BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR
(AS) {BIBB}
L/R 109. (BIOL219, PSYC109) Introduction
to Brain and Behavior. (C) Living World Sector. All classes. Flangan-Cato. Prerequisite(s): PSYC
001 or BIOL 101 or Permission of Instructor.
Introduction to the structure and function of the vertebrate
nervous system. We begin with the cellular basis of
neuronal activities, then discuss the physiological
bases of motor control, sensory systems, motivated
behaviors, and higher mental processes. This
course is intended for students interested in the neurobiology
of behavior, ranging from animal behaviors to clinical
disorders. Familiarity with elementary physics
and chemistry may be helpful.
L/R 217. (PSYC117) Visual Neuroscience.
(B) Staff.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 001 or PSYC/BIBB 109, COGS
001 or VLST 101.
An introduction to the scientific study of vision, with an
emphasis on the biological substrate and its relation
to behavior. Topics will typically include physiological
optics, transduction of light, visual thresholds, anatomy
and physiology of the visual pathways, retinal processing,
properties of visual cortex, and color vision.
227. (PSYC127) Physiology of Motivated
Behaviors. (C) May be counted as a General Requirement Course in Living World. Class
of 2009 & prior only. Grill.
The regulatory physiology of motivation will be discussed
in detail, including the coordination of behavioral
and neural mechanisms in motivation.
231. (BIOL231, PSYC131) Animal
Behavior. (C) May
be counted as a General Requirement Course in Living
World. Class of 2009 &
prior only. Seyfarth/Cheney. Prerequisite(s): PSYC
001 or BIOL 102 or BIOL 122.
The evolution of social behavior in animals, with special
emphasis on group formation, cooperation among kin,
mating systems, territoriality and communication.
L/R 249. (PSYC149) Cognitive Neuroscience.
(C) Living
World Sector. All classes. Thompson-Schills. Prerequisite(s):
PSYC 001 or BIBB/PSYC 109.
The study of the neuronal systems that underlie human perception,
memory and language; and of the pathological syndromes
that result from damage to these systems.
L/L 251. (BIOL251) Cellular Neurobiology.
(A) Abel/Schmidt.
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 101 and 102, or BIOL 121 and
122, or BIOL 91 with either 121 or 122; PHYS 102
or 151 strongly recommended. Lab fee $125-(3hrs.
lec., 3hrs. lab, 1.5 c.u.).
Cellular physiology of neurons and excitable cells; molecular
neurobiology and development. Topics include:
action potential generation; synaptic transmission;
molecular and physiological studies of ion channels;
second messengers; simple neural circuits; synaptic
plasticity; learning and memory; and neural development.
269. The Chemistry of the Brain.
(A) Heerding.
Prerequisite(s): Introductory Psychology and Biology.
The main purpose of this lecture course is to introduce the
student to the field of neurochemistry and its relationship
to neuropharmacology. This course will consist
of two main sections.
In the first section, we will examine the varied types
of molecules in the nervous system which transmit information
amongst nerve cells, their mechanisms of action, and
their anatomical localization within regions of the brain.
In the second section of the course, we will discuss
the important role of these neurotransmitters in the
regulation of behavior and physiology.
310. Laboratory in the Structure
of the Nervous System. (A) Miselis. Prerequisite(s): BIBB 109 or permission of instructor. Lab Fee:
$100.
A laboratory course designed to familiarize the student with
the fundamental gross and histological organization
of the brain. The mammalian brain will be dissected
and its microscopic anatomy examined using standard
slide sets. Comparative brain material will be introduced,
where appropriate, to demonstrate basic structural-functional
correlations.
340. Human Chronobiology and Sleep.
(B) Dinges.
Prerequisite(s): BIBB 109 or Permission of Instructor.
Topics to be covered include basic principles of chronobiology;
neuroscience mechanisms of circadian rhythms and sleep;
phylogeny and ontongeny of sleep; human sleep and sleep
disorders; circadian dysfunction; circadian and sleep
homeostatic influences in human health and safety.
350. Developmental Neurobiology.
(C) Staff.
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 102 or 122 and BIBB 109, or
Permission of Instructor.
This course will focus on cellular and molecular mechanisms
of the organogenesis of the central nervous system. A
goal of the course will be to understand the form,
function and pathology of the adult nervous system
in terms of antecedent developmental processes.
370. (PSYC125) Drugs, Brain and
Mind. (B) Peoples.
Prerequisite(s): BIBB 109.
The course will begin with a review of basic concepts in pharmacology
including: routes of drug administration, drug metabolism,
the dose response curve, tolerance and sensitization. Following
a brief overview of cellular foundations of neuropharmacology
(cell biology, synaptic and receptor function), the
course will focus on various classes of drugs used
to treat neuropsychiatric disorders including, among
others, depression, schizophrenia and anxiety. We
will additionally consider mechanisms mediating the
mind-altering, addictive and neurotoxic effects of
abused drugs.
399. Sponsored Research. (C) Standing Faculty. Prerequisite(s):
BIBB 109 and permission of the Director.
Individual research of an experimental theoretical nature
with a member of the standing faculty leading to a
written paper. The grade is based primary on
a serious term paper describing research. Students
must submit proposal prior to registering. Students
wishing to do research in hospitals should inquire
about College 99 at the College Advising Office.
Students pursuing more than one credit of independent
study will be required to present a poster at the annual
symposium.
SM 410. Behavioral Medicine: Experimental & Animal
Models. (C) Ulm. Prerequisite(s): BIBB 109. Previously BIBB 390.
Fundamentals of Behavioral Medicine concerns itself with the
description of ideology, disease and treatment from
the perspective of a functional analyses. It is the
intent of this course to extend the traditional structural
analysis that traditional medicine provides.
