NEUR 91g Introduction to Research Practice

Prerequisite: Student must complete online safety training relevant to the research group. If the research involves animals or human subjects, students must complete the relevant training and be added to the relevant approved protocols. Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields quarter-course credit. May be repeated for credit.

Students engage in Neuroscience research by working in the laboratory of a faculty member for a minimum of 3 hours per week for one semester. Students who have declared a Neuroscience major must receive permission from the Neuroscience Undergraduate Advising Head as well as the faculty sponsor to enroll in NEUR 91g. Students who have not yet declared a major must receive permission from their academic advisor as well as the faculty sponsor. Usually offered every year.

NEUR 93a Research Internship and Analysis

Supervised biological research experience in a Brandeis University laboratory. In consultation with a Brandeis faculty member, the student will design and execute an individual research project, culminating in an oral and written presentation. Students seeking to do neuroscience research in Brandeis laboratories outside the neuroscience program must obtain permission from the neuroscience Undergraduate Advising Head (UAH). This course is not intended to and will not provide credit for off-campus internships. NEUR 93a is offered both semesters, but is a one-semester course and may be taken only once and not before the fall of junior year. Students must petition the department for permission to enroll in NEUR 93a. Course requirements include laboratory research, a written report, and an oral presentation, as specified in the NEUR 93a petition. Students wishing to do a summer internship for academic credit must: obtain permission from the neuroscience UAH prior to commencing the internship; complete the summer internship (a minimum of 10 weeks full-time); and complete the appropriate academic work. Credit will be awarded via the student enrolling in NEUR 93a in the subsequent fall term. NEUR 93a may also be used as one of the two courses needed for Senior Research (see NEUR 99). Usually offered every semester.

NEUR 98a Readings in Neuroscience

Usually offered every year.

NEUR 98b Readings in Neuroscience

Yields half-course credit. Usually offered every year.

NEUR 99a Neuroscience Senior Research

The first semester of a two-semester course involving the student in an independent research project conducted under the supervision of a staff member and serving as an intensive introduction to specific methods of neuroscience research. Students should register for NEUR 99b for the second semester of research in the spring.

To fulfill the NEUR 99 requirements, students must (1) submit to their research sponsor, at the conclusion of their first NEUR 99 semester, a paper that reviews the literature pertinent to their field of research, and (2) submit to their research sponsor, at the conclusion of their second NEUR 99 semester, a senior thesis that includes an abstract, an introduction, a review of materials and methods, results, discussion, and references. Usually offered every year.

NEUR 99b Neuroscience Senior Research

A continuation of NEUR 99a. See NEUR 99a for course description.

NPSY 11b Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

Data and theories regarding current conceptions of brain-behavior relationships. Begins with an introduction to neural systems as classically defined (sensory, association, motor, autonomic), and moves on to examination of the biological underpinnings of various behaviors, from those relating to basic drives (reproduction, feeding) to those with a cognitive flavor. Throughout, the accent is on interactions between organisms and environment (learning). Usually offered every year.

NPSY 12a Perception: Human, Animal, and Machine
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

Examines the human senses, emphasizing sight and hearing, studied from standpoints of anatomy, physiology, and psychophysics. Insights from the study of special observers, including developmentally immature humans, members of nonhuman species, and people with abnormal sensory systems. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 16a Motor Control
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisites: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or equivalents, and at least sophomore standing, or permission of the instructor.

Surveys control of vertebrate posture and movement from various perspectives including muscle properties, reflex organization, central pattern generation, spatial representations, learning, and development. Emphasizes research in physiology, psychology, biomechanics, and computational theory. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 17a Hand and Brain
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

The specialized developments of the human hand and the parallel developments of the brain, tool use, sign language, and language acquisition are discussed. The control of voluntary movements is a key focus. Includes laboratory demonstrations. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 22b Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

This course explores how the human brain makes the human mind. It covers neural and behavioral dimensions of attention, memory and learning, perception, motor control, plasticity and planning. Experimental approaches and neuroimaging are emphasized. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 28a Learning and Memory
[ oc sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

Introduces the study of learning and memory. The course will survey various types of memory (e.g., explicit memory, implicit memory, conditioning, short-term/working memory), including strategies, mechanisms, and brain systems. It will encompass disorders and applied aspects of memory. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 136b Computational Neuroscience
[ dl sn ]

Prerequisites: MATH 10a or higher and one of the following: NBIO 140b/240b, PHYS 10b/11b/15b, BIOL 107a, or any COSI course.

An introduction to concepts and methods in computer modeling and analysis of neural systems. Topics include single and multicompartmental models of neurons, information representation and processing by populations of neurons, synaptic plasticity and models of learning, working memory, decision making and neural oscillations. The course will be based on in-class computer tutorials, assuming limited prior coding experience, with reading assignments and preparation as homework. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 140b Principles of Neuroscience
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, BIOL 15b, one additional BIOL, BCHM, NBIO or NPSY course and one of the following: One year of college-level chemistry with lab, one year of college-level physics with lab, or any math course above 10a,b. AP scores are not accepted to meet the prerequisite. Junior standing recommended.

Examines the fundamental principles of neuroscience. Topics include resting potentials, action potentials, synaptic transmission, sensory systems, motor systems, learning, neural circuits underlying behavior, neurological diseases, and mental illness. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 142b Circadian Rhythms and Sleep
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b, NBIO 240a, or BIOL 105b.

Explores via some lecturing, but predominantly discussion of papers from the primary literature, what we know about circadian rhythms and sleep in different organisms. We will discuss the molecular, cellular and circuitry control of rhythms and sleep as well as their behavioral and physiological consequences. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 143b Developmental Neurobiology
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: BIOL 14a, BIOL 15b, and either BIOL 12a or BIOL 18b, or permission of the instructor.

Discusses the molecular mechanisms used in the development of the nervous system in both invertebrate and vertebrate experimental systems. Topics include determination of neuronal cell fates, axon growth and guidance, plasticity during development, and mechanisms responsible for generation of connectivity in the nervous system. This course emphasizes reading of original scientific research papers and class discussion and oral presentations. If oversubscribed, preference from the waitlist will be given based on seniority. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 145b Circuits and Systems
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or NBIO 240a.

