Guide for Neuroscience & Behavior
Majors
(for Class of 2007 and thereafter)
Requirements for the Major
Foundation Courses:
Core Course:
-
NS&B 213 -- Behavioral Neurobiology (Fall)
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Advanced Courses: Five advanced courses from
the following list are required for students: two must be cross-listed with
Biology (A), two cross-listed with Psychology (B), and one must be a research
practicum or methodological course (C). In addition to these five, one
advanced course must be
taken from the Biology, Psychology or MB&B departments.
A.
Biology courses (2 required):
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B.
Psychology courses (2 required):
-
NS&B 220
-- Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
-
NS&B 221
-- Human Memory
-
NS&B 222
-- Sensation and Perception
-
NS&B 225 -- Cognitive Neuroscience (previously
335)
-
NS&B 228
-- Clinical Neuropsychology (previously 282)
-
NS&B 325 -- Drugs and Behavior Seminar
-
NS&B 348 --
Origins of Knowledge
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C.
Research Methods and Practica (1 required):
-
BIOL 320 -- Statistical Methods
(Quantitative Methods)
-
NS&B 247
-- Laboratory in Neurophysiology
-
NS&B 250
-- Lab in Cellular and Molecular
Neurobiology
-
NS&B 381
-- Seminar in Memory Research
-
NS&B 409/410
or
421/422
-- Research Tutorial for 2 semesters, both in the lab of the same NS&B faculty
member
-
PSYC 200
-- Statistics: an Activity-Based Approach
-
PSYC 201
-- Psychology Statistics and Lab
Note: Methodological courses cannot be
credited toward the requirements of categories A or B. Because of the very
limited number of spaces, students may not enroll in more than one laboratory
course (223,247,250).
Undergraduate Research
NS&B majors are encouraged to become involved
in the research of the faculty. At the same time, research is extremely
time-consuming, usually demanding at least 10 hours per week. Students who do
not wish to invest the time in research tutorials will still receive hands on
experience with a broad range of research techniques in our methodological
courses. Research tutorials and senior thesis tutorials are taken with mode of
grading and amount of credit to be arranged with the research supervisor.
Research tutorials are numbered 401/402 (Individual Tutorial), 421/422
(Undergraduate Research), 409/410 (Senior Thesis Tutorial), and 411/412 (Group
Tutorial). These courses can fulfill the "Category C" requirement or receive
graduation credit. The specific research interests of each member of the NS&B
program follow. Additional general information about research opportunities is
available from the chair of the program -- John Kirn.
|
NS&B FACULTY |
FIELD |
DEPARTMENT |
|
Gloster Aaron, Jr. |
Epilepsy, the hippocampus and the cortex |
Biology |
|
Hilary Barth |
Mathematical cognition and quantitative
reasoning |
Psychology |
|
David Bodznick |
Neuroethology, sensory information processing in vertebrate brains |
Biology |
|
Stephen H. Devoto |
Muscle fiber type development, myotome growth and somite patterning |
Biology |
|
Barbara Juhasz |
Eye movements during reading, word
recognition, human visual information processing |
Psychology |
|
John Kirn,
Chair |
Developmental neurobiology of vocal learning in song birds |
Biology |
|
Matthew Kurtz |
Cognitive neuropsychology and rehabilitation
of neuropsychiatric disorders |
Psychology |
|
Janice Naegele |
Programmed cell death and neurodegeneration in
the mammalian cerebral cortex and hippocampus; stem cell therapy for
epilepsy; STEP and control of seizures |
Biology |
|
Andrea Patalano |
Human reasoning and decision making |
Psychology |
|
John Seamon |
Memory, cognitive processes, cognitive neuroscience |
Psychology |
Many student research projects
result in Honors Theses or publication in scientific journals. There is no set
way to get involved in research. One way is to take courses and thereby
establish your interest and get to know the faculty. Alternatively you could
approach the faculty of potential interest and discuss the possibility of
working on a project.
The best time to start an involvement in research is generally in the
junior year. By this time most students will have developed some familiarity
with the field and learned some basic methods from laboratory courses. This is
a general guideline and some students may appropriately start earlier or
later.
Undergraduate research during the academic year is supported by faculty
research grants, university funds, and the
Hughes Program in the Life Sciences.
Fellowship opportunities for summer research are provided by the Ford
Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Off-Campus Summer
Opportunities are also possible.
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Courses of Relevance Outside the
Program
Though not requirements of the Major, students
should be aware that a number of courses in computer science, statistics,
organic chemistry and molecular biology, as well as courses in
non-neuroscience areas of biology and psychology complement the NS&B Major and
should be considered in consultation with your advisor when planning your
program of study.
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Substituting Outside Courses for
Credit to the Major
A. Foundation Courses
A student who has taken foundation courses outside of
Wesleyan may be able to apply them to the major. As a general rule, courses
acceptable to the Biology, Chemistry and Physics departments for University
credit are acceptable to the NS&B program for substitution for foundation
courses.
B. Advanced Courses
Advanced courses, inside or outside of the
University, might be acceptable as substitutes for the advanced courses of the
NS&B Major. In general, only one such course can be substituted, and approval
must be obtained in advance from the Chair.
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Admission to the major
To be admitted to the major during March of the sophomore year, a student
must have completed, with grades of C- or better, at least two of the full
credit courses listed in the "Requirements for Majors" section. At least one
of these credits must be either NS&B 213 or BIOL 181 (previously BIOL 205). There are several
pathways through the major
from which to choose.
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Honors in Neuroscience & Behavior
To be considered for honors, a student must be
an NS&B major and have a B average (grade average 85) in the courses credited
to the major. The student must submit a laboratory research thesis which was
supervised by a member of the NS&B faculty and be recommended for honors by
the NS&B faculty.
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Petitioning for Exemptions
A student may request a variance from the
requirements of the major or for honors by submitting a written petition to
the chair of the program. The petition should indicate why the requirement
cannot be met and the educational justification for the alternative. The
petition will be considered by the NS&B faculty, and the student will receive
a statement of the decision by letter.
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Research Seminars
The program periodically invites
neuroscientists outside of Wesleyan to come here and describe their research.
These seminars frequently complement course material and give students the
opportunity to interact with noted researchers. The talks are usually
scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Wednesdays (Psychology seminars) or Thursdays at 12:00
NOON (Biology seminars). Students are encouraged to attend.
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