SM 421. Functional Imaging of the
Human Brain. (B) Newberg.
Prerequisite(s): BIBB 109.
The ability to utilize different imaging techniques in disciplines
such as psychology, psychiatry, neurology, and cognitive
neurosciences is a growing field and presents many
interesting problems and possibilities. This
course is an upper level seminar course for individuals
pursuing one of the above mentioned fields and/or premedical
course work. The course would provide a detailed
overview of functional brain imaging and its potential
uses. Issues regarding advantages and disadvantages
of different modalities, study design image analysis
and interpretation, and how each of these relates to
various neurological and psychological phenomena will
be discussed. The classes will cover the following
specific topics in this general time frame: Introduction
to functional brain function, basics of nuclear medicine
imaging (including instrumentation, image acquisition,
and radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography
and single photon emission computed tomography), imaging
of neurological disorders, imaging of psychological
disorders, introduction to activation studies, image
analysis and statistical problems, study design, literature
review, journal article presentation, tour of Penn
imaging facilities, interpretation of imaging studies,
implications for clinical and research, and implications
for understand the human mind and consciousness.
SM 441. (PSYC441) Genetics, Evolution,
and Behavior. (C) Norman.
The first half of the course treats Behavioral Genetics (e.g.,
genetic and envionmental components of IQ, personality,
and psychopathology, gene-envioroment interaction),
and the second half deals with Evolutionary Psychology
(e.g., evolution of altruistic, cooperative, and competitive
behavior). There are no prerequisites, but previous
courses in Psychology, Biological Basis of Behavior,
Anthropology, Biology, or Statistics would be helpful
preparation. For additonal information see http://www.psych.upenn.edu/~normal/441Overview.htm
SM 451. (PSYC407) Behavioral Genetics.
(K) Price.
Prerequisite(s): Basic statistics or permission of
instructor.
This course covers basic principles of human and animal behavioral
genetics, including normal variation and extreme phenotypes
represented by behavioral, psychiatric and neurologic
disorders. The course will focus on methods necessary
to critically evaluate research findings on normal
and abnormal human behavior. Animal models will
also be reviewed. The first third of the class
is in lecture format and reviews basic genetic methodologies
as they apply to behavior. The remainder of the
class is in seminar format and covers recently published
work related to behavioral genetics.
SM 475. Neurodegenerative Diseases. Lexow.
This course will familiarize students with advances in our
understanding of the clinical features and pathogenesis
of a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, including
Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, prion diseases,
Parkins's disease and atypical parkinsonisms, neurodegenerative
ataxias, motor neuron diseases, degenerative diseases
with chorea, iron andcopper disorders, and mitochondrial
diseases. Students will analyze original research
reports on a range of proposed pathological cellular
processes that may represent steps in cell death pathways
leading to neuron loss seen in these diseases. Significant
emphasis will be placed on the fast-expanding field
exploring genetic contributions to neurodegenerative
disease, as indentification of genetic mutations pathogenic
for familial neurodegenerative diseases has been a
major driving force in eurodegenerative research and
pointed researchers towards essential molecular process
that may underlie these disorders. Strategies for therapeutic
intervention in the management, prevention, and cure
of neurodegenerative disease will be addressed.
SM 481. Behavioral Pharmacology. (B) Heerding. Prerequisite(s): BIBB 109
or Permission of Instructor.
This seminar course reviews the behavioral effects of drugs
in animals, the general biological and psychological
principles of drug action, and the relationship between
drugs that affect brain monoamine and opiate systems
and their behavioral effects. Introductory lectures
on general topics will be followed by advanced discussion
of specific topics in a journal club format through
student presentations.
SM 482. Clinical Psychopharmacology.
(M) Prerequisite(s):
BIBB 109 or 269 or 380, or permission of instructor.
This course examines the history, rationale and putative mechanism
of action of drugs used in the treatment of psychiatric
disorders. Emphasis is placed on neurobiological
processes underlying psychopathology and pharmacological
intervention. Drugs currently in use as well
as new drugs in development will be covered. Strategies,
techniques, issues and challenges of clinical psychopharmacological
research will be addressed and new approaches to drug
discovery, including the use of pharmacogenomics and
proteomics to understand variability in drug response
and identify new molecular drug targets, will be covered
in depth. Specific drug classes to be considered
include antidepressants, anxiolytics, typical and atypical
antipsychotics, narcotic analgesics, sedative hypnotics,
and antiepileptic medications. A contrasting
theme throughout the course will be the use of drugs
as probes to identify neural substrates of behavior.
492. Experimental Methods in Synaptic
Physiology. (C) Kaplan. Prerequisite(s): BIBB 109 and BIBB 251. Lab fee $100.
In this lab course, a small number of students (12-20) meet
once per week to discuss topics in synaptic physiology
and to become proficient at sharp electrode techniques
for intracellular recording, using isolated ganglia
from the snail Heliosoma. The first part of each
class will consist of discussion of weekly reading
from the primary literature, with the remainder of
the class devoted to hands-on experiments. After
learning to record from and characterize single neurons,
students will study synaptic transmission by stimulating
incoming nerve trunks or by recording from pairs of
interconnected neurons. As a midterm assignment,
students will prepare and present a short research
proposal using this model system, to be evaluated by
the class. For the last half of the course, the
class will work together on one or two of these proposals,
meeting at the end of each class to pool our data,
analyze the results and discuss their significance.
499. Senior Honors Thesis. (C) Standing Faculty. Prerequisite(s):
BIBB 399, permission of BIBB Director and a GPA of
3.3 or better.
Continuation of BIBB 399 research. Students will be
required to present their oral defense and a poster
at the annual BBB Symposium.