Explores fundamental questions in circuit-and systems-level neuroscience. We will take a systems-level perspective to explore how the brain supports behavior and cognition. Students will read and discuss seminal and current findings to understand how the brain represents and perceives the external environment, adapts and learns, executes control, and uses internal representations to make decisions and drive behavior. The focus will in particular be on underlying circuits, neural representations and neurophysiological mechanisms. The course will follow an arc that covers sensory systems, perception and behavior, neural coding, cognition, and motor control. Emphasis will be on bridging across these levels, and on critical analysis and synthesis. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 146a The Neurobiology of Human Disease
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: Any of the following BIOL 100b, BIOL103b, BIOL 105b, BIOL 122a, BIOL 128a, NBIO 140b, or NBIO 143b.

A lecture- and literature-based examination of the molecular, cellular, and circuit level mechanisms underlying neurological and psychiatric diseases. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 147a Genetics of Behavior
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a, NBIO 140b, and either BIOL 12a or BIOL 18a.

Topics include function of genes, genetic pathways and neurons in the generation of behavior. The use of genetics and genetic manipulations in the study of behavior in a range of experimental organisms will be emphasized. Course will be based on reading  primary research articles. A solid understanding of the fundamentals of genetics, molecular biology, and neuroscience is essential for this course. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 148b Cellular Mechanisms of Neuronal Excitability and Plasticity
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or permission of the instructor. Graduate students may take this course concurrently with either NBIO 140b or NBIO 240a.

Neurons are complex computing devises that transmit and store information. This course will explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms of excitability, as well as the plasticity mechanisms that allow neurons and synapses to store information. Students will examine classic experiments on action potentials and synaptic transmission, as well as the contemporary literature on our evolving understanding of the cellular mechanisms of regulation of excitability and learning-related plasticity. The course emphasizes reading from original papers and extensive class discussion. Usually offered every year.

NEUR 199a Senior Research

The first of a two-semester course for students pursuing the combined BS/MS in Neuroscience. The student conducts an independent research project under the supervision of a staff member and serving as an intensive introduction to specific methods of neuroscience research. To fulfill the NEUR 199 requirements, students must (1) submit to their research sponsor, at the conclusion of their first NEUR 199 semester, a paper that reviews the literature pertinent to their field of research and (2) submit to their research sponsor, at the conclusion of their second NEUR 199 semester, a senior thesis that includes an abstract, an introduction, a review of materials and methods, results, discussion, and references. Students enrolled in this course must defend their thesis and receive Departmental Honors. If student drops out of the BS/MS program, 199 will be replaced with 99.) Students must petition the department for permission to enroll in NEUR 199. Usually offered every year.

NEUR 199b Senior Research

A continuation of NEUR 199a. See NEUR 199a for course description.

NPHY 115a Dynamical Systems
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: MATH 10a, b or equivalent; MATH 15a and/or some coding experience would be helpful.

An introduction to the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems, including bifurcations, limit cycles, chaos, and coupled oscillators. Covers analytical, computational, and graphical methods of solving sets of nonlinear ordinary differential equations, as well as mathematical modeling of natural phenomena. Examples will be drawn from physics, chemistry, population biology, and neuroscience. Usually offered every third year.

NPSY 120b Human Space Flight: Physics, Physiology, and Behavior
[ sn ss ]

Topics include how orbital flight is achieved, spacecraft life support systems, circulatory dynamics, sensory-motor control and vestibular function in free fall, the physiological and psychological adaptations necessary in space flight, and how astronauts must readapt on return to Earth. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 121b Alzheimer's Disease Resilience and Risk Factors
[ oc sn wi ]

Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing. Open to majors in one of the following programs: psychology, neuroscience, or HSSP. Also open to graduate students in psychology and neuroscience.

Provides an overview of Alzheimer’s disease, and the factors that may accelerate disease progression and those factors that may be protective. We will cover a broad array of topics including: neuroimaging and blood biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease in humans; aging versus preclinical Alzheimer’s disease; modern definitions of Alzheimer’s resilience, reserve and brain maintenance; role of stress and psychopathology as risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease; relationships between Alzheimer’s pathology and cognitive function. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 139a Memory and the Brain
[ oc ss wi ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or NPSY 11b, or permission of the instructor.

Explores the nature and organization of memory in the brain. Readings from primary literature will give a deeper understanding of how the brain orchestrates memory, and the role of memory in learning, behavior and cognition. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 141a Stress, Physiology, and Health
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisites: one of NPSY 11b, NBIO 146a, PSYC 38a, or NPSY 199a.

About a third of all diseases in western society are related to stress. The study of psychosocial determinants of health is a growing field, in which biological and psychological research is combined to understand pathways between CNS processes and health. We will study these processes in this course. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 154a Human Memory
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 52a or NBIO 140b, or permission of the instructor.

Presents a systematic analysis of memory research and theory. The seminar will emphasize current research employing cognitive neuroscience methods, such as fMRI. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 170a Decision Neuroscience
[ oc sn ]

Prerequisites: NBIO 140b/NBIO 240a or NPSY 11b and NPSY 22b, or permission of the instructor.

This course will provide an overview of how animal and human nervous systems generate decisions, with a particular focus on decisions for rewards. We will cover a broad array of topics, including: basic methods for measuring decisions and decision-related neural activity; how predictions about rewards are learned through error-driven processes; the dual systems hypothesis of behavioral control; computation of values for simple choices; the effect of emotion on choices; social decision making; temporal discounting; and deficits in decision-making in human clinical populations. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 174b Visual Cognition
[ oc sn ss ]

Explores complex processes of visual perception. Topics include art and visual perception, visual perception by machines, visual imagery in everyday life, visual basis of reading, visual search, perceptual learning, computational models of visual perception, and face recognition. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 176b Constructing Reality
[ oc ss ]

Prerequisites: NPSY 11b, NPSY 12a, NPSY 16a, NPSY 17a, NPSY 22b, or NPSY 199a and junior or senior standing.

