The 21st century promises extraordinary progress in understanding the neural bases of animal and human behavior. Much of the work will depend upon a greater integration of information across levels of biological organization and a greater reliance upon quantitative approaches than has historically been the case. The next century, thus, also poses the challenge of educating young scientists in a broader and more flexible way than has historically been the case. Computational neuroscience is one of the areas in which integrative and quantitative approaches to neuroscience and behavior will be increasingly important. Accordingly, funds are requested here for six predoctoral training slots for the Computational Neuroscience Program that has been established at the University of Chicago. The Program has two specific aims: (1) to train young scientists with a working knowledge of neuroscience at levels of organization ranging from molecular neurobiology to cognitive science, (2) to train young scientists who have basic expertise in both mathematical and experimental approaches to important problems in neuroscience. Students will gain degrees through existing, degree-granting units (Mathematics, Neurobiology, Organismal Biology and Anatomy, Ophthalmology and Visual Science and Psychology) and participate in a training program that has six components: (1) background training in mathematics, biology or psychology, (2) three core courses in computational neuroscience, (3) elective courses, (4) a computational neuroscience seminar series, (5) laboratory rotations and (6) dissertation research. Thirteen training faculty are drawn from seven department, ranging from Mathematics to Neurology. They are involved in research ranging from structure/function relationships in voltage-gated sodium channels, to sensorimotor transformations in song birds, to connectistic models of language and semantics in humans. A key feature of the program is that most of the faculty is involved in combined mathematical and experimental approaches to neuroscience and behavior. The predoctoral training program is one component in a larger computational neuroscience program that includes expanding undergraduate and postdoctoral education components.
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