Neuroscience
L-200 Sterling Hall of Medicine, 785.5932
M.S., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Directors of Graduate Studies
Haig Keshishian (Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology) (KBT 640,
432.3478, haig.keshishian@yale.edu)
Charles Greer (Neurosurgery; Neurobiology) (LSOG 221, 785.4034, charles.greer@yale.edu)
Professors
George Aghajanian (Psychiatry; Pharmacology), Colin Barnstable (Ophthalmology & Visual Science; Neurobiology), Linda Bartoshuk (Surgery; Epidemiology; Psychology), Walter Boron (Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Thomas Brown (Psychology; Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Benjamin Bunney (Psychiatry; Pharmacology), John Carlson (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), Lawrence Cohen (Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Nigel Daw (Ophthalmology & Visual Science; Neurobiology), Pietro De Camilli (Cell Biology), Ronald Duman (Psychiatry; Pharmacology), Barbara Ehrlich (Pharmacology; Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Patricia Goldman-Rakic (Neurobiology; Psychology), Charles Greer (Neurosurgery, Neurobiology), Susan Hockfield (Neurobiology), Marcia Johnson (Psychology), Leonard Kaczmarek (Pharmacology; Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Kenneth Kidd (Genetics; Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology; Psychiatry), Jeffery Kocsis (Neurology; Neurobiology), Robert LaMotte (Anesthesiology; Neurobiology), Thomas Lentz (Cell Biology), Laura Manuelidis (Neuropathology), David McCormick (Neurobiology), Edward Moczydlowski (Pharmacology; Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Mark Mooseker (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology; Cell Biology), Frederick Naftolin (Obstetrics & Gynecology; Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), Angus Nairn (Psychiatry), Pasko Rakic (Neurobiology), J. Murdoch Ritchie (Pharmacology), Robert Roth (Psychiatry; Pharmacology), Gary Rudnick (Pharmacology), Joseph Santos-Sacchi (Surgery; Neurobiology), Ilsa Schwartz (Surgery; Neurobiology), Steven Segal (Epidemiology; Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Gordon Shepherd (Neurobiology), Frederick Sigworth (Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Allan Wagner (Psychology), Stephen Waxman (Neurology; Pharmacology), Robert Wyman (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), Steven Zucker (Computer Science)
Associate Professors
Meenakshi Alreja (Psychiatry; Neurobiology), Amy Arnsten (Neurobiology), Catherine Berlot (Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Charles Bruce (Neurobiology), Nihal de Lanerolle (Neurosurgery; Neurobiology), Paul Forscher (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), James Howe (Pharmacology), Thomas Hughes (Ophthalmology & Visual Science; Neurobiology), Bita Moghaddam (Psychiatry; Neurobiology), Mark Packard (Psychology), Marina Picciotto (Psychiatry; Pharmacology; Neurobiology), George Richerson (Neurology; Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Michael Schwartz (Neurobiology), Stephen Strittmatter (Neurology; Neurobiology), Flora Vaccarino (Child Study Center; Neurobiology),Tian Xu (Genetics)
Assistant Professors
Hal Blumenfeld (Neurology; Neurobiology), Angélique Bordey (Neurosurgery), Wei Chen (Neurobiology), R. Todd Constable (Diagnostic Radiology; Neurosurgery), Maria Donoghue Velleca (Neurobiology), Reiko Maki Fitzsimonds (Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Karyn Frick (Psychology), Lise Heginbotham (Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry), Jeansok Kim (Psychology), Anthony Koleske (Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry), Mark Laubach (Neurobiology), Christy Marshuetz (Psychology), Vincent Pieribone (Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Maria Mercedes Piñango (Linguistics), Anna Roe (Neurobiology), Ning Tian (Ophthalmology & Visual Science), David Wells (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), Michael Westerveld (Neurosurgery), Mark Yeckel (Neurobiology), Weimin Zhong (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology)
Research Scientists
Joel Black (Neurology), Nicholas Carnevale (Psychology)
Fields of Study
The Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program offers flexible but structured interdisciplinary training for independent research and teaching in neuroscience. The goal of the program is to ensure that degree candidates obtain a solid understanding of cellular and molecular neurobiology, physiology and biophysics, neural development, systems and behavior, and neural computation. In addition to course work, graduate students participate in a regular journal club, organize the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program Seminar Series, and attend other seminar programs, named lectureships, symposia, and an annual research retreat.
Special Admissions Requirements
Applicants to the Neuroscience Program should have a B.S. or B.A. Most applicants have had course work in neuroscience, psychobiology, physiological psychology, mathematics through calculus, general physics, general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, computer science, or engineering. Deficiencies in these areas can be corrected through appropriate course work in the first year of residence. Laboratory research experience is desirable but is not a formal requirement. Scores for the GRE (General Test required; Subject Test recommended) or MCAT, three letters of recommendation, transcripts of undergraduate grades, and a statement of interest must accompany the application.
To enter the Ph.D. program, students apply to an interest-based track within the interdepartmental graduate program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences.
Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
Each entering student is assigned a faculty advisory committee to provide guidance relevant to the student's stated field of interest. This committee is responsible for establishing the student's course of study and for monitoring his or her progress. This committee will be subsequently modified to include faculty with expertise in the student's emerging area of interest. Although each student's precise course requirements are set individually to take account of background and educational goals, the course of study is based upon a model curriculum beginning with three core courses designed to ensure broad competence in modern neuroscience. Students are also required to complete at least three additional courses from a broad set of neuroscience-related courses. A series of at least two laboratory rotations during the first two years of the program also ensures that degree candidates obtain a solid background in systems, cellular, and molecular approaches to neuroscience. The Graduate School requires two term grades of Honors during the first two years of study. Admission to candidacy requires passing a qualifying examination normally given at the end of the second year, and submission of a dissertation prospectus prior to the start of the fourth year.
In accordance with the expectations of the BBS program, Ph.D. students are expected to participate in two terms (or the equivalent) of teaching.
Master's Degrees
M.Phil. See Graduate School requirements.
M.S. Awarded only to students who are not continuing for the Ph.D. degree but who have successfully completed one year of the doctoral program. Students are not admitted for this degree.
Program materials are available upon request to the Director of Graduate Studies, Neuroscience, Yale University, PO Box 208074, New Haven CT 06520-8074.
Courses
NSCI 501a, Principles of Neuroscience. Marina Picciotto, Reiko Fitzsimonds. WF 3.15–4.45
General neuroscience seminar: lectures, readings, and discussion of selected topics in neuroscience. Emphasis is on how approaches at the molecular, cellular, physiological, and organismal levels can lead to understanding of neuronal and brain function. Also NBIO 501a.
[NSCI 502b, Cell Biology of the Nerve Cell.]
[NSCI 5o3b, Molecular Neurobiology.]
NSCI 504b, Brain Development and Plasticity. David Wells, Weimin Zhong. MW 2.30–3.45
Weekly seminars (Monday) and discussion sessions (Wednesday) to explore recent advances in our understanding of brain development and plasticity, including neuronal determination, axon guidance, synaptogenesis, and developmental plasticity. Also MCDB 735bu.
[NSCI 505b, Sensory Systems.]
NSCI 506b, Introduction to Brain and Behavior. Jeansok Kim. Th 3–5
Introduction to basic principles of brain function, including fundamentals of synaptic transmission, organization of the CNS, sensory and motor integration, and higher processes such as the neurobiology of language, learning, and memory. Also PSYC 506b.
[NSCI 507b, Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Neurological Disease.]
[NSCI 508a, Functional Properties of Cortical Neurons and Circuits.]
[NSCI 509, Neuroimmunology: Neural and Immune Cell Adhesion Molecules.]
NSCI 510b, Structural and Functional Organization of the Human Nervous System. Michael Schwartz, Pasko Rakic.
An integrative overview of the structure and function of the human brain pertaining to major neurological and psychiatric disorders. Also NBIO 500b.
[NSCI 511b, Neurobiology of Drug Addiction.]
[NSCI 512a, Genes and Behavior.]
[NSCI 514a, The Regulation of Cell Fate during CNS Development.]
NSCI 519a/b, Tutorial.
By arrangement with faculty and approval of the director of graduate studies.
[NSCI 521a, Neuroimaging in Neuropsychiatry.]
[NSCI 529b, Introduction to Computational Neuroscience.]
[NSCI 530b, Neurobiology of Schizophrenia.]
[NSCI 539b, Synaptic Organization of the Nervous System.]
[NSCI 540a, Introduction to Statistics in Psychology.]
[NSCI 570a, Cellular and Network Dynamics of Sensory and Motor Functions.]
NSCI 600a, Experimental Methods in Neuroscience. R. Todd Constable.
This course examines the experimental techniques currently available for the neuroscientist. It explores the kinds of information obtainable in studying phenomena ranging from electrophysiological recordings of individual neurons to metabolic processes, from ensembles of neurons to behavioral output. Techniques covered include microscopic methods (light, electron), electrophysiology (extracellular/intracellular single cell recordings, multiple cell recording methods, brain slices), macroscopic methods (ERP, MEG, TMR), metabolic measures (microdialisis, biosensors, MR spectroscopy), imaging approaches (optical tomography, PET, SPECT, functional MRI), and interventional techniques (lesions, cortical stimulation, knockout genetics, surgery, drugs). The knowledge gained from each of these approaches, the limitations of the methods, and future developments are considered.
[NSCI 605b, Pathways of Discovery in Neuroscience.]
[NSCI 610b, Neurophysiology: Theory and Practice.]
[NSCI 611b, Neurophysiology.]
[NSCI 614b, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.]
[NSCI 634b, Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.]
[NSCI 645a, Foundations of Behavioral Neuroscience.]
[NSCI 646, Advances in Cognitive Neuroscience: Prefrontal Cortex and Memory.]
[NSCI 647b, Cellular Analysis of Learning: In Vitro.]
[NSCI 648b, Cellular Analysis of Learning: Vertebrate Model Systems.]
[NSCI 666b, From Neurons to Behavior.]
[NSCI 674b, Psychopharmacology.]
NSCI 720a, Neurobiology. Haig Keshishian, Paul Forscher. MWF 11.30–12.20
Examination of the excitability of the nerve cell membrane provides a starting point for the study of molecular, cellular, and intracellular mechanisms underlying the generation and control of behavior. Also MCDB 720au, NBIO 720a.
The following course is also of particular value to students in Neuroscience:
MCDB 721Lau, Laboratory for Neurobiology. Haig Keshishian, Robert Wyman.
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