How do our brains and minds construct our reality? For answers, the course will draw on insights from scientific psychology, neuroscience, and medicine, particularly how damage to the nervous system can disorder our sense of reality. Special consideration will be given to the nature of perception, evaluation of evidence, and decision making. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 180a Social Neuroscience and Culture
[ djw oc sn ss ]

Prerequisites: PSYC 10a, 51a, and 52a, or NBIO 140b/NBIO 240a, or permission of the instructor. May not be taken for credit by students who took PSYC 213a in prior years. Formerly offered as PSYC 180a.

Introduces empirical research on a breadth of social neuroscience topics-- including the self, stereotyping, and moral reasoning--with a more focused coverage of culture. Emphasis will be placed on literature comparing Eastern and Western cultures. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 182a Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: Infancy through Adolescence
[ oc ss wi ]

Prerequisites: NPSY 22b or PSYC 33a, or permission of the instructor.

Current research and methods in developmental cognitive neuroscience are surveyed through analysis of journal articles on language, memory, attention, executive functions, and social cognition. Infancy through adolescence are covered in both typically and atypically (Autism, ADHD, etc.) developing populations. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 196b Advanced Topics in Cognition
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 52a, NBIO 140b, or NPSY 199a.

This seminar covers current issues and research in memory, aging, speech perception, and language comprehension. Emphasis will be placed on the current literature in the field. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 197a Advanced Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisites: NPSY 11b and NBIO 140b or permission of the instructor.

Covers current research and issues pertaining to the neurobiology of perception (focusing mainly but not exclusively on perception of chemosensory signals) as well as the neurobiology of simple learning. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 199a Human Neuropsychology
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: Psych 10a or Math 10a and at least sophomore standing.

Designed as an introduction to human neuropsychology. Topics include cerebral dominance, neuroanatomical mapping, and localization of function, with special reference to language, memory, and related cognitive function. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 207a Advanced Topics in Data Analysis

Trains graduate students in computational analysis of complex data. Analytical techniques will be discussed using data from students' active research projects, with a focus on training in experimental design and analyses, advanced statistics and rigor and reproducibility. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 208a Experimental Design and Analysis for Research Proposals

Introduces second-year Neuroscience PhD students to the process of writing research proposals. Using their own research topics and materials, as well as readings from the literature, and training sessions with the instructor and additional domain experts, each student will learn to analyze the relevant neuroscientific literature, develop testable hypotheses, design well-controlled experiments, quantitatively analyze the resulting data, test for statistical significance, and communicate the results in visual plots and concise, well organized scientific writing. The end result will be a draft research proposal suitable for submission to a funding agency such as the NIH. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 240a Principles of Neuroscience Research

Prerequisites: One year of college-level chemistry with lab, one year of college-level physics with lab, and any math course above 10a, b.

A lecture- and literature-based course examining the fundamental principles of neuroscience. Lecture topics include ion channel biophysics, resting potentials, action potentials, synaptic transmission, sensory systems, motor systems, learning, neural circuits underlying behavior, and neuropsychiatric diseases. Complementary readings of classical and current primary literature will give a deeper understanding of the fundamental underpinnings of nervous system structure and function. Intended for PhD students and advanced undergraduates or masters students who intend to perform basic research in neuroscience. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 306a Topics in Neurobiology

Usually offered every year.

NBIO 306b Topics in Neurobiology

Usually offered every year.

NBIO 340a Systems/Computational Neuroscience Journal Club

Usually offered every year.

NBIO 340b Systems/Computational Neuroscience Journal Club

Usually offered every year.

NEUR 296a Master's Research Lab

Prerequisite: Permission of the Program Director.

Students engage in biological research by working in the laboratory of a faculty member for a minimum of 10 hours per week for one semester. Intended for students in the MS Program in Neuroscience. Usually offered every semester.

NEUR 297a Readings in Neuroscience

Usually offered every year.

NEUR 298a Independent Study in Neuroscience

Usually offered every year.

NEUR 299a Master's Research Thesis

Usually offered every year.

NEUR 300a Laboratory Rotations

Staff

NEUR 300b Laboratory Rotations

NEUR 393g Graduate Research Internship

Permission of the Director of Graduate Studies required. Yields quarter-course credit. May be repeated for credit. For PhD students only.

Offers PhD students an opportunity to engage in industrial research in neuroscience by completing a paid or unpaid internship of at least ten weeks duration and forty hours per week, approved and monitored by a faculty member. Usually offered every summer.

NEUR 401d Dissertation Research

Independent research for the PhD degree. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.

BIOL 51a Biostatistics
[ dl sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b.

An introductory level biostatistics class providing an overview to statistical methods used in biological and medical research. Topics include descriptive statistics, elementary probability theory, commonly observed distributions, basic concepts of statistical inference, hypothesis testing, regression, as well as analysis of variance. Basic statistical analysis using the R software package will be introduced. Usually offered every semester.

BIOL 107a Data Analysis and Statistics Workshop
[ dl qr sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL51a, high school statistics, or similar course.

The interpretation of data is key to making new discoveries, making optimal decisions, and designing experiments. Students will learn skills of data analysis and computer coding through hands-on, computer-based tutorials and exercises that include experimental data from the biological sciences. Usually offered every year.

COSI 12b Advanced Programming Techniques in Java
[ dl sn wi ]

Prerequisite: COSI 10a or successful completion of the COSI online placement exam.

Studies advanced programming concepts and techniques utilizing the Java programming language. The course covers software engineering concepts, object-oriented design, design patterns and professional best practices. This is a required foundation course that will prepare you for more advanced courses, new programming languages, and frameworks. Usually offered every year.

COSI 21a Data Structures and the Fundamentals of Computing
[ dl sn ]

Prerequisite: COSI 12b. Graduate students may take this course concurrently with COSI 12b with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies.

Focuses on the design and analysis of algorithms and the use of data structures. Through the introduction of the most widely used data structures employed in solving commonly encountered problems. Students will learn different ways to organize data for easy access and efficient manipulation. The course also covers algorithms to solve classic problems, as well as algorithm design strategies; and computational complexity theory for studying the efficiency of the algorithms. Usually offered every year.

