Program Overview

Neuroscience Program

The study of the nervous system is an interdisciplinary enterprise that draws upon a variety of scientific disciplinesfrom molecular biology and biophysics, to computational science and engineering, to the study of behavior and cognition. To meet the challenge of providing training for entry into this exciting and growing field, Vanderbilt offers its undergraduates an interdisciplinary B.S. in neuroscience.

Courses

The neuroscience curriculum includes courses taught in a variety of departments and schools across Vanderbilt, as well as courses specifically designed for students majoring in neuroscience. The courses include:

• Introductory survey lecture courses
• Specialized lecture and discussion courses
• Lab courses
• Undergraduate research courses Some recent examples include:
  • Biological Basis of Mental Disorders
  • Cellular Neurobiology
  • Biological Clocks
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Neurobiology of Behavior
  • Computational Neuroscience
  • Social and Cognitive Neuroscience

Honors Program

The Honors program is designed to engage outstanding students in the neuroscience enterprise, not only as a didactic exercise, but also as a progressive, dynamic research venture. Students apply to the program by submitting an application and meeting with the director of the Honors program. Honors students can expect direct involvement in all aspects of scholarship in the field of neuroscience, especially the excitement of new scientific discovery through research and experimentation.

The focus of the program is the research experience in the laboratory of the faculty sponsor. Research experiences cover all phases of the research process, including:

• Planning a project
• Learning the necessary techniques
• Doing experiments
• Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data
• Communicating the outcome to other scientists in the form of a presentation and written report that constitutes the Honors thesis

Recent Honors theses include:

• The role of the MICOS in modulating mitochondrial dynamics and structural changes in the hypothalamus
• Complex contingency learning induces enzymatic and transporter plasticity at accumbal dopamine terminal
• Intersection of Fragile X Syndrome and Glycogen Storage Disease Models in Metabolic Neuromuscular Requirements
• Investigating ligands and signal transduction for Jedi-1, a microglial engulfment receptor in the CNS
• Not seeing eye-to-eye: Differences in replication of visual recognition ability in ventral temporal cortex
• Investigating the link between arterial stiffening and Alzheimers disease tau pathology

Special Opportunities

Laboratory experience is one of the cornerstones of the neuroscience major. Independent research provides a unique opportunity for students to discover what research is like and to learn, one-on-one, from some of the top neuroscientists in the world. In undergraduate research courses, students engage in the laboratory research of one of the neuroscience faculty members. During their first semester of research, students also participate in a learning community that provides them the opportunity to clarify expectations about lab experiences and address challenges they may face in an independent research environment with their peers and a secondary faculty mentor.

Conducting independent research in the laboratories of Vanderbilt neuroscientists, students use state-of-the-art equipment and techniques to study fundamental questions about how the nervous system works and how that knowledge can be applied to the treatment and prevention of nervous system disease and injury.

After Vanderbilt

Neuroscience majors at Vanderbilt not only receive strong training in neuroscience, but they are well-grounded in the natural sciences. They also acquire skills in verbal and written communication of complex ideas and in abstract reasoning that open up opportunities in many areas both within and outside the sciences. The major is excellent preparation for entry into graduate programs in neuroscience, biology, or psychology, or as preparation for the study of medicine or dentistry. Neuroscience majors also go on to obtain postgraduate training in law, business, health administration, and physical therapy. Others go directly into research activities in medical schools or at the National Institutes of Health.

Faculty

Neuroscience faculty are nationally and internationally recognized for their commitment to teaching, research, and scholarship. A major strength of the program is the breadth and depth of the expertise of its faculty, who are enthusiastic about and dedicated to teaching neuroscience. The program draws from several departments and schools across the university to provide a comprehensive background in the basic sciences of biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics, as well as a strong foundation in the fundamentals of neuroscience. There are more than 120 faculty involved in teaching, advising, and mentoring students in independent research.