BIO.2090 Molecular Neurobiology
Neuroscience as the study of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and networks of sensory nerve cells called neurons. The course has an interdisciplinary character and brings together basic knowledge from various fields of science - neurobiology, cell biology, genetics, etc. The students are acquainted with the basic physiological characteristics and with the development of the nervous system, mechanisms of synaptic transmission and neuromediators activity as well as with the major signaling pathways explored. The main biochemical and molecular genetic approaches applied in neurobiology are discussed. Course emphasis is placed on the study of human neurological and neurodegenerative diseases and their etiology. Particular attention is paid to the methods for analysis and contemporary animal models for the study of these diseases.