This course presents the information that has been collected from studying genetic variation in model systems like nematode and drosophila for mutation studies. Also, new tools that are available to manipulate gene expression, and genes of interest in specific regions of the brain, will be presented. Some of these manipulations are at the ionic channel level, while others are at the organism level. By changing gene expression patterns during development through knockouts, conditional knockouts, or overexpression, the changes in the system can be explored. Diseases that are the result of loss of expression or missing genes in humans will also be studied.
The first session of the week will consist of a lecture given by one of the instructors of the course. During the second session of the week, two students will give paper presentations and lead a class discussion (typically 15 to 25 minutes each) on a selected assigned paper for that week.
Paper summaries on the readings are required each week. Each student is required to make two oral presentations and lead a class discussion on a selected assigned journal paper for a particular week. There is also a final exam for this course.