Neurobiology of Disease 4340/6340
Spring 2016 MWF 11:00-11:50, Jones 102
James Cronin, PhD, cronin@tulane.edu, 1003 Stern
Office Hours: Tues/Thurs, 11-1, or by appointment. It is best to let me know if you are coming so
I’ll be at my desk.
This class surveys several of the significant diseases and/or conditions
addressed by Neuroscience. For each disease, a general outline of the clinical
presentation will be given, followed by a review of recent research papers in the
field. Emphasis is placed on original publications elucidating either mechanisms
of the disease or potential interventions.
Readings for the class will be taken from book chapters, review papers, and
original research papers. I will either provide copies of articles/chapters in class,
or will post the readings as PDF files on Black Board. Lectures will be in the form
of PowerPoint presentations, which will also be posted on Black Board.
Graduate students will conduct assigned presentations during the course of the
semester relating to and reinforcing the class material. The schedule and
readings may be modified as the semester progresses depending on student
interest, as I discover additional material, and as new material is published.
Additional information on the diseases discussed in this class can be found at:
www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/disorder_index.htm, as well as at the websites of
the various support societies for each disease
Exams are multiple choice, “fill-in-the-blanks”, and short answer. Make-up
exams are only given for valid significant reasons (e.g. Medical/Dental/Graduate
School interview). Arrangements must be made prior to the exam. In the
event of illness, documentation is required for a make-up exam. Missed exams
are counted as 0 points. Over the course of the semester there will be short
“class participation” quizzes covering the reading material for that class, or other
recent classes. These will not be difficult but rather will assess if the material
was read and the level of understanding obtained from the readings. For
undergraduate grades, quizzes are 5%, exams count for 95% of the final grade.
Graduate students’ grades are calculated as based on 5% quiz scores, 15%
presentations, and 80% exams. Material presented during graduate student
presentations can be included on tests- so pay attention. There are no
extra-credit projects; please do not ask.
Tests scores are posted on Black Board, and test are typically reviewed the next
class.
Do not send emails asking if I will look up your grade on a test, it is posted on Black
Board. This is a waste of my time. Do not ask what score you need to make on a test to
get a desired final grade. This is a waste of your time. Do not ask if you can take a test
at a different time because you have other tests scheduled around the same time. This
is unprofessional. Look at your syllabi and plan accordingly.
1
For testing and presentation purposes, the class material is divided into “Blocks”
Block
Lectures
I
1-10
II
11-19
III
20-27
IV
28-37
Learning Objectives:
- Understanding of fundamentals of neuronal and membrane physiology,
and how these relate to pathology.
- Familiarization with contemporary thought in the Neuroscience community
regarding the underlying basis for the diseases and conditions discussed
in the class.
- Familiarization with contemporary therapeutic treatments and
interventions for the diseases discussed in the class, as well as the
limitations and expected outcomes of those treatments.
- Familiarization with common research techniques and technologies used
in Neuroscience.
Service Learning Component
An optional service-learning component is available with this course. Students
wishing to participate in the Service Learning component must register for
service learning separately from the lecture course. Participating students
will choose one of the participating community partners to complete their service
requirements. The specific regular duties will vary depending on the community
partner, with whom the students will spend either 20 hour or 40 hours over the
course of the semester. The 20 hour option is for 0 credit hours, the 40 hour
option is for one credit hour. All students will
- Keep a daily journal of their experiences with the community partner in
which they will record their activities while on-site. Copies of journals
are provided to the instructor on Friday of every week as ‘progress
reports’. Students are therefore required to keep their journals up-todate. Entries should be written on the day of the service
- Each participating student will give two 10 minute presentations on
their Service Learning experiences. Emphasis is placed on any
correlates that can be drawn to the material discussed in class. These
presentations are made to the other students participating in Service
Learning and are to be scheduled outside of class-time. The first
presentations will occur around mid-semester, while the second
presentations are at the end of the semester. Students are also
asked to reflect on ‘non-class room lessons learned’.
