Colgate University is providing students with an opportunity to examine the nervous system at the biochemical level. The project is having an impact on the Neuroscience curriculum on two levels. First, the project is providing equipment for a laboratory section that enables juniors and seniors to learn basic biochemical methodology. The students isolate and characterize subcellular fractions from central nervous system tissue. The fractions are analyzed for biochemical markers (enzymatic activity), by SDS- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblots, and for lipids. At the second level, the students are designing senior thesis projects that address problems at the biochemical level utilizing the equipment in the project. Two specialized pieces of equipment are being used. The first is a system that runs, stains, and destains SDS-polyacrylamide gels in 1 hr. In addition, transfer of polypetides to nitrocellulose in preparation for immunoblot analysis is accomplished in 15 min. The second is a spectrophotometer equipped with 6 wells to allow for the simulataneous acquisition of kinetic data from 6 samples. The project brings to the Neuroscience curriculum fundamental methods and techniques for the examination of the biochemical properties of the nervous system. The university is matching the award with an equal amount of funds.