COSI 131a Fundamentals of Computer Systems
[ dl sn ]

Prerequisites: COSI 21a.

Fundamental structures of a computer system from hardware abstractions through machine and assembly language, to the overall structure of an operating system and key resource management abstractions. Usually offered every year.

MATH 40a Introduction to Applied Mathematics
[ dl oc sn ]

Prerequisites: MATH 15a or MATH 22a and MATH 20a or MATH 22b.

Introduces the problems and issues of applied mathematics, with emphasis on how mathematical ideas can have a major impact on diverse fields of human inquiry. Usually offered every fall.

NBIO 136b Computational Neuroscience
[ dl sn ]

Prerequisites: MATH 10a or higher and one of the following: NBIO 140b/240b, PHYS 10b/11b/15b, BIOL 107a, or any COSI course.

An introduction to concepts and methods in computer modeling and analysis of neural systems. Topics include single and multicompartmental models of neurons, information representation and processing by populations of neurons, synaptic plasticity and models of learning, working memory, decision making and neural oscillations. The course will be based on in-class computer tutorials, assuming limited prior coding experience, with reading assignments and preparation as homework. Usually offered every second year.

PSYC 51a Statistics
[ dl qr ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or the permission of the instructor. This course normally should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.

Covers the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics. Techniques useful in the behavioral sciences will be emphasized. Students learn the theory of statistical decisions, practical application of statistical software, and how to analyze journal articles. Usually offered every semester.

BIOL 18b General Biology Laboratory for Biology Majors
[ oc sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 15b, sophomore standing, and a declared biology major. Yields full-course credit. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.

Provides firsthand experience with modern molecular biology techniques and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in molecular and cellular biology including applications of biochemical techniques. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 28a Learning and Memory
[ oc sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

Introduces the study of learning and memory. The course will survey various types of memory (e.g., explicit memory, implicit memory, conditioning, short-term/working memory), including strategies, mechanisms, and brain systems. It will encompass disorders and applied aspects of memory. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 121b Alzheimer's Disease Resilience and Risk Factors
[ oc sn wi ]

Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing. Open to majors in one of the following programs: psychology, neuroscience, or HSSP. Also open to graduate students in psychology and neuroscience.

Provides an overview of Alzheimer’s disease, and the factors that may accelerate disease progression and those factors that may be protective. We will cover a broad array of topics including: neuroimaging and blood biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease in humans; aging versus preclinical Alzheimer’s disease; modern definitions of Alzheimer’s resilience, reserve and brain maintenance; role of stress and psychopathology as risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease; relationships between Alzheimer’s pathology and cognitive function. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 139a Memory and the Brain
[ oc ss wi ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or NPSY 11b, or permission of the instructor.

Explores the nature and organization of memory in the brain. Readings from primary literature will give a deeper understanding of how the brain orchestrates memory, and the role of memory in learning, behavior and cognition. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 182a Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: Infancy through Adolescence
[ oc ss wi ]

Prerequisites: NPSY 22b or PSYC 33a, or permission of the instructor.

Current research and methods in developmental cognitive neuroscience are surveyed through analysis of journal articles on language, memory, attention, executive functions, and social cognition. Infancy through adolescence are covered in both typically and atypically (Autism, ADHD, etc.) developing populations. Usually offered every second year.

BIOL 18a General Biology Laboratory for Biology Majors
[ sn wi ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a, BIOL 18b, sophomore standing, and a declared biology major. Yields full-course credit. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come in to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.

Provides firsthand experience with a wide array of organisms and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 121b Alzheimer's Disease Resilience and Risk Factors
[ oc sn wi ]

Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing. Open to majors in one of the following programs: psychology, neuroscience, or HSSP. Also open to graduate students in psychology and neuroscience.

Provides an overview of Alzheimer’s disease, and the factors that may accelerate disease progression and those factors that may be protective. We will cover a broad array of topics including: neuroimaging and blood biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease in humans; aging versus preclinical Alzheimer’s disease; modern definitions of Alzheimer’s resilience, reserve and brain maintenance; role of stress and psychopathology as risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease; relationships between Alzheimer’s pathology and cognitive function. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 139a Memory and the Brain
[ oc ss wi ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or NPSY 11b, or permission of the instructor.

Explores the nature and organization of memory in the brain. Readings from primary literature will give a deeper understanding of how the brain orchestrates memory, and the role of memory in learning, behavior and cognition. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 182a Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: Infancy through Adolescence
[ oc ss wi ]

Prerequisites: NPSY 22b or PSYC 33a, or permission of the instructor.

Current research and methods in developmental cognitive neuroscience are surveyed through analysis of journal articles on language, memory, attention, executive functions, and social cognition. Infancy through adolescence are covered in both typically and atypically (Autism, ADHD, etc.) developing populations. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 11b Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

Data and theories regarding current conceptions of brain-behavior relationships. Begins with an introduction to neural systems as classically defined (sensory, association, motor, autonomic), and moves on to examination of the biological underpinnings of various behaviors, from those relating to basic drives (reproduction, feeding) to those with a cognitive flavor. Throughout, the accent is on interactions between organisms and environment (learning). Usually offered every year.

NPSY 12a Perception: Human, Animal, and Machine
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

Examines the human senses, emphasizing sight and hearing, studied from standpoints of anatomy, physiology, and psychophysics. Insights from the study of special observers, including developmentally immature humans, members of nonhuman species, and people with abnormal sensory systems. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 16a Motor Control
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisites: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or equivalents, and at least sophomore standing, or permission of the instructor.

