The Neurobiology laboratory course will be divided into two semesters. New equipment, including inverted microscopes, specialized amplifiers, and personal computers with interface boards that can accept signals from nerve cells will permit students to do four new kinds of experiments that they are not able to do at the present time: 1. using enzymes to trace anatomical pathways; 2. studying nerve cells in culture; 3. analyzing single ion channels in nerve membrances; and 4. working with computer models of nerve cells and neural networks. These new instruments will show more directly than older techniques how nerve cells and nervous systems work, and will allow the students to be engaged in the kind of activity that is going on now in the exciting field of neuroscience. The college will provide 50% matching funds.
