MCBBIOCNRSC 407

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MCB/BIOC/NRSC 407 INTRODUCTION
What is Neurobiology?
an interdisciplinary field of science devoted to
studies of (A) nerve cells (neurons), the
synapses that connect them and the
biochemical, molecular-biological and
physiological mechanisms that
underlie their functions (B) the organization
of neurons into functional circuits that process
information and mediate
behavior and constitute the nervous
system (C) the mechanisms responsible
for the embryonic and postembryonic
development of the nervous system
What is Neuroscience?
a still broader, multidisciplinary field that
augments neurobiology with computational
and theoretical approaches, studies of cognitive
processes and diseases, and even
philosophical considerations
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Section 1A Thursday 5-550 Room 240
LSS Al-awadhi, Saud Buzzetti, Robert Cox,
Laurel Dahlstrom, Marcus Delgado, Ryan Dutson,
Karl Eleid, Joseph Frisby,Jovanca Itsuno,Jaunette
Lopez,Katherine Mosher, Clayton Orologio,
Emily Panagos, Melissa Post, Tracy Reeves,
Christine Shah, Amelia Smillie, Chris Underwood,
Alan Workinger, Sarah
Section 1B Thursday 5-550 Room 340
LSS Cardwell, Brian Cushing, Melanie Davies,
Kelli Diaz, Eduardo Edwards, Drew Forbes,
Kathryn Hollinger, Patrick Kimbro,
Joseph O'Brien, Jesse Ortega, Michael Pike,
Sarah-ann Raybuck, Brendan Russo, Gary Shir,
Ahmad Torres, Norma Wilford, Erwin Zaninovich,
Orel Datta, Neha
Section 2A Friday 3-350 Room 210 Bio
West Brown, Jonathan Dave, Ami Feltz,
Jillian Heintz, Achin Kim, Jennifer Kramer,
Joshua Luginbill, Amy Martinez,
Lindsey Mclaughlin, Michael Nabiyouni,
Maryam Okun, Alec Reavis, Daniel Soap,
Julia Strohen, Monica Thom, Nicole Vermeer,
Adrian Washington, Theron Wiede, Ashley
Section 2B Friday 3-350 Room 240
LSS Clements, Elizabeth Duart, Jessica Gibboni,
Robert Kersten, Jillian Kim, Jonathan Lacy,
Marian Malhotra, Kyle Mitchell, Molly Nagatomo,
Kei Pal, Prasun Shuey, Megan Stombaugh,
David Sylvester, Deanna Tonsfeldt, Karen Vomocil,
Elisa Wick, Shanti Strobel, Stephanie
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Interdisciplinary?

• Neurobiology is at the crossroads of scientific
  disciplines
• We cant understand the nervous system without
  drawing on all of these disciplines!

Behavioral Sciences
Biological Medical Sciences
Physical, Mathematical, Computational Sciences
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Neurobiology considers all levels of biological
organization
Multiple overlapping circuits (whole-animal
behavior)
Neural systems (projection circuits)
Local circuits (regions of the nervous system)
Cells (neurons, glial cells, effector cells
muscle, gland)
Cell organelles (e.g., membranes, synapses)
Molecules
Ions
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GOALS, APPROACH, POLICIES, and PROCEDURES of the
course
Course Website http//www.blc.arizona.edu/courses
/mcb407 Textbook Kandel Principles of
Neuroscience Grades 15 Discussion Section
Participation and Attendance 10
In-Class Exercises 20 In-class Quizzes 25
Midterm Exam 30 Final Exam Final Grades
90-100 A (3rd highest grade 100) 80-89
B 65-79 C 50-64 D 0 - 49 E
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In-Class Exercise

• Active Listening

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Franz Joseph Gall Phrenology

• All behavior emanates from
• the brain
• Particular areas of the brain
• Have specific functions
• Each area grows larger with use
• Bumps on the skull reflect those
• Changes and strengths

How do you test this?
Fig1.1
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Pierre Flourens Aggregate Field View Any part
of the cerebral cortex could perform all of the
functions of the cortex.
J. Hughlings Jackson Focal Epilepsy Studies
Different motor and sensory functions can be
traced to specific cortex regions.
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Santiago Ramon y Cajalthe father of modern
neuroscience
Cellular Connectionism
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Korbinian Brodmann
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In Class Exercise. This one gets turned
in! In what ways was Galls phrenology
hypothesis correct? In what ways was it wrong?
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Fig. 2-8
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Fig 2-4
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Fig 2-5
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Neurons (nerve cells) as cells
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Neuroglial cells (glia)
in the human brain 1011 neurons
1012 glia
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Kandel Fig. 25-3
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Kanizsa Triangle
Kandel Fig. 25-5
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Afterimage
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Fig 26-8
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Fig 25-7
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Fig 25-6
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Herrmann Grid
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Perceptual ambiguity
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Illusionworks Website
http//psylux.psych.tu-dresden.de/i1/kaw/diverses
20Material/www.illusionworks.com/
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The McGurk Effect
The most striking demonstration of the combined
(bimodal) nature of speech understanding.
An auditory /ba/ paired with a visual /ga/ often
produces the percept /da/.
The /da/ is a so-called fused response. Both
modalities support /da/ to some degree, even
though one of the modalities supports another
alternative to a greater degree.
http//www.media.uio.no/personer/arntm/McGurk_engl
ish.html http//mambo.ucsc.edu/psl/dwmdir/da.html