Global Arc

This course will provide an overview of the major epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation and the research tools that are used to study epigenetic modifications in different model systems, including humans. We will explore various topics in molecular and behavioral neuroscience including: developmental sensitive periods during for epigenome disruption by environmental factors, the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the dynamic regulation of adult brain function, epigenetic dysregulation in psychiatric disorders, and the controversial hypothesis that environmentally-induced epigenetic modifications can be heritable.

Introduction to the biophysics of nerve cells and synapses, and the mathematics of neural networks. How can networks of neurons compute? How do we model and analyze data from neuroscientific experiments? Data from experiments running at Princeton will be used as examples (e.g., blowfly visual system, hippocampal slice, rodent prefrontal cortex). Each topic will have a lecture and a computer laboratory component. Prerequisite: MOL 410, or elementary knowledge of linear algebra, differential equations, probability, and basic programming ability, or permission of the instructor. Two 90 minute lectures, one laboratory.

Computational psychiatry is an emerging field of research that strives to leverage recent discoveries in the computational basis of high-level cognitive functions in order to understand, diagnose, and treat mental illness. Psychiatry is the only field of medicine where there are currently no laboratory tests, due in part to a lack of understanding what is the biological basis of symptoms. Computational theories of the brain's mechanisms for evaluation and decision may provide a foundation for such an understanding, and tasks measuring their function can offer objective measures. This seminar will discuss recent findings in this field.

In this course, we will explore the diverse and complex interactions between the brain and the immune system from the perspective of current, cutting-edge research papers. In particular, we will focus on the molecular mechanisms of these interactions and their role in brain development and function as well as their potential contributions to specific neurological disorders, including autism. In the process, students will learn to read, critically evaluate, and explain in presentations the content of articles from the primary literature. Prerequisites: MOL 214/215.

This course explores methods for recording and analyzing neural activity from populations of neurons at cellular resolution, and the scientific discoveries that such methods have enabled. Topics include methods for electrical and optical recording of large populations of neurons, as well as their application to studying neural dynamics underlying animal behavior. The course will survey seminal journal articles in the field and will provide students with hands-on practice analyzing real neural population recording datasets.

This course examines behavior, learning, and cognitive capacities with a focus on the cerebellum, a brain structure that is universal to vertebrates. The cerebellum's microcircuit architecture is largely conserved, so that its local information processing can provide a rigorous starting point for analysis. Cerebellar function will be considered in terms of evolution, development, microcircuit physiology, connectomics, long-distance connectivity to the rest of the brain, animal behavior, and human function and dysfunction, including autism. Readings will draw on original literature, and weekly discussions will be led partly by students.

The basal ganglia is an interconnected set of brain regions involved in a wide range of essential functions, including reward-based learning, action selection and motor control. These circuits are also implicated in a wide range of neuropsychiatric diseases, including addiction and Parkinson's. How do these circuits contribute to this array of healthy and diseased functions? In this seminar, we will read and analyze modern systems and circuits neuroscience papers to address these questions.

Plasticity refers to the nervous system's ability to change its structure and function in response to intrinsic or extrinsic influences. Plasticity is necessary for healthy brain development and is an important player in brain damage and disease, as too little or too much can underlie the inability of the brain to effectively repair itself. This course will consider recent research into these topics exploring molecular, cellular and circuit-level mechanisms of synaptic and structural plasticity during development and adulthood, under conditions of health as well as damage and disease.

Computers now exceed humans in many complex, real-world tasks. However, humans remain unique in the range of tasks they can perform, and the ability to generalize their knowledge to new ones. This course will consider the components and characteristics of a computational architecture needed to achieve these capabilities. Topics will span work in cognitive, brain, and computer science. Students will come away with a broad view of how these fields are informing each other, and how together they are beginning to provide an outline of the computational architecture responsible for the (still) uniquely human form of intelligence.

This seminar course will explore the interaction of viral infections and the human nervous system. Topics will include both direct effects of neurotropic viruses affecting the central and peripheral nervous systems and indirect effects of infection on these systems (e.g., rabies encephalitis, Covid-19 brain fog, EBV and multiple sclerosis). The course will be discussion based, focused on primary literature from a multidisciplinary perspective - considering the function of neural circuits and systems, mechanisms of neuroinvasion, and viral pathogenesis.