Surveys control of vertebrate posture and movement from various perspectives including muscle properties, reflex organization, central pattern generation, spatial representations, learning, and development. Emphasizes research in physiology, psychology, biomechanics, and computational theory. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 17a Hand and Brain
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

The specialized developments of the human hand and the parallel developments of the brain, tool use, sign language, and language acquisition are discussed. The control of voluntary movements is a key focus. Includes laboratory demonstrations. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 22b Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

This course explores how the human brain makes the human mind. It covers neural and behavioral dimensions of attention, memory and learning, perception, motor control, plasticity and planning. Experimental approaches and neuroimaging are emphasized. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 28a Learning and Memory
[ oc sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

Introduces the study of learning and memory. The course will survey various types of memory (e.g., explicit memory, implicit memory, conditioning, short-term/working memory), including strategies, mechanisms, and brain systems. It will encompass disorders and applied aspects of memory. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 120b Human Space Flight: Physics, Physiology, and Behavior
[ sn ss ]

Topics include how orbital flight is achieved, spacecraft life support systems, circulatory dynamics, sensory-motor control and vestibular function in free fall, the physiological and psychological adaptations necessary in space flight, and how astronauts must readapt on return to Earth. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 121b Alzheimer's Disease Resilience and Risk Factors
[ oc sn wi ]

Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing. Open to majors in one of the following programs: psychology, neuroscience, or HSSP. Also open to graduate students in psychology and neuroscience.

Provides an overview of Alzheimer’s disease, and the factors that may accelerate disease progression and those factors that may be protective. We will cover a broad array of topics including: neuroimaging and blood biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease in humans; aging versus preclinical Alzheimer’s disease; modern definitions of Alzheimer’s resilience, reserve and brain maintenance; role of stress and psychopathology as risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease; relationships between Alzheimer’s pathology and cognitive function. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 139a Memory and the Brain
[ oc ss wi ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or NPSY 11b, or permission of the instructor.

Explores the nature and organization of memory in the brain. Readings from primary literature will give a deeper understanding of how the brain orchestrates memory, and the role of memory in learning, behavior and cognition. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 141a Stress, Physiology, and Health
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisites: one of NPSY 11b, NBIO 146a, PSYC 38a, or NPSY 199a.

About a third of all diseases in western society are related to stress. The study of psychosocial determinants of health is a growing field, in which biological and psychological research is combined to understand pathways between CNS processes and health. We will study these processes in this course. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 154a Human Memory
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 52a or NBIO 140b, or permission of the instructor.

Presents a systematic analysis of memory research and theory. The seminar will emphasize current research employing cognitive neuroscience methods, such as fMRI. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 170a Decision Neuroscience
[ oc sn ]

Prerequisites: NBIO 140b/NBIO 240a or NPSY 11b and NPSY 22b, or permission of the instructor.

This course will provide an overview of how animal and human nervous systems generate decisions, with a particular focus on decisions for rewards. We will cover a broad array of topics, including: basic methods for measuring decisions and decision-related neural activity; how predictions about rewards are learned through error-driven processes; the dual systems hypothesis of behavioral control; computation of values for simple choices; the effect of emotion on choices; social decision making; temporal discounting; and deficits in decision-making in human clinical populations. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 174b Visual Cognition
[ oc sn ss ]

Explores complex processes of visual perception. Topics include art and visual perception, visual perception by machines, visual imagery in everyday life, visual basis of reading, visual search, perceptual learning, computational models of visual perception, and face recognition. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 176b Constructing Reality
[ oc ss ]

Prerequisites: NPSY 11b, NPSY 12a, NPSY 16a, NPSY 17a, NPSY 22b, or NPSY 199a and junior or senior standing.

How do our brains and minds construct our reality? For answers, the course will draw on insights from scientific psychology, neuroscience, and medicine, particularly how damage to the nervous system can disorder our sense of reality. Special consideration will be given to the nature of perception, evaluation of evidence, and decision making. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 180a Social Neuroscience and Culture
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Prerequisites: PSYC 10a, 51a, and 52a, or NBIO 140b/NBIO 240a, or permission of the instructor. May not be taken for credit by students who took PSYC 213a in prior years. Formerly offered as PSYC 180a.

Introduces empirical research on a breadth of social neuroscience topics-- including the self, stereotyping, and moral reasoning--with a more focused coverage of culture. Emphasis will be placed on literature comparing Eastern and Western cultures. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 182a Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: Infancy through Adolescence
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Prerequisites: NPSY 22b or PSYC 33a, or permission of the instructor.

Current research and methods in developmental cognitive neuroscience are surveyed through analysis of journal articles on language, memory, attention, executive functions, and social cognition. Infancy through adolescence are covered in both typically and atypically (Autism, ADHD, etc.) developing populations. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 196b Advanced Topics in Cognition
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Prerequisite: PSYC 52a, NBIO 140b, or NPSY 199a.

This seminar covers current issues and research in memory, aging, speech perception, and language comprehension. Emphasis will be placed on the current literature in the field. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 197a Advanced Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience
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Prerequisites: NPSY 11b and NBIO 140b or permission of the instructor.

Covers current research and issues pertaining to the neurobiology of perception (focusing mainly but not exclusively on perception of chemosensory signals) as well as the neurobiology of simple learning. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 199a Human Neuropsychology
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Prerequisite: Psych 10a or Math 10a and at least sophomore standing.

Designed as an introduction to human neuropsychology. Topics include cerebral dominance, neuroanatomical mapping, and localization of function, with special reference to language, memory, and related cognitive function. Usually offered every year.

PHIL 123b Neuroethics
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Focuses on the philosophical and ethical implications that arise from advances in neuroscience. We will investigate questions like: What are the evolutionary origins of moral judgment? Does evolutionary theory shed light on morality? Do our moral motivations derive from reason or pre-reflective intuition? Do psychopaths have moral responsibility? Do we have free will? Is there an obligation to enhance ourselves? Should drugs be used to enhance mental functioning? Is it moral to grow human organs in animals for purposes of transplantation? Usually offered every third year.

PHIL 131a Philosophy of Mind
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Covers the central issue in the philosophy of mind: the mind-body problem. This is the ongoing attempt to understand the relation between our minds -- our thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and so on -- and our bodies. Is the mind just a complex configuration of (neural) matter, or is there something about it that's irreducibly different from every physical thing? Topics include intentionality, consciousness, functionalism, reductionism, and the philosophical implications of recent work in neuroscience, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 136b Computational Neuroscience
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Prerequisites: MATH 10a or higher and one of the following: NBIO 140b/240b, PHYS 10b/11b/15b, BIOL 107a, or any COSI course.

