Informal exchanges of ideas and information go on in laboratories and in weekly journal clubs, which draw undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and faculty members from across the campus to discuss articles and themes of current interest. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology Research in neurobiology focuses on the mechanisms by which nerve cells, their receptors, and their ion channels respond to the environment, and how those responses underlie the complex functions of the nervous system. A number of different interests and approaches are represented, including neurogenetics, neuronal and synaptic development, molecular neuropharmacology and biophysics, cellular correlates of sensory function, hormonal and neurotrophic interactions, and neuromodulation. Graduate students have a broad knowledge of nervous function, while their research projects focus on the molecular mechanisms of nervous activity. Behavioral Neurobiology Behavioral Neurobiology focuses on neuroethology and sensory physiology with a special emphasis on the functional evolution of neural systems underlying animal communication.
Research extends from cellular physiology to studies of behavior in natural environments.
Specific research interests include auditory and bioelectric communication, vision, olfaction and taste, functional neuroanatomy and hormones and behavior. Research projects of graduate students typically include field studies of a species-typical behavior and laboratory studies of the neural mechanisms subserving that behavior, a research strategy referred to as neuroethology. Behavior Evolutionary biology is a common perspective of the faculty members who study behavior. The research approach involves developing and testing alternative mechanistic or functional hypotheses about animal adaptations. Although there is strong emphasis on fieldwork, most faculty members also have ongoing laboratory research programs.