Undergraduate Course: Mechanisms of Developmental Neural Plasticity (PYBM10028)
Course Outline
| School | School of Biomedical Sciences |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course will examine the mechanisms of nervous system development with special focus on the role of activity in shaping neural connectivity and physiology. It will examine the major advancements in the field of developmental plasticity since the Nobel Prize winning experiments of Hubel and Wiesel in the 1960s. It will examine how the various types of activity (i.e. spontaneous versus sensory-evoked) shape neural connectivity and physiology, drawing on studies using several sensory systems from a variety of mammalian species. We will examine the physiological basis of experience-dependent plasticity with special focus on the role of long-term potentiation and long-term depression on neural development. It will introduce students to recently evolving theories such as metaplasticity and spike-time dependent plasticity as possible mechanisms underlying synaptic information storage. Finally we will examine the molecular basis of activity-dependent plasticity with special focus on glutamate receptors and their downstream signaling pathways. The course will begin with broad introductory lectures covering the foundations of neural development, both embryonic and postnatal, to provide a firm understanding of the major issues confronting developmental neuroscientists. It will then move to seminar-based teaching where students will be expected to critically-evaluate and present recent papers in this rapidly growing field. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
Increased understanding of biological processes.
Detailed learning outcomes will be provided later.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | PHYSMechdevneural |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mike Ludwig
Tel: (0131 6)50 3275
Email: Mike.Ludwig@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Patricia Law
Tel: (0131 6)50 3161
Email: Anne.Law@ed.ac.uk |
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