An introduction to concepts and methods in computer modeling and analysis of neural systems. Topics include single and multicompartmental models of neurons, information representation and processing by populations of neurons, synaptic plasticity and models of learning, working memory, decision making and neural oscillations. The course will be based on in-class computer tutorials, assuming limited prior coding experience, with reading assignments and preparation as homework. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 142b Circadian Rhythms and Sleep
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Prerequisite: NBIO 140b, NBIO 240a, or BIOL 105b.

Explores via some lecturing, but predominantly discussion of papers from the primary literature, what we know about circadian rhythms and sleep in different organisms. We will discuss the molecular, cellular and circuitry control of rhythms and sleep as well as their behavioral and physiological consequences. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 143b Developmental Neurobiology
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Prerequisite: BIOL 14a, BIOL 15b, and either BIOL 12a or BIOL 18b, or permission of the instructor.

Discusses the molecular mechanisms used in the development of the nervous system in both invertebrate and vertebrate experimental systems. Topics include determination of neuronal cell fates, axon growth and guidance, plasticity during development, and mechanisms responsible for generation of connectivity in the nervous system. This course emphasizes reading of original scientific research papers and class discussion and oral presentations. If oversubscribed, preference from the waitlist will be given based on seniority. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 145b Circuits and Systems
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Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or NBIO 240a.

Explores fundamental questions in circuit-and systems-level neuroscience. We will take a systems-level perspective to explore how the brain supports behavior and cognition. Students will read and discuss seminal and current findings to understand how the brain represents and perceives the external environment, adapts and learns, executes control, and uses internal representations to make decisions and drive behavior. The focus will in particular be on underlying circuits, neural representations and neurophysiological mechanisms. The course will follow an arc that covers sensory systems, perception and behavior, neural coding, cognition, and motor control. Emphasis will be on bridging across these levels, and on critical analysis and synthesis. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 146a The Neurobiology of Human Disease
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Prerequisite: Any of the following BIOL 100b, BIOL103b, BIOL 105b, BIOL 122a, BIOL 128a, NBIO 140b, or NBIO 143b.

A lecture- and literature-based examination of the molecular, cellular, and circuit level mechanisms underlying neurological and psychiatric diseases. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 147a Genetics of Behavior
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a, NBIO 140b, and either BIOL 12a or BIOL 18a.

Topics include function of genes, genetic pathways and neurons in the generation of behavior. The use of genetics and genetic manipulations in the study of behavior in a range of experimental organisms will be emphasized. Course will be based on reading  primary research articles. A solid understanding of the fundamentals of genetics, molecular biology, and neuroscience is essential for this course. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 148b Cellular Mechanisms of Neuronal Excitability and Plasticity
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Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or permission of the instructor. Graduate students may take this course concurrently with either NBIO 140b or NBIO 240a.

Neurons are complex computing devises that transmit and store information. This course will explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms of excitability, as well as the plasticity mechanisms that allow neurons and synapses to store information. Students will examine classic experiments on action potentials and synaptic transmission, as well as the contemporary literature on our evolving understanding of the cellular mechanisms of regulation of excitability and learning-related plasticity. The course emphasizes reading from original papers and extensive class discussion. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 12a Introductory Biology Lab
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Prerequisites: BIOL12b, BIOL 14a, and sophomore standing. Yields half-course credit. Biology majors should take BIOL 18b and BIOL 18a.

Provides firsthand experience with a wide array of organisms and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 12b Introductory Biology Lab
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Prerequisites: BIOL 15b, and sophomore standing. Yields half-course credit. Biology majors should take BIOL 18b and BIOL 18a.

Provides firsthand experience with modern molecular biology techniques and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in molecular and cellular biology including applications of biochemical techniques. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 18a General Biology Laboratory for Biology Majors
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a, BIOL 18b, sophomore standing, and a declared biology major. Yields full-course credit. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come in to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.

Provides firsthand experience with a wide array of organisms and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 18b General Biology Laboratory for Biology Majors
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Prerequisites: BIOL 15b, sophomore standing, and a declared biology major. Yields full-course credit. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.

Provides firsthand experience with modern molecular biology techniques and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in molecular and cellular biology including applications of biochemical techniques. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 42b Human Physiology Lab

Prerequisite: BIOL 42a. BIOL 42b may be taken concurrently with BIOL 42a. Yields half-course credit.

Students will be introduced to laboratory techniques used to study human physiology including electromyography, electrocardiography, exhaled gas analysis, and spirometry. Students will set up equipment, make predictions, record results and analyze how their observations reveal physiological principles. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 152b Virus Hunter Project Lab
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a, BIOL 15b, BIOL 12a and 12b or BIOL 18a and 18b.

During this course, students will learn about a common type of virus called bacteriophage. They will isolate novel bacteriophage from the marine environment and using modern molecular biology and bioinformatic techniques, they will sequence, analyze, and annotate the viral genome. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 159a Project Laboratory in Microbiology
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Prerequisites: BIOL 12a and 12b or BIOL 18a and 18b.

A discovery-based laboratory to study the diversity of microorganisms in particular environments. Students will isolate microbes with ability to metabolize complex compounds from special environments, characterize their properties and identify them by DNA sequence analysis. After students learn foundational microbiology concepts and techniques, they will choose, design, and carry out a short research project. This project lab is primarily for seniors and master's students. Usually offered every year.

CHEM 18a General Chemistry Laboratory I
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Corequisite: CHEM 11a. Dropping CHEM 11a necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. Two semester-hour credits; yields half-course credit. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have passed CHEM 19a in previous years.

Introduction to basic laboratory methods and methods of qualitative and quantitative analyses. Included in the analytical methods are gas chromatography and infrared measurements. A synthesis project that includes analyzing the product by titration. Calorimetric experiment using probes interfaced with computers. Identification of unknowns based on physical and chemical properties. Analysis of the metal content of substances by atomic absorption. One laboratory lecture per week. One afternoon of laboratory per week. Usually offered every year.

CHEM 18b General Chemistry Laboratory II
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Prerequisites: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 18a and CHEM 11a. Corequisite: CHEM 11b. Dropping CHEM 11b necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have passed CHEM 19b in previous years.

