Neuroethology: Circuits of Behavior

Catalog description

Neuroethology is the study of the neural and physiological basis of animal behavior. This course focuses on the specific behavioral problems faced by animals in their natural habitats, and the ways in which their nervous systems solve these problems. The mechanisms that underlie complex behaviors such as spatial orientation and navigation, escape mechanisms, and animal communication will be examined, as well as the extraordinary sensory adaptation of organisms to their environments (e.g., echolocation, electroreception, and magnetic reception). The neural control of motor programs and temporally-patterned behaviors will be studied in simpler neuronal systems. Finally, recent cellular and molecular approaches to the study of behavior will be addressed. Three hours of lecture and one three-hour lab per week. Prerequisite(s): BIO 115 , BIO 116 with a grade of C or better in each course.