochemical mechanisms for short-term and long-term information storage at the cellular level and the vertebrate and invertebrate experimental models used for studying the genes, genetic pathways and molecules involved in memory formation; and the cellular basis of memory disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and mental retardation syndromes. Prereq: BIOL/NRSCI-288, BIOL-351 or permission of the instructor. Counts toward the neuroscience major (cellular track).