| SES # | TOPICS | ASSIGNMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | |
| 2 | Scientific reading, writing and learning mechanisms of simple invertebrates | Questions due by this session — What was the purpose of the experiment described in figure 3? Assignment due after this session — Convert a cake recipe to scientific article format: During Ses #1, students will be given a recipe for baking a cake and will need to present it in the format of a scientific article (Introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion). — Additionally, students will be asked to define 'learning' in one sentence. |
| 3 | Synaptic plasticity in rodent hippocampal slices | Questions due by this session — Schwartzkroin, and Wester – How is the specificity of the input demonstrated? — Stanton, and Sarvey – What is the difference between Emetine and Cycloheximide as demonstrated by this paper? |
| 4 | Molecular mechanisms underlying LTP | Questions due by this session — Coan, et al. – What is the difference between the circles and the squares in figure 2? — Hayashi, et al. – What is a PDZS domain? |
| 5 | Complicating the model of LTP | Questions due by this session — Dudek, and Bear – What are the characteristics shared by LTP and LTD? — Borroni, et al. – In figure 5, what is represented by the dark bars in panel A? and what in panel B? |
| 6 | The Morris water maze | Questions due by this session — Morris – When should a cued platform be used? — Halagappa, et al. – How does the experiment described in figure 1 affect the interpretation of the experiments in figures 2 – 4? |
| 7 | Place cells | Questions due by this session — O'Keefe, and Dostrovsky – Define a hippocampal spatial unit. — Ji, and Wilson – Focus on the introduction and discussion. The results section is very technical? — Choose the figure that, in your opinion, captures the essence of the paper. Be prepared to explain it. Assignment due after this session — Use literature searching software to find research that builds on material discussed in class: During Ses #16 we will discuss using information gathering tools such as PUBMED. As an assignment, you will have to find a paper that builds on the research described in this week's papers to answer a question you find interesting. |
| 8 | Field trip | |
| 9 | NMDA receptors and place cells | Questions due by this session — Tsien, et al. – How are NMDA receptors eliminated only in CA1 region of the hippocampus? — McHugh, et al. – What does NMDA receptor dependent plasticity in CA1 contribute to place field representation? |
| 10 | Hippocampal representation of space in contextual fear conditioning | Questions due by this session — Wiltgen, et al. – What does the hippocampus contribute to contextual fear learning? — Miota, et al. – What is the "trade off" that is necessary when using place cell analysis to study fear memory? |
| 11 | Synaptic tagging | Questions due by this session — Sajikumar, et al. – How would you test if a compound inhibits LTP induction or maintenance? — Kauderer, and Kandel – What stimulation protocol is sufficient for setting an LTD 'Tag'? Assignment due after this session — Short essay designing an experiment aimed at answering a specific question in the literature: The papers for Ses #10 present a theoretical framework called 'synaptic tagging' which was created for understanding molecular events underlying memory. One of the issues addressed by 'tagging' is: How does the molecular signal being amplified in the nucleus know which synapse to go back to? Students will be asked to design an experiment that can test a hypothesis for answering this question. The experimental design should include a description of the student's theory and the way to test it with an emphasis on relevant control experiments. The assignment should be 1–3 pages long. |
| 12 | Other aspects of place cells | Questions due by this session — Oler, and Markus – What parameter of place field representation deteriorates with age? — Hafting, et al. – Which characteristic of Grid cells changes in a dorsal/ventral gradient? |
| 13 | Does LTP really happen in the brain? | Questions due by this session — Tse, et al. – What does a non–cued trial control for? — Give an example for a schema that you apply in your life experience. |
| 14 | Schemas' of memory |