Graduate Faculty
Special Program Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Courses
Cross-Listed Courses

College of Arts and Sciences
Bloomington

Director
Professor George V. Rebec

Departmental e-mail:
iuneuron@indiana.edu

Departmental URL:
http://www.indiana.edu/~neurosci

Graduate Faculty

Chancellors’ Professor of Psychology
George V. Rebec (Psychology)

Elinor Cox Riggs Professor of Social Sciences and Ethics
Joseph E. Steinmetz (Psychology)

Professors
Joseph Farley (Psychology), Gabriel Frommer (Psychology), David Koceja (Kinesiology), Dale Sengelaub (Psychology), Alfred Strickholm (Emeritus, Physiology), Roderick Suthers (Physiology)

Associate Professors
Preston Garraghty (Psychology), Jonathan Mills (Computer Science), Joseph Near (Pharmacology), Dolores Schroeder (Anatomy)

Assistant Professors
Laura L. Murray* (Speech and Hearing Sciences), Brian F. O’Donnell* (Psychology), Julie Stout* (Psychology), Cara Wellman (Psychology)*

Academic Advisor
Professor George V. Rebec, Psychology Building 361, (812) 855-7756

Degree Offered
Doctor of Philosophy

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Special Program Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

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Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The program leading to the Ph.D. degree is designed to give students the opportunity to develop the technical skills and conceptual framework necessary for a successful research career in neuroscience. Research should be viewed as the student’s greatest challenge and the major focus of the student’s energy. Training in behavioral or systems neuroscience is emphasized through research participation with core faculty in the Departments of Computer Science, Medical Sciences, Psychology, and Speech and Hearing Sciences. Students can also draw upon course offerings through the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior as well as the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Visual Sciences.

Admission Requirements
Undergraduate education that includes an adequate background in chemistry, mathematics, and the biological and behavioral sciences. Students with undergraduate concentrations in other areas of the natural sciences, computer science, or engineering also are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to applicants with a background in laboratory research and with strong letters of recommendation. Applications must include a complete entrance form, letters of recommendation, undergraduate transcript, and scores on the Graduate Record Examination General Test. Students are admitted to the program only with the approval of the program graduate admissions committee.

Course Requirements
A total of 90 credit hours, including dissertation. An individual program of study is planned for each student in consultation with the student’s advisory committee. The aim is to provide each student with a solid background in neuroscience as well as the training necessary to supplement the student’s particular research area. Course work consists of N500 or M555 and N501 (a one-year core sequence in neuroscience) which must be completed by the fifth semester of residence, and selections totaling at least 14 credit hours from offerings listed by the Program in Neural Science or cross-listed with other departments, divisions, or special programs. In addition, all doctoral students are required to complete annually N650, a research seminar, beginning in their second year. Course work must be completed with an average of B+ (3.3) or above. No grades below B– (2.7) may be counted toward degree requirements.

Advisory Committee
Chosen in consultation with the student, the student’s research advisor, and the program director. The committee consists of at least three members of the Graduate Faculty who review the student’s performance on a regular basis and provide feedback and guidance.

Qualifying Examination
To remain in good standing and be admitted to doctoral candidacy, students must pass a written and oral examination before the end of their fifth semester in residence. Students failing the qualifying examination twice will be dismissed from the program.

Final Examination
In addition to the oral defense of the dissertation before the research committee, a public research seminar is required.

Ph.D. Minor in Neural Science
Students in other departments and programs who elect to minor in neural science must complete the N500-N501 core sequence and at least 6 credit hours of graduate course work selected from the offerings listed by the program or cross-listed with other departments. A grade of B (3.0) or better in each course is required.

