NROSCI 1046 – Neural Plasticity
Course Description: This class is designed to establish conceptual and technical foundations for undergrad and grad students who are interested in plasticity-associated neuroscience. Whereas the class will go through major findings in the plasticity field, the emphasis will be placed on why these findings are important, how these findings were made, and what challenges/debates these findings trigger.
Class will be organized by topics.
Tentative topics are:
1) Introduction (Cajal/Sherrington)
2) Synaptic Transmission (Katz/Scheller)
3) Review of Synaptic Biophysics I (Katz)
4) Synaptic Integration (Pitts/McCullon)
5) LTP (Hebb/Bliss/Lomo)
6) LTP Debate
7) LTD
8) Cell Biology LTP/LTD I
9) LTP/LTD at Inhibitory Synapse
10) Theory of Synaptic Plasticity
11) LTP/LTD in vivo
12) Regulation of Synaptic Plasticity
13) Membrane plasticity
14) Circuitry plasticity
15) Non-Hebbian Plasticity
16) Adv Topic: Plasticity and Brain Diseases
17) Adv Topic: Metaplasticity
18) Adv Topic: Plasticity and Drug Discovery.
Prerequisites: NROSCI 1000/3 B- or better
Enrollment: 20 - 30
Term offered: Spring 2134, Fall 2141 then every fall after
Grade Option: LG/SNC
Mode of teaching: Hybrid
Face-to-face teaching will be the primary format, complemented by in-class Discussion, and out-class Reading.
Required text: TBD and other readings
0-1 hrs of paper reading each week.
Weekly assignments:
0-1 hrs of paper reading and discussion as indicated above.
Exams:
Two essay exams for final, one-page limit.
Approximate time spent outside of class:
0-1 hr/week
Grading Policy:
Graded based on the attendance and the final written exam.
Relative weight of each requirement
Attendance, 15%; written examine, 85%.
Policy on late work and make-ups:
Late work and make-ups are only available for special requests.
Disability Resources and Services:
If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Office of Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, 412-648-7890/412-383-7355 (TTY), as early as possible in the term. Disability Resources and Services will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.
Academic Integrity Policy:
Cheating/plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students suspected of violating the University of Pittsburgh Policy on Academic Integrity, noted below, will be required to participate in the outlined procedural process as initiated by the instructor. A minimum sanction of a zero score for the quiz, exam or paper will be imposed.
Email Communication Policy:
Each student is issued a University e-mail address () upon admittance. This e-mail address may be used by the University for official communication with students. Students are expected to read e-mail sent to this account on a regular basis. Failure to read and react to University communications in a timely manner does not absolve the student from knowing and complying with the content of the communications. The University provides an e-mail forwarding service that allows students to read their e-mail via other service providers (e.g., Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo). Students that choose to forward their e-mail from their pitt.edu address to another address do so at their own risk. If e-mail is lost as a result of forwarding, it does not absolve the student from responding to official communications sent to their University e-mail address. To forward e-mail sent to your University account, go to log into your account, click on Edit Forwarding Addresses, and follow the instructions on the page. Be sure to log out of your account when you have finished. (For the full E-mail Communication Policy, go to