The objectives of the graduate training program in Cellular and Molecular Approaches to Behavior at Cornell University are to train students to combine cellular and molecular neurobiological tools with higher levels of analysis to understand the mechanistic bases underlying behavior. There is a growing appreciation of the necessary interactions between neurobiology and the behavioral sciences, and our students will be trained to be leaders in this new interface. The research areas represented by the core faculty include focus groups in the function of ion channels in neuronal signaling, molecular mechanisms of synaptic function and neuromodulation, neurodevelopment, neuropharmacology, sensory systems and animal communication, motor systems, and neuroethology. Fully equipped facilities for all of these areas are available to the students both in faculty laboratories and in a number of shared facilities. Six predoctoral students will each be supported for a maximum of two years;they are usually appointed at the beginning of their training in the Graduate Field of Neurobiology and Behavior. Most have completed a major in biological sciences, and have taken at least one course in neurobiology. These students are in the top 15th percentile on the graduate records examination, and nearly all have done research during their undergraduate education. All students must meet the general training requirements of the Field, which provides them with a broad training in both neurobiology and behavior. In addition, trainees in our program take a series of laboratory rotations, advanced lecture and laboratory courses to provide strength in cellular and molecular neurobiology. These are combined with journal clubs and weekly seminars which discuss recent advances in our field. Our students benefit from interactions with other academic programs at Cornell by completing the requirements for a Minor, usually in biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, pharmacology, chemistry, applied physics, biophysics or psychology, which offer courses and seminars of interest. Relevance: Our students will be trained to use cellular and molecular approaches to study systems-level questions about how behavior is generated by neuronal interactions in discrete neural networks. With the rapid progress in genomics, we will soon know the molecular """"""""parts list"""""""" that makes a brain;the research supported by this grant will study how these parts work together to generate perception, locomotion and other behaviors. It should also provide insights into the causes and possible treatments for psychiatric and other behavioral diseases in humans.
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