NEUROSCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND ITS DISORDERS

PSYCH 406

Survey the current knowledge about how the brain creates our conscious experience of a surrounding world and of our own bodies. Consider contributions from various approaches, including neurophysiology, psychophysics, computer simulations, perceptual illusions, and patient studies.

NTP 677

Sleep occupies a third of our life, is found in all animal species carefully studied so far, and loss of sleep has both acute and long- term negative consequences on the brain and the body. Still, why we sleep remains unclear, and hypotheses on the role of sleep for synaptic homeostasis, learning and memory are being tested. Focuses on the neurobiology of sleep, with detailed review of the brain structures involved in controlling wake and sleep, as well as the circadian and homeostatic regulation of sleep. Other topics include changes in sleep need with age, animal models to study sleep, sleep disorders, and genetics of sleep.

NTP 900

Critical review of selected topics in neurobiology.

PSYCHIAT 902

Sleep occupies a third of our life, and is found in all animal species. Loss of sleep has both acute and long-term negative consequences on the brain and the body. Still, why we sleep remains unclear, and hypotheses on the role of sleep for synaptic homeostasis, learning and memory, cardiovascular and metabolic health, are being tested in humans and animal models. Learn how the sleeping brain can either support vivid conscious experiences (dreaming) or not (deep slow wave sleep); brain structures involved in wake and sleep; how sleep pressure increases during waking; effects of sleep deprivation; causes of narcolepsy and other sleep disorders. How to study sleep in genetic models like flies; electron microscopy to assess effects of sleep loss on synapses; enhancement of sleep slow waves in humans; development and testing of theoretical models; methods to assess levels of consciousness in humans. During time at the WI Sleep Clinic, learn how sleep disorders are diagnosed and treated.

NEURODPT/NTP 640

Theory and application of methods in computational neuroscience across various levels of organization from single cells to global brain dynamics and cognition. Computational neuroscience is an approach to understanding the development and function of nervous systems in mechanistic terms at many different structural scales. Topics include biophysical properties of neurons and synapses, neural plasticity, sensory systems, neural circuits, whole brain analysis and modeling, and different views on brain function. Includes primers on relevant computational techniques (ICA, information theoretical approaches, dynamical systems) and a computational problem set. Starts with an introduction to MATLAB (used for problem sets).