Faculty and students will participate in presenting literature and in depth discussion of 3 to 5 topics relevant to the research interests of the participants. Lectures, discussions, and presentations by visiting experts in the field. This course will provide an overview on the fundamentals of electrical signaling in excitable cells. The objective of the course will be to provide students with tools to understand and critically evaluate electrophysiology work. Levels of analysis presented will range from membrane and ion channel biophysics to systems and behavioral electrophysiology.
Discussions emphasize critical analysis and synthesis.
Topics will include neurotransmitter and neuropeptide effects on cells of the immune system, cytokine regulation of brain functions, innervation of immune organs and the consequences thereof, brain laterality influences on immune functions, conditioning effects on immune responses, and immunopathologies of the central nervous system. Fabrication methods and the principles of interfacing biology to miniature devices will be stressed. This course will cover topics related to the structure and function of the of the mammalian genome and the molecular mechanisms involved in development, cell fate determination and cellular differentiation. Students will participate by presenting research papers relevant to a current topic. Bms 500 and 605A, or equivalent.