BI**194: Spring 2025 Course Descriptions

Animals continuously monitor internal signals from their bodies to maintain homeostasis and respond to physiological needs. This process, known as interoception, involves the brain's ability to sense, interpret, and respond to signals from internal organs such as the heart, lungs, and gut. Interoceptive systems play a crucial role in regulating hunger, thirst, pain, and emotional states, thereby influencing survival, well-being, and behavior.

This course will explore the molecular, cellular, and neural mechanisms underlying interoception. Through weekly discussions of two to three key research articles, we will review foundational discoveries, assess emerging perspectives, and develop expertise in critically analyzing scientific literature. Topics will include how the brain integrates interoceptive signals, the role of neural circuits in regulating homeostasis, and how interoception influences behavior and mental states. By the end of the course, students will gain a deep understanding of the complex interplay between brain and body, and its implications for health and disease.

FORMAT: Critical “highly interactive” group discussion of published papers facilitated by small group presenters.

DESCRIPTION: We will explore primarily postsynaptic mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. This will include published work which has addressed the importance of glutamate receptor trafficking, postsynaptic scaffold and key signaling molecules, actin cytoskeleton, gene expression, protein synthesis, and protein degradation. Our goal will be to understand current views about the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and to gain experience in critical thinking about experiments and results.