2
1
date
1/11/2016
lecture
1. Introduction, Neuroscience
Review/Membrane Physiology I
2
1/13/2016
2. Neuroscience
Review/Membrane Physiology II
3
1/15/2016
4
1/18/2016
3. Neuroscience
Review/Synaptic Physiology I
No class, MLK day
5
1/20/2016
6
1/22/2016
7
1/25/2016
6. Neuromuscular Diseases;
Parkinson’s II
8
1/27/2016
7. Neuromuscular Diseases II;
Huntington’s/ Multiple Sclerosis
9
1/29/2016
8. ALS
10
2/1/2016
11
2/3/2016
12
2/5/2016
9 Student presentation: Gene
Therapy and RNAi Technology
for Neuroscience Research
and Therapeutics
10 Student presentation: Stem
Cells in Human
Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Test I
13
2/8-2/10
No class- Mardi Gras
14
2/12/2016
11. Alzheimer’s I
4. Neuroscience
Review/Synaptic Physiology
II/Myasthenia Gravis
5. Neuromuscular Diseases;
Parkinson’s I
reading
Myasthenia and related disorders of the
neuromuscular junction. J Neurol
Neurosurg Psychiatry 2010;81:850-857.
Neuroscience, Chapter 17, Modulation of
Movement by the Basal Ganglia.
Parkinson’s Disease: Genetics and
Pathogenesis. Ann. Rev. Path. Mech.
Dis. Supplemental Reading: Cell
Transportation…Mount Sinai J Med
78:126-158, 2011.2011(6):193-222
Cell transplantation and gene therapy in
Parkinson’s Disease. 2011 Mount Sinai
Journal of medicine 78:126-158.
Huntington Disease, Nature Reviews
Disease Primers 2015
Multiple Sclerosis, Journal of Clinical
Investigation, 2012
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The
Lancet Vol 377, March 12, 2011. 942-954
Applications of CRISPR_Cas systems in
neuroscience, Nature, January 2016.
Brain Research 1338(2010) 112-121.
Stem Cells in Human Neurodegenerative
Disorders. Journal of Clinical
Investigation 120(1) Jan 2010.
Alzheimer’s Disease, Nature Reviews
Disease Primers, 2015.
3
Supplemental Readings:
Alzheimer’s Mechanisms, Cell, March
2012. New Concepts in
Neurobiology…Radiology, May 2012.
Synapses and Alzheimer’s. Cold Spring
Harbor, May 2012. Pathways Towards
Alzheimer’s. Nature 2004
15
2/15/2016
12. Alzheimer’s II
16
2/17/2016
13. The Aging Brain
17
2/19/2016
14. Student Presentation:
Lewy Body Disorder
18
2/22/2016
15. Student presentation:
Preventing Dementia.
19
2/24/2016
16. Stroke/Rehab
20
2/26/2016
17. Spinal Cord Injuries
21
2/29/2016
18. Epilepsy
22
3/2/2016
19. Student presentation:
Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder
23
3/4/2016
Test II
The Aging Cortical Synapse, Nature
Reviews Neuroscience, April 2012
100 yrs of Lewy Pathology, Nature
Reviews Neurology 2013.
The many faces of α-synuclein…Nature
Reviews Neuroscience, 2013.
Preventing Dementia. Current Opinion in
Psychiatry 2013
Plasticity during stroke recovery: from
synapses to behavior. Nature Review
Neuroscience Vol 10, December
2009.See also: Current and future
therapeutic strategies for functional repair
of spinal cord injury. Pharmacology and
Therapeutics 132(2011)57-71
Neuroscience 2006 (7)628-638
Glial inhibition of CNS Axon
Regeneration, Nature Reviews
Neuroscience 2006 (7)617-627.
Therapeutic interventions after spinal cord
injury, Nature Reviews. See also: Current
and future therapeutic strategies for
functional repair of spinal cord injury.
Pharmacology and Therapeutics
132(2011)57-71. Neuroscience 2006
(7)628-638
Primary and secondary mechanisms of
epileptogenesis…Current Review in Basic
Science. Vol10, no5, 2010. See also:
The neurobiology of Antiepileptic drugs.
