Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience A (NEUR90011)

This subject is an intensive 5 consecutive day overview of a range of research methodologies used in contemporary basic neuroscience. The premise of this subject is to take the student through the most common cellular neuroscience experimental methods. Several themes are explored extending from the molecular level through to cellular function and ultimately neuronal network characterisation. Specific themes include:

• A brief introduction to bioinformatics and an overview of the on-line tools available.
• Methods used to probe gene and protein expression and function.
• Static and dynamic imaging methods used in neuroscience.
• The basics of single cell electrophysiology.
• Computational approaches used in neuroscience.

A series of 19 one-hour lectures, 8 hours group tutorials and 5 and-a-half hours practical demonstrations (totalling 32.5 contact hours) will be used to illustrate the various methodologies and approaches. This includes a tour of the Brain Bank and imaging suite facilities. A group project asks students to develop a virtual set of experiments that use the various methodologies introduced. This will be done in the context of a specific protein and how the students may probe dysfunction of this protein in a disease state (eg sodium channels in epilepsy). Class presentations reporting each group’s virtual experiments will be discussed in front of a panel of research experts at the end of the week.