The second semester of the general chemistry laboratory program. Continued use of probes interfaced with computers to monitor pH and electrical conductivity changes in titrating weak monoprotic and polyprotic amino acids, to monitor pressure changes as part of a kinetics study, and to monitor voltage changes of electrochemical cells with temperature so as to establish thermodynamic parameters for redox reactions. Also included is identification of unknowns based on selective precipitation. Usually offered every year.

CHEM 19a Honors General Chemistry Laboratory I
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Corequisite: CHEM 15a. Dropping CHEM 15a necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have taken CHEM 18a in previous years.

An advanced version of CHEM 18a. One afternoon of laboratory per week. One laboratory lecture per week. Usually offered every year.

CHEM 19b Honors General Chemistry Laboratory II
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Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 15a and CHEM 19a. Corequisite: CHEM 15b. Dropping CHEM 15b necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have taken CHEM 18b in previous years.

Continuation of CHEM 19a. An advanced version of CHEM 18b. Usually offered every year.

CHEM 29a Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
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Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 18b or 19b or the equivalent. Corequisite: CHEM 25a. Dropping CHEM 25a necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.

Gives experience in the important techniques of organic chemical laboratory practice of isolation and purification of organic compounds by crystallization, distillation, and chromatography, and their characterization using analytical and instrumental methods. One afternoon of laboratory per week. One ninety-minute laboratory lecture per week. Usually offered every year.

CHEM 29b Organic Chemistry Laboratory II

Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 25a and CHEM 29a or the equivalent. Corequisite: CHEM 25b. Dropping CHEM 25b necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.

A continuation of CHEM 29a with an emphasis on the synthesis of typical organic compounds. One afternoon of laboratory per week. One ninety-minute laboratory lecture per week. Usually offered every year.

CHEM 59b Advanced Laboratory: Physical Chemistry
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Prerequisites: A satisfactory grade (C- or higher in CHEM 18b or equivalent; CHEM 141a or 142a (may be taken concurrently) or equivalent. One one-hour lecture and one afternoon of lab per week.

This course introduces the student to a number of topics of current interest in physical and analytical chemistry and provides experimental verification of physico-chemical principles in thermodynamics, kinetics, macromolecules, organic chemistry, semiconductors, nanochemistry, photochemistry, magnetic resonance imaging and electrochemistry. The properties, reactions, and structure of compounds are understood by evaluating their physicochemical responses to changes in experimental conditions. The experiments use synthesis, spectroscopy, chromatography, electrochemical and other instrumental methods employed in the modern chemical laboratory. The program includes the methodology of quantitative measurement, statistical data analysis, and report writing. One one-hour lecture and one afternoon of laboratory per week. Usually offered every second year.

COSI 119a Autonomous Robotics
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Prerequisites: COSI 21a, or instructor permission.

Become part of the team developing 'Campus Rover', our long term project. Explore the fundamental 'big questions' in robotics: How do robots know what to do? How do they see the world? How do they know where they are? How do they know where to go? How do they control their bodies? How should robots behave around people? How can we get them to work together? Learn and understand Robot Operating System (ROS) and how software for robots is built. Solve gradually more advanced robotic problems, work with real robots in our Robotics Lab. This is a hands-on course, emphasizing real world implementations. Usually offered every year.

ENGR 11a Introduction to Design Methodology
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Prerequisite: Instructor permission required.

An introduction to the engineering design process, with a focus on human-centered design. Students work in teams to solve authentic design problems under the theme of “design to repair the world.” Students are guided through a highly scaffolded process in which they form an idea, sketch it, and develop it through multiple iterations leveraging quick feedback loops and the Design Thinking methodology. Students will become fluent in basic additive and subtractive manufacturing, including 3D printing, laser cutting, and CNC machining. Usually offered every year.

ENGR 13a Modeling and Simulation
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Prerequisites: MATH 10a and PHYS 10a or higher, or permission of the instructor. PHYS 11a or 15a is strongly recommended.

Building models of physical systems is a critical aspect of science and engineering. While models are expressed through the languages of math and physics, developing a good mental picture of the system at hand requires drawing on experience. Towards providing students with this experience, this course will build connections between the theoretical, the experimental, and the designed. They will be guided through a structured series of labs on a variety of system classes including nonlinear mechanical systems, infectious disease dynamics, mass transport, and coupled oscillators. In three of the labs, students will not only analyze and model a physical system but also use digital fabrication (3D printing, laser cutting, or CNC milling) to build and test physical versions of their models. This course is intended as a first exposure to modeling. Prior experience in programming is not required. Students will receive Python notebooks for each lab to be used for data analysis, numerically solving dynamical models, fitting models to data, and visualizing results. Practical coding skills, such as debugging, elaborating notebooks and learning to leverage open-source software, will be taught in a lab environment where students and the instructor can readily collaborate and solve challenges. Usually offered every year.

PHYS 18a Introductory Laboratory I
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Corequisite: PHYS 10a. May yield half-course credit toward rate-of-work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.

Laboratory course consisting of basic physics experiments designed to accompany PHYS 10a. Usually offered every year.

PHYS 18b Introductory Laboratory II
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Corequisite: PHYS 10b. May yield half-course credit toward rate-of-work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.

Laboratory course consisting of basic physics experiments designed to accompany PHYS 10b. Usually offered every year.

PHYS 19a Physics Laboratory I
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May yield half-course credit toward rate-of-work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.

Laboratory course designed to accompany PHYS 11a and 15a. Introductory statistics and data analysis including use of microcomputers and basic experiments in mechanics. One afternoon or evening of laboratory per week. One one-and-a-half-hour lecture per week. Usually offered every year.

PHYS 19b Physics Laboratory II
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May yield half-course credit toward rate-of-work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.

Laboratory course designed to accompany PHYS 11b and 15b. Basic experiments in electricity, magnetism, and optics. Basic electrical measurements. Determination of several fundamental physical constants. One afternoon or evening of laboratory per week. One one-and-a-half-hour lecture per week. Usually offered every year.

PHYS 29a Electronics Laboratory I
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Prerequisites: PHYS 11a, b or PHYS 15a, b; and PHYS 19a, b or permission of instructor. Students without a background in Physics should contact the instructor to discuss course requirements and receive permission to enroll.