Nature Review neuroscience, Vol 5, July
2004.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Nature
Reviews Disease Primers, 2015
4
24
3/7/2016
20. Autism I
Autism Spectrum Disorders: Clinical
Features and Diagnosis. Pediatr Clin N
Am 59 (2012) 19–25. Neurobiological
Basis of Autism. Pediatr Clin N Am 59
(2012) 45–61
An Epidemic of Fear, Wired, 2009.
Prenatal and Infant Exposure to
Thimersol… Pediatrics 2010; 126:4. 656664. Population-based study of measles,
mumps, and rubella vaccination and
autism. New England journal of Medicine
Vol347, No19, 2002
Spina bifida, Nature Reviews Disease
Primers, 2015.
Supplemental Reading: Neural tube
defects: recent advances, unsolved
questions, and controversies. The Lancet
2013
Schizophrenia, Nature Reviews Disease
Primers, 2015.
Supplemental Reading: Dysconnectivity,
large-scale networks and neuronal
dynamics in schizophrenia. Curr Opion in
Neurobio 2013
25
3/9/2016
21. Autism II
26
3/11/2016
22. Developmental and Neural
Tube Disorders
27
3/14/2016
23. Schizophrenia
28
3/16/2016
24. Plasticity and Recovery from
Depression
Neuronal Network Plasticity and
Recovery From Depression. JAMA
Psychiatry 2013
29
3/18/2016
25. Student Presentation:
ADHD
30
3/21-3/28
No Class
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder,
Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 2015.
ADHD Models. Trends in Cognitive
Sciences 2012
Easter/Spring Break
31
3/30/2016
26. Diabetic Neuropathy
32
4/1/2016
Test III
33
4/4/2016
34
4/6/2016
27. Diseases of Vision and
Hearing
28. Addiction
35
4/8/2016
29. PTSD
36
4/11/2016
30. Migraine
Diabetic Neuropathy. Nature Reviews
Endocrinology 2013
TBD
Systems level neuroplasticity in drug
addiction. Cold Spring Habor
Perspectives in Medicine 2013
Post-traumatic stress disorder, Nature
Reviews Disease Primers, 2015.
Supplemental reading: Biological studies
of post-traumatic stress disorder. Nature
Reviews Neuroscience, November 2012
Neurobiology of Migraine. Nature
Reviews Neuroscience, 2003 (4)386-398.
Emerging migraine treatments and drug
targets. Trends in Pharmacological
Sciences. 2011
5
37
4/13/2016
31. Dyslexia
Overcoming Dyslexia, S Shaywitz.
Chapters 3-7. Dyslexia, Science
325(280):2009
38
4/15/2016
32. Computer/Brain Interface
39
4/18/2016
33. Brain Death
40
4/20/2016
34. Neuroscience of Gender
41
4/22/2016
35. Student Presentation:
Anorexia and Eating
Disorders
Neural interfaces for the brain and spinal
cord…Nature Reviews Neurology 2012.
Bionic Brains and Beyond, Wall Street
Journal 2012
Targeted muscle innervations for realtime myoelectric control of multifunctional
artificial arms. Journal of the American
Medical Association, Feb 11 (301)6, 619628.
Death, Unconsciousness and the Brain.
(2005) 6:899-909. Chronic
Consciousness Disorders, Ann.Rev.Med.
2009
Essay on Animal Mind, The Economist
December 2015
Awakening, The Atlantic, 2012
Why sex matters for neuroscience. Nat.
Rev. Neurosci. 2006 Jun;7(6):477-84.
Neurodevelopment of Human Sexual
Orientation. Neuroscience &
Biobehavioral Reviews 2005(29):10571066. Sexual Differentiation of the brain
& behavior. Best Practices & Research,
Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
2007(21); 431-444. Psychosocial and
psychosexual aspects of disorders of sex
development. Best Practice & Research
Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 24
(2010) 325–334. Sex differences in
molecular neuroscience: from fruit flies to
humans.
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2010
(11)9-17.
The Weaker Sex, The Economist, May
2015
Anorexia, Nature Reviews Disease
Primers, 2015
42
4/25/2016
36. Student Presentation:
Cognitive Enhancement
Cognitive Enhancement. Trends in
Cognitive Sciences, 2011. Brain Gain,
New Yorker 4/2009
Final Wednesday May 4
6