WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2006-2007       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
The Structure and Dynamics of Mammalian Cortical Circuits
BIOL 347
Fall 2006
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: NS&B 347

While we are still very unsure of how the mammalian cortex enables conscious perception and thought, there has been a tremendous explosion of knowledge recently concerning the wide heterogeneity of neuronal classes and the specific kinds of connections between these classes. Detailed wiring diagrams of local cortical circuits are emerging, colored with dynamic connections that have created a wellspring for ideas motivated towards understanding the cortex with reverse-engineering strategies. This course will focus on cortical circuit studies in hippocampus and neocortex. Students will come to know, for example, many different varieties of inhibitory interneurons in terms of their firing properties, synaptic plasticities, the connections they make with other neurons, and what roles they are presently thought to play in governing cortical dynamics. Later in the course we will examine broader questions regarding theories of memories, sensory processing, and how those theories relate to the dynamic architecture of cortical circuits we have just studied.

Essential Capabilities: None
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: NSM BIOL
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: [NS&B213 or BIOL213]
Fulfills a Requirement for: (BIOL)(NS&B)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on DEC-13-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459