9413228 Schneider This award renews support of a Research Training Group (RTG) that includes 27 faculty from 13 departments at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. Most faculty are affiliated with the Departments of Psychology, Neurobiology, or Mathematics. The RTG provides training for undergraduates, graduates and postdoctoral fellows with a focus on understanding the role of neural processes in cognition through computational and experimental approaches. Research programs of individual faculty involve modeling of individual nerves and other types of excitable cells, characterization of properties of neural networks, localization of metabolic activity in the brain through use of magnetic resonance imaging and other techniques, a variety of in vitro and in vivo physiological studies, and investigations of the effects of disease on cognition in humans and animals. The RTG sponsors about 5 new graduate and 1-2 new postdoctoral students per year, and supports summer research by 3 undergraduates per year. Trainees at all levels are recruited nationally. Graduate trainees are admitted through one of 13 participating departmental Ph.D. programs or through an interdepartmental neuroscience Ph.D. program at the University of Pittsburgh. Graduate training includes required and elective courses in neuroscience, cognition and mathematics. A number of the courses were developed specifically for the RTG. Additional training includes participation in seminars and workshops sponsored by the RTG, as well as individual and collaborative research. ***
