A crucial part of neuroscience is understanding how function has its foundation in anatomy. This course traces neuroanatomical pathways through the central nervous system. It emphasizes the primate brain, especially the human brain. The course covers how nuclei, ganglia, and layered structures such as cortex are arranged physically in the brain, the fiber pathways by which they connect to each other, and how this connectivity relates to their function. The material will encompass systems within the brain stem, sensory systems, motor systems, higher cognitive systems, and the interconnectivity and interaction of these systems.

An intensive introduction to fundamental topics in neuroscience, including neuronal excitability, synaptic physiology, neural networks, and circuits that mediate perception, action, emotion, and memory. We will examine neuroscience at scales ranging from single neurons, to the activity of small sets of neurons, to the organization of brain and behavior. The course will address broad questions including: How does information enter the brain? What neural pathways transmit these signals? How is information processed and used to construct an internal model of reality? How does the brain choose and execute the correct behavioral response?

The Neuroscience Research Experience is designed to provide sophomore students with research experience in the labs of individual faculty members. NEU250 is intended to be a credit-bearing P/D/F course. Students will gain research experience in the laboratory of a faculty member in the Princeton Neuroscience Institute. Students are expected to work with their faculty mentor to develop a schedule that involves spending 10 hours per week engaged in research, including attending weekly research meetings and reading research papers. At the end of the semester, students will present their findings to the faculty member and research group.

This course focuses on understanding how neurons and the molecules they express contribute to brain function. Topics covered include the structure and electrical properties of neurons, cell fate decisions, synapse formation and plasticity, neuromodulation, and the function of simple neural circuits. We will also discuss molecular and genetic tools for interrogating the nervous system. Examples are typically drawn from studies of sensory and motor system development and function in animals amenable to molecular and cellular level investigation. Students will have ample opportunity to read and discuss primary literature throughout the course.

This lecture course will introduce students to the mathematical and computational tools necessary to work with data sets in neuroscience. A primary goal of the course will be to introduce students to key concepts from linear algebra, probability and statistics, and machine learning, with an emphasis on practical implementations via programming. Lectures on each topic will develop relevant mathematical background, derivation of basic results, and examples of applications. The course will include problem sets requiring programming in Python. No prior programming experience is required, though it will certainly be helpful.

Innate behaviors, whether fleeing from predators, looking for mates, defending territory, or caring for young, are the foundation of life. How does the brain generate these complex behaviors across the lifespan of an individual? What are the links between hormone systems and the generation of survival behaviors? We will look at a range of social and nonsocial innate behaviors, and examine their relationship to neuroethology, endocrinology, and to an emerging understanding of mammalian subcortical circuits for survival. A combination of lecture and student-led deep paper reads and emphasis on modern methods for neural circuit analysis.

This seminar course will explore the interaction of viral infections and the human nervous system. Topics will include both direct effects of neurotropic viruses affecting the central and peripheral nervous systems and indirect effects of infection on these systems (e.g., rabies encephalitis, Covid-19 brain fog, EBV and multiple sclerosis). The course will be discussion based, focused on primary literature from a multidisciplinary perspective - considering the function of neural circuits and systems, mechanisms of neuroinvasion, and viral pathogenesis.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to the field of motor control from an interdisciplinary and comparative biological perspective. We will focus on how organisms move through a complex, unpredictable environment. Major topics will include muscle and limb control, how animals build and execute a motor program, and how they incorporate sensory feedback into that motor program. We will use examples from both vertebrate and invertebrate systems and look across scales of biological organization. The class will be a mix of the occasional lecture and discussion of primary literature.

This course will provide an overview of the major epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation and the research tools that are used to study epigenetic modifications in different model systems, including humans. We will explore various topics in molecular and behavioral neuroscience including: developmental sensitive periods during for epigenome disruption by environmental factors, the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the dynamic regulation of adult brain function, epigenetic dysregulation in psychiatric disorders, and the controversial hypothesis that environmentally-induced epigenetic modifications can be heritable.

A survey of modern neuroscience in lecture format, focusing on brain function from cells and the molecules they express to the function of circuits. The course emphasizes theoretical and computational/quantitative approaches. Topics include cellular neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neural circuits and dynamics, cell fate decisions, neural development and plasticity, sensory systems, and molecular neuroscience. Students read and discuss primary literature throughout the course. This is one-half of a double-credit core course required of all Neuroscience Ph.D. students.

This laboratory course complements NEU 501A and introduces students to the variety of techniques and concepts used in modern neuroscience, from the point of view of experimental and computational/quantitative approaches. Topics include synaptic transmission and plasticity, two-photon imaging, central neuron activity patterns, optogenetic methods to control neural activity and student-designed special projects. In-lab lectures give students the background necessary to understand the scientific content of the labs but the emphasis is on the laboratory work. Second half of a double-credit core course required of all NEU Ph.D. students.

Advanced seminar that reflects current research on brain and behavior.

We will take a modern, integrative view of animal learning phenomena from experimental psychology, analyzing them through the lens of computational models of reinforcement learning and current neuroscientific knowledge. The goal is to explore how theoretical concepts apply to every-day attempts to change people's minds, and demonstrate how computational modeling is a useful framework for understanding human behavior. To maximize learning and skill acquisition, the course will include group work and class presentations, and will use alternative grading (your learning will be motivated by progress towards your own goals, rather than by grades).

Decision-making is ubiquitous to everyday life and crucial to survival. Good choice is subject to evolutionary selection; poor choice accompanies many neurological and psychiatric disorders. But theoretical understanding of a function is needed to manipulate and measure it experimentally. Recently, this has led scientists studying choice to seek insights from economics. This course explores how humans and animals make decisions, focusing on how psychological and neural mechanisms implement, or fail to implement, economic theories of choice. We consider choice in many sorts of tasks; eg, in animal foraging and human competitive interactions.