Introductory laboratory in electronics. Topics to be covered are time constants, frequency response, rectification, amplification, radio reception, combinatorial logic, digital state machines, and analog-to-digital conversion. The class will solve first and second order differential equations directly and with the help of the complex exponential. Usually offered every spring.

PHYS 39a Advanced Physics Laboratory
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Prerequisite: PHYS 20a. This course may be repeated once for credit with permission of the instructor. This course is co-taught with PHYS 169b.

Experiments in a range of topics in physics, possibly including selections from the following: wave optics, light scattering, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, numerical simulation and modeling, phase transitions, laser tweezers, chaotic dynamics, and optical microscopy. Students work in depth on three experiments during the term. Usually offered every year.

QBIO 24b QBReC Lab

Prerequisite: QBIO 11a. Yields half-course credit. Formerly offered as EL 24b.

Students explore the living world through experimental and computational projects conducted in research labs. The emphasis is on interdisciplinary science where techniques from physics, chemistry and biology are used to develop a quantitative understanding of life at the molecular and cellular level. Usually offered every year.

QBIO 120b Quantitative Biology Instrumentation Laboratory
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Focuses on optical and other instruments commonly used in biomedical laboratories to make quantitative measurements in vivo and in vitro. Students disassemble and reconfigure modular instruments in laboratory exercises that critically evaluate instrument reliability and usability and investigate the origins of noise and systematic error in measurements. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 51a Biostatistics
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b.

An introductory level biostatistics class providing an overview to statistical methods used in biological and medical research. Topics include descriptive statistics, elementary probability theory, commonly observed distributions, basic concepts of statistical inference, hypothesis testing, regression, as well as analysis of variance. Basic statistical analysis using the R software package will be introduced. Usually offered every semester.

BIOL 107a Data Analysis and Statistics Workshop
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Prerequisites: BIOL51a, high school statistics, or similar course.

The interpretation of data is key to making new discoveries, making optimal decisions, and designing experiments. Students will learn skills of data analysis and computer coding through hands-on, computer-based tutorials and exercises that include experimental data from the biological sciences. Usually offered every year.

ECON 83a Statistics for Economic Analysis
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a. Students must earn a C- or higher in MATH 10a, or otherwise satisfy the calculus requirement, to enroll in this course.

A first course in statistical inference. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, normal and binomial distributions, sampling distributions, point and interval estimation, properties of estimators, hypothesis testing, regression, and analysis of variance. Usually offered every semester.

MATH 40a Introduction to Applied Mathematics
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Prerequisites: MATH 15a or MATH 22a and MATH 20a or MATH 22b.

Introduces the problems and issues of applied mathematics, with emphasis on how mathematical ideas can have a major impact on diverse fields of human inquiry. Usually offered every fall.

NBIO 136b Computational Neuroscience
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Prerequisites: MATH 10a or higher and one of the following: NBIO 140b/240b, PHYS 10b/11b/15b, BIOL 107a, or any COSI course.

An introduction to concepts and methods in computer modeling and analysis of neural systems. Topics include single and multicompartmental models of neurons, information representation and processing by populations of neurons, synaptic plasticity and models of learning, working memory, decision making and neural oscillations. The course will be based on in-class computer tutorials, assuming limited prior coding experience, with reading assignments and preparation as homework. Usually offered every second year.

NPHY 115a Dynamical Systems
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Prerequisites: MATH 10a, b or equivalent; MATH 15a and/or some coding experience would be helpful.

An introduction to the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems, including bifurcations, limit cycles, chaos, and coupled oscillators. Covers analytical, computational, and graphical methods of solving sets of nonlinear ordinary differential equations, as well as mathematical modeling of natural phenomena. Examples will be drawn from physics, chemistry, population biology, and neuroscience. Usually offered every third year.

PHYS 105a Biological Physics
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Physical forces in living matter are studied from the perspective offered by statistical mechanics, elasticity theory, and fluid dynamics. Quantitative models for biological structure and function are developed and used to analyze systems such as single molecule experiments, transcriptional regulation networks, the forces arising during DNA packaging in a virus, and mechanisms underlying mammalian pattern formation. Usually offered every second year.

PSYC 51a Statistics
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Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or the permission of the instructor. This course normally should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.

Covers the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics. Techniques useful in the behavioral sciences will be emphasized. Students learn the theory of statistical decisions, practical application of statistical software, and how to analyze journal articles. Usually offered every semester.

PSYC 123a Applied Bayesian Modeling
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Prerequisite: PSYC 51a or equivalent.

Designed for undergraduate and graduate students in psychology or related field who are interested in learning the method of Bayesian modeling and the ways to implement Bayesian modeling in applied research. In particular, the course is aimed to (1) introduce the basic principle of Bayesian modeling; (2) demonstrate how to do Bayesian analyses using the tools available in R and JAGS; and (3) elaborate how to evaluate and present the results. The ultimate goal of this course is to expand students’ analytic skills. Usually offered every second year.

PSYC 148a Applied Statistical Computing in R
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Prerequisite: PSYC 51a or equivalent.

Designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduates who like to learn the R statistical programming package, further their understanding of statistical modeling and its application in applied and academic research, use R to make the connection between statistical concepts, modeling, and their implementation, and use R to document their research process and enhance its reproducibility. Usually offered every second year.

PSYC 210a Advanced Psychological Statistics I

In conjunction with PSYC 210b, this course teaches students how to do independent data analysis in psychology at a PhD-level. Topics include methods for describing data, exploratory data analysis, elementary probability theory, null hypothesis significance testing and alternatives, one-way and factorial analysis of variance, and repeated measures analysis. Students receive extensive instruction in the use of R (with options for students to use SPSS, MATLAB, or other computing platforms in the class). Usually offered every year.

QBIO 110a Numerical Modeling of Biological Systems
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Prerequisite: MATH 10a and b or equivalent.

Modern scientific computation applied to problems in molecular and cell biology. Covers techniques such as numerical integration of differential equations, molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations. Applications range from enzymes and molecular motors to cells. Usually offered every second year.