Neuroscience

Academic Year: 
2019-20
Address: 
A-15 Neuroscience Building, Washington Road
Phone: 
609-258-9657
Website: 
Princeton Neuroscience Institute
Program offerings: 
Ph.D.
Joint Degree
Director of Graduate Studies
Carlos Brody
Graduate Program Administrator
Alexandra Michaud

Academic department detail

Overview

How do our brains work? How do millions of individual neurons work together to give rise to behavior at the level of a whole organism? Training researchers to answer these fundamental, unanswered questions is the goal of the Ph.D. program in Princeton's Neuroscience Institute. Students in this program learn to use the latest techniques and approaches in neuroscience. Most importantly, students are trained in how to think, and how to develop new techniques and approaches. Creativity and originality are essential to cracking the puzzle of the brain.

Students in the Neuroscience Ph.D. program take lecture and laboratory courses; learn to read, understand, and present current scientific literature; develop and carry out substantial original research; and present their research at meetings and conferences.

Coursework in the Princeton Neuroscience Ph.D. program is based on the idea that hands-on experience is an essential part of gaining real understanding. During the first year, all students participate in a unique year-long Core Course that surveys current neuroscience. The subjects covered in lectures will be accompanied by direct experience in the lab. Thus, all students learn through first-hand experience what it is like to run their own fMRI experiments; to design and run their own computer simulations of neural networks; to image live neural activity; and to patch-clamp single cells, to name a few examples. This course offers students a unique opportunity to learn the practical knowledge that is essential for successfully developing new experiments and techniques. Previous experimental experience is not required.

Incoming students are encouraged to rotate through up to three different labs to choose the lab that best matches their interests. In this process, students may sometimes discover an area of research completely new and fascinating to them. Following their rotations, and by mutual agreement with their prospective faculty adviser, students choose a lab in which they will carry out their Ph.D. research.

Courses

Permanent Courses

Courses listed below are graduate-level courses that have been approved by the program’s faculty as well as the Curriculum Subcommittee of the Faculty Committee on the Graduate School as permanent course offerings. Permanent courses may be offered by the department or program on an ongoing basis, depending on curricular needs, scheduling requirements, and student interest. Not listed below are undergraduate courses and one-time-only graduate courses, which may be found for a specific term through the Registrar’s website. Also not listed are graduate-level independent reading and research courses, which may be approved by the Graduate School for individual students.

NEU 501A Neuroscience: From Molecules to Systems to Behavior (also
MOL 501A
) A survey of modern neuroscience in lecture format combining theoretical and computational/quantitative approaches. Topics include cellular neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neural circuits and dynamics, neural development and plasticity, sensory systems, genetic model systems, and molecular neuroscience. This is one-half of a double-credit core course required of all Neuroscience Ph.D. students.
NEU 501B Neuroscience: From Molecules to Systems to Behavior (also
MOL 501B
) This lab 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 will include synaptic transmission, fluorescent and viral tracers, patch clamp recording in brain slices, optogenetic methods to control neural activity, and computational modeling approaches. In-lab lectures give students the background necessary to understand the scientific content of the labs, but the emphasis is on the labs themselves. Second half of a double-credit core course required of all NEU Ph.D. students.
NEU 502A From Molecules to Systems to Behavior (also
MOL 502A
) A survey of modern neuroscience in lecture format combining theoretical and computational/quantitative approaches. Topics include systems and cognitive neuroscience, perception and attention, learning and behavior, memory, executive function/decision-making, motor control and sequential actions. Diseases of the nervous system are considered. This is one-half of a double-credit core course required of all Neuroscience Ph.D. students.
NEU 502B From Molecules to Systems to Behavior (also
MOL 502B
) This lab course complements NEU 502A 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 electrophysiological recording, functional magnetic resonance imaging, psychophysics, and computational modeling. In-lab lectures give students the background necessary to understand the scientific content of the labs, but the emphasis is on the labs themselves. Second half of a double-credit core course required of all Neuroscience Ph.D. students.
NEU 503 Neurogenetics of Behavior (also
MOL 503
) How do seemingly simple organisms generate complex behaviors? Course will explore our current understanding of the genetic and neural basis for animal behavior, with an emphasis on cutting-edge research and model systems that are amenable to genetic manipulation. Each week students will discuss a new behavior with a focus on the underlying mechanisms; students will also lead discussions of primary literature. The goal of this course is to provide required background knowledge and critical thinking skills to move beyond the published literature to proposing original experiments. This effort will culminate in a final paper from each student.
NEU 511 Current Issues in Neuroscience and Behavior (also
PSY 511
) An advanced seminar that reflects current research on the brain and behavior. Research by seminar participants and articles from the literature are discussed.
NEU 537 Computational Neuroscience and Computing Networks (also
MOL 537
/
PSY 517
) An introduction to the biophysics of nerve cells and synapses, the mathematical description of neural networks, and how neurons represent information. This course surveys computational modeling and data analysis methods for neuroscience and parallels some topics from 549, but from a computational perspective. Topics include representation of visual information, spatial navigation, short-term memory, and decision-making. Two 90 minute lectures, one laboratory. Lectures in common with MOL 437. Graduate students carry out and write up an in-depth semester-long project. Prerequisite: 410, or elementary knowledge of linear algebra.
NEU 557 Measurement and Analysis of Neural Circuit Dynamics This course explores methods for recording and analyzing neural activity from populations of neurons at cellular resolution, and the scientific discoveries that such methods have enabled. Topics include methods for electrical and optical recording of large populations of neurons, as well as their application to studying neural dynamics underlying animal behavior. The course surveys seminal journal articles in the field and provides students with hands-on practice analyzing real neural population recording datasets.
NEU 592 Ethics in the Practice of Neuroscience (half term) Consistent with requirements of federal training grants, this class broaches significant ethical issues that face scientists. These issues include: i) scientific integrity & misconduct; ii) mentoring; iii) peer review in grants and papers; iv) human subjects and animals in research; v) collaborations and conflicts of interest; vi) the scientist as a responsible member of society. Students read case studies before each class. The instructor provides background lecture, then the students discuss ethical issues raised in the case studies. In addition, two faculty members are invited to each class to provide additional perspective.
PSY 591A Responsible Conduct of Research (Half-Term) (also
NEU 591A
) Examination of issues in the responsible conduct of scientific research, including the definition of scientific misconduct, mentoring, authorship, peer review, grant practices, use of humans and of animals as subjects, ownership of data, and conflict of interest. Class will consist primarily of the discussion of cases. Required of all first and second year graduate students in the Department of Psychology. Open to other graduate students.