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Courses

N500 Neural Science I (4 cr.) Basic introduction and current trends in cellular neurophysiology, neurocytology, synaptic processes, and neuroanatomy.
N501 Neural Science II (4 cr.) P: N500. Continuation of Neural Science I emphasizing higher, integrative processes such as perception, cognition, and memory. Special emphasis will be placed on timely topics and topics of particular relevance to members of the class.
N510 Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (3 cr.) Examines the properties and behavior of neurons and glia, the principal cells of the nervous system. The function of neural cells, the molecules involved in these functions, and the organization of molecular components required to generate cellular activity will be considered.
N611 Neural Bases of Visual Sensation, Perception, and Cognition (3 cr.) Basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the visual system. Correlations will be made with current, biologically-based cognitive models of vision. The goal of this course is to integrate neural and cognitive approaches to the problems of vision.
N612 Ion Channels and Receptors (3 cr.) P: graduate status and consent of instructor. Molecular, biophysical, and biochemical analysis of the major molecules responsible for neural excitability and synaptic transmission: receptor-coupled ion channels, voltage-dependent ion channels, G-protein coupled receptors, transporters, signal transduction pathways, synaptic vesicle-associated proteins, cytoskeletal proteins, classical and novel neurotransmitters and modulators.
N613 Neural Mechanisms of Hearing (3 cr.) P: graduate status and consent of instructor. Review of anatomy and physiology of inner ear and central auditory pathways. Special attention to current research on the neural basis of auditory discrimination.
N650 Topical Seminar (3 cr.) P: graduate status and consent of instructor. The topical seminar will vary each semester and will deal with a current problem in neurosciences.
N700 Readings-Nervous System (cr. arr.) Reading in special topics with guidance from a member of the faculty.
N800 Research (cr. arr.)

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Cross-Listed Courses

Animal Behavior A502 Research and Professional Ethics in Bio-Behavioral Sciences (1 cr.)

Cognitive Science
Q551 Brain and Cognition (3 cr.)

Computer Science
B644 Very Large Scale Integration (3 cr.)
B679 Topics in Scientific Computing (1-3 cr.) (Analog VLSI and Neural Systems)

School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation
K542 Neuro Control of Movement (3 cr.)
K641 Topics in Motor Integration (3 cr.)
K690 Seminar in Human Performance (Topic: Motor Control) (1 cr.)

Medical Sciences
A464 Human Tissue Biology (4 cr.)
A610 Comparative Neuroanatomy (2 cr.)
F605 Principles of Pharmacology I (4 cr.)
F606 Principles of Pharmacology II (4 cr.)
M555 Medical Neuroscience (5 cr.)
P417 Neurobiology (3 cr.)
P418 Laboratory in Comparative Animal Physiology (2 cr.)
P421 Biophysical Principles in Physiology (3 or 5 cr.)
P510 Control Systems Theory in Biology (4 cr.)
P531 Human Physiology I (3 cr.)
P532 Human Physiology II (5 cr.)
P541 Advanced Physiology I: Neurophysiology (3 cr.)
P543 Neurophysiology Seminar (2 cr.)
P547 Topical Seminar in Physiology (1-5 cr.) (Biophysics of Membrane Transport)
P548 Neuroethology (2 cr.)

Psychology
P417 Animal Behavior (3 cr.)
P423 Human Neuropsychology (3 cr.)
P428 Laboratory in Comparative Psychology (3 cr.)
P436 Laboratory in Animal Learning and Motivation (3 cr.)
P514 Methods in Biopsychology (2 cr.)
P526 Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (3 cr.)
P527 Developmental Psychobiology (3 cr.)
P566 Psychophysiology of Vision (3 cr.)
P628 Psychophysiology of Somatic Functions (3 cr.)
P657 Topical Seminar (1-4 cr.) (Check program brochure.)
P667 Neuropsychopharmacology (3 cr.)
P669 Neurobiology of Behavioral Disorders (3 cr.)

Speech and Hearing Sciences
S501 Neural Bases of Speech and Language (3 cr.)
S515 Topical Seminar (2 cr.) (Conditional)
S545 Adult Cognitive-Communication Disorders (2 cr.)

Visual Sciences
V514 Neuroanatomy (2.5 cr.)
V648 Neurophysiology of Vision (1 cr.)
V767 Electrophysiology of Vision (3 cr.)
V785 The Vertebrate Eye (3 cr.)

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