Neurobiology BIO417/517

This course is intended to focus on the basic concepts of Neurobiology. The emphasis will be primarily on the cellular aspects of function within the nervous system. Students who successfully complete this course should be able to describe how an action potential is formed, understand the proteins involved in synaptic transmission, and be able to discuss how sensory systems function.

Textbook: Neuroscience (Fourth Edition) by Purves et al. ISBN 978-0-87893-697-7

Grading: Letter grades will be determined from 400 total points. No extra credit will be given. Any assignment of +/- or curving of grades will be at the discretion of the instructors and will be made at the end of the semester. No decision will be made until final grades are assessed

An optional comprehensive final exam will be offered during finals week which can be used to replace the lowest test grade from earlier exams.

Makeup policy: Makeups may only be scheduled for medical reasons. To schedule a makeup exam, the student must submit a signed doctor’s note explaining why the student couldn’t attend the exam at the correct time and includes the doctor’s name and phone number for verification. Make up exams will be all short answer/essay questions. Otherwise, any missed exams will count as a 0 towards the final grade. There will be NO MAKE UPS for the final exam.

It is each student's responsibility to obtain lecture notes and learn the material covered. Similarly, each student is responsible for any announcement given in class -`Not being in class’ is not an excuse.

Students enrolled for graduate credit (Bio 517) need to speak with the lecturers to obtain their additional course requirements.

CLASS	DATE	TOPIC	LECTURER	READING
1	8/31	Course overview, Basic concepts	M	Ch. 1
2	9/2	Neuronal structure	X-F	Ch. 1
	9/4	No Class
	9/7	Labor Day - no class	- - -
3	9/9	Nernst potential I	X-F	Ch. 2
4	9/11	Nernst potential I I	X-F	Ch. 2
5	9/14	Electrical Properties of Neurons	X-F	Ch. 3
6	9/16	Action Potential I - Ionic Conductances	X-F	Ch. 3
7	9/18	Action Potential I I - Propagation	X-F	Ch. 3
8	9/21	Action Potential I I I	X-F	Ch. 3
9	9/23	EXAM 1	X-F	Lectures 1-8
10	9/25	Ion Channels	M	Ch. 4
	9/28	Yom Kippur - No Class
11	9/30	Ion Channels	M	Ch. 4
12	10/2	Ion Channels	M	Ch. 4
13	10/5	Neurotransmitters/receptors	M	Ch. 6
14	10/7	Neurotransmitters/receptors	M	Ch. 6
15	10/9	Neurotransmitters/receptors	M	Ch. 6
16	10/12	G-protein signaling	M	Ch. 7
17	10/14	G-protein signaling	M	Ch. 7
18	10/16	G-protein signaling	M	Ch. 7
19	10/19	EXAM 2	M	Lectures 10-18
20	10/21	Synapses I – electrical and chemical synapses	X-F	Ch. 5
21	10/23	Synapses II– Quantal hypothesis	X-F	Ch. 5
22	10/26	Synapses III -- molecular mechanisms	X-F	Ch. 5
23	10/28	Synapses IV -- integration	X-F	Ch. 5
24	10/30	Synapses V -- short term plasticity	X-F	Ch. 8
25	11/2	Synapses VI -- LTP	X-F	Ch. 8
26	11/4	Synapses VII-- LTD	X-F	Ch. 8
27	11/6	Anatomy I: Spinal cord & Autonomic	X-F	Appendix
28	11/9	Anatomy II: Brain & Cranial Nerves	X-F	Appendix
29	11/11	Anatomy III: Forebrain	X-F	Appendix
30	11/13	Somatosensory system	M	Ch. 9
31	11/16	EXAM 3	X-F	Lectures 20-29
32	11/18	Somatosensory system	M	Ch. 9
33	11/20	Pain	M	Ch. 10
34	11/23	Pain	M	Ch. 10
	11/25	Thanksgiving – no class
	11/27	Thanksgiving – no class
35	11/30	Vision	M	Ch. 11
36	12/2	Vision	M	Ch. 11
37	12/4	Vision	M	Ch. 11
38	12/7	Vision	M	Ch. 12
39	12/9	Vision	M	Ch. 12
40	12/11	EXAM 4	M	(Lectures 30-39)
41		Final Exam		TBA

Dr. Matthew Xu-Friedman	Dr. Kathryn Medler
C641 Cooke Hall	C619 Cooke Hall
Phone: 645-4992	645-4947
e-mail: mx@buffalo.edu	kmedler@buffalo.edu
Office Hours: Office appointments are intended to clarify lecture material, NOT to review entire lecture contents. Questions about specific lecture material need to be directed to the presenting lecturer.
Dr. Xu-Friedman	Dr. Medler
W11-1pm, appt	M10-11, T11-12, appt