📗 -> Neurobiology of Brain Disorders
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description includes DSRD🔗 Critical Links
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🔶 Course Description
Registrar:
Examination of brain disorders from a basic science perspective to gain insights into the mechanisms of their action. Genetic, molecular, cellular, circuit, and environmental basis of a variety of brain disorders. How insights about underlying mechanisms may lead to the development of improved therapies.
Brief Course Description
Examine brain disorders from a basic science perspective to gain insights into the mechanisms of their action
Consider the generic, molecular, cellular, circuit, and environmental basis of a variety of brain disorders
Consider how insights about underlying mechanisms may lead to the development of improve therapies (translational neuroscience)
❗ Important
Instructor:
- Tim Hanks - thanks@ucdavis.edu
- Neural mechanisms of decision making
TA:
- Tanner Stevenson - tstevenson@ucdavis.edu
- “The role of dopamine in flexible behavior”
- Measuring dopamine release in reward/no reward trials.
Textbook
Readings: Background reading assignments will come from chapters in the book Neurobiology of Brain Disorders, Michael J. Zigmond, Joseph T. Coyle and Lewis Rowland (Editors). Chapters from this book are freely available from the UC Davis network using this website:
Recommended Further Reading (After Class Finished):
Not required for the class, but the perspective of thinking about the brain as a complex dynamical system for understanding brain disorders is nicely described in a recent book by UPenn neuroscientist Nicole Rust:
https://www.amazon.com/Elusive-Cures-Neuroscience-Solved-Disorders_and/dp/0691243050Links
And here is a very recent paper that puts that perspective into practice in advancing scientific understanding:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt3971
And an associated press release:
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/05/emotions-eye-puff.html
📄 Class Material
Week 1
Introduction - NPB173-L1
Spinal cord injury - NPB173-L2
Week 2
Cerebrovascular Disease – Stroke - NPB173-L3
Localized brain damage - NPB173-L4
Week 3
Epilepsy - NPB173-L5
Review and synthesis of concepts in Section 1 - NPB173-L6
- PREP FOR EXAM 1
Week 4
EXAM #1
Huntington Disease - NPB173-L7
Week 5
Parkinson Disease - NPB173-L8
Alzheimer Disease and other dementias - NPB173-L9
Week 6
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - NPB173-L10
Review and synthesis of concepts in Section 2 - NPB173-L11
Week 7
EXAM #2 - NPB173-MT2-Prep
Fragile X-Associated Disorders - NPB173-L12
Week 8
Autism spectrum disorder - NPB173-L13
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - NPB173-L14
Week 9
Anxiety disorders - NPB173-L15
Depression and Schizophrenia - NPB173-L16
- A few sections missing notes
Week 10
Review and synthesis of concepts in Section 3 - NPB173-L17
EXAM #3 - NPB173-MT3-Prep