Weekly seminars are presented by UT Memphis faculty, participating students, postdoctoral fellows, and prominent outside speakers. Each student writes a critical assessment of three of these seminars per semester. Morphological Neuroscience is a lecture and laboratory course dealing with the structure and function of the brain. Specialized lectures on the histology and ultrastructure of the nervous system are offered together with lectures on the organization of the spinal cord and brainstem, the central representation of motor and sensory function, brain plasticity and development, and CNS systems related to learning and memory. Laboratories supplement many lectures.
Emphasis is placed on the experimental and research literature.
Cellular Neuroscience provides the graduate student with an overview of the cellular and molecular processes by which nerve cells communicate. The course covers classical theories and concepts in the fields of neurochemistry, neurophysiology, and neuropharmacology as a basis for appreciation of recent research advances. Lectures by the faculty will provide core material to guide students in presentation of current research topics. Extensive reading of the literature will supplement lectures and presentations. Instruction will be by faculty actively employing these techniques in their own research and who, in several cases, have contributed to the innovation or improvement of a method.