Syllabus

General

This course is intended to provide a general introduction to the field of neurobiology and a foundation for other, more advanced courses in the field. The course (4-0-6) usually includes three lectures and one discussion section each week. A lecture schedule is provided herewith; the times and locations of the sections will be determined from information provided by a questionnaire distributed at the initial lecture. Lectures will be held in the 1st Floor Broad Center Lecture Hall.

Class Website: http://www.cns.caltech.edu/bi150/

Students are responsible for looking at the website to see late-breaking news, such as information about problem sets, office hours, and sections. Lecture notes are posted there. Often lecture images will be posted before lectures.

Reading

The text for the course is Principles of Neural Science by Kandel, Schwartz, and Jessel, 4th edition (McGraw Hill).

Good Web sites

Pancho Bezanilla's simulations of ion channels and excitable membranes.
http://nerve.bsd.uchicago.edu/

The Neuron simulation environment, and the Neuron demos used in class:

http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/about/demos

Grading Policies

There will be two examinations, a Midterm, and a Final. Midterm and Final exams include material from lectures and assigned readings. Material discussed in discussion sections will be helpful on the exams. Both examinations are open book, open notes, and take home; but they do have time limits. No collaboration is allowed for exams. You may not consult any homeworks or exams from previous years.

Final grades will computed on the following basis:

In Class Quizzes	10%
Recitation section and problem sets	30%
Midterm examination	30%
Final examination	30%

Grades for the recitation section and problem sets will be computed as follows:

You will also be graded for attendance and participation at discussion section (1 points per section). Perfect attendance and participation can potentially earn 7 points; the surplus point is extra credit.

Graduate students are graded independently of undergraduates (curves are computed separately), so that the latter are not penalized by the greater experience of the former, or vice versa.