An Introduction to
Neuroscience
What exactly are we talking about?
Robert Vick, Ph.D.
Department of Biology
Elon University
Disclaimer
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I am a physiologist with an interest in
cellular neurochemistry. I have tried to
include as many aspects of neuroscience
as I can, and this presentation should be
taken with a grain of salt. I apologize to
any one, group, or discipline that I may not
have given adequate due to. Any
perceived slight is unintentional.
Challenges Faced by Neuroscientists
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Understand the biological basis of
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Consciousness
Perception
Actions
Learning
Memory
Disease
Challenges Faced by Neuroscientists
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Are these processes localized to specific
regions of the brain?
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If so, how does the anatomy and physiology of
these specific regions work?
What level (region, sub region, neuron) do we
need to go to understand?
Are these processes a collective property
of the whole brain?
Challenges Faced by Neuroscientists
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How does the genetics of an organism
influence behavior or perceptions or
memory, etc?
How does previous experience alter the
way the brain processes and perceive
subsequent events?
What Do Neuroscientists Study?
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Medical problems
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Comparative animal problems
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Sensory, behavior
Psychological problems
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Diseases, treatments
Learning and memory, behavior, processing
Exercise problems
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Motivation, effective training techniques
Where Do You Find a Neuroscientist?
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Hospitals and Medical Centers
Government
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FDA
Colleges and Universities
Pharmaceutical companies
Private research organizations
What part of the organism do we study?
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Cellular Level
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CNS v PNS
Neurons
Glia
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Astrocytes v Fibroblasts
Oligodendrocytes v Schwann Cells
Microglia
Ependymal cells
What part of the organism do we study?
What part of the organism do we study?
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Neurochemistry
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Neurotransmitters
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Neuropharmachology
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Acetylcholine, Catecholamines, Neuropeptides,
Histamines, etc.
Tylenol, Imitrex, Tegretol, etc.
Behavioral Neurochemistry
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Psychotic disorders, Affective disorders, Anxiety,
Learning and Memory
What part of the organism do we study?
What part of the organism do we study?
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Neurophysiology
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Electrical signaling
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Action potentials
Vm=RT/zF ln Co/Ci
Neural circuitry
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Muscle control, Reflexes, Learning, Memory
Processing sensory inputs and making sense of
them
What part of the organism do we study?
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Neurophysiology
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How the brain controls the musculature
Process that control what the brain is used for –
sleep and attention
How the brain processes and uses language
What part of the organism do we study?
What part of the organism do we study?
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Neuroanatomy
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Gross level
Neurohistology
What part of the organism do we study?
Neurobiology - Multidisciplinary
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Molecular Biology
Biochemistry
Cell Biology
Physiology
Anatomy
Behavior
What organisms do we use?
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Honey bee
Fruit fly
C. elegans
Aplysia
Octopus
Rodents
Humans
A Neuroscience Example
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Multiple sclerosis
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Chronic progressive autoimmune disease that
affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord
Affects 400,000 in the US and 2.5 million people
worldwide
2-3 times as many women are affected as men
Multiple Sclerosis
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Molecular biology approach
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Try to determine what is attacking the myelin sheath
Multiple Sclerosis
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Biochemical/Cell Biology
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An attack on the myelin in the CNS
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May be viral, may be autoimmune
Scarring occurs and may form sclerotic areas
Try to determine what is being exposed in
the myelin to trigger an immune response
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Lipid/protein biochemistry
Immunology
Multiple Sclerosis
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Physiologic
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Damage can slow or block electrical nerve
signals that control muscle coordination,
strength, sensation, and vision
MS patients are extremely heat sensitive – can
be a cause of death
Examine the pathways that are being
affected
Multiple Sclerosis
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Pharmachologic
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Drugs that may lessen the effects of the disease
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Beta interferon, Copaxone, Tysabri, Novantrone
Drugs that may help with quality of life
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Corticosteroids, muscle relaxants, fatigue
reduction, bladder issues
Multiple Sclerosis
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Anatomically
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Identify areas of insult
Identify exactly what is being changed
Identify if treatments are having a positive or
negative effect on the disease
Support the National MS Society
Other neurological diseases in the US
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Alzheimer’s disease – 3 million and
increasing
Parkinson’s disease – 500,000
Depression – 15 million
Schizophrenia – 2 million
Stroke – 100,000 per year
Addiction
Recap
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Society for Neuroscience
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Over 30,000 attendees at 2007 San Diego
meeting
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2008 meeting is in Washington DC in November
Variety of levels and topics to study
Probably someone you know has some
connection to neuroscience
Acknowledgments
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Kandel, Schwartz, and Jessell (1991) Principles of Neural Science 3 ed
Matthews (2002) Neurobiology 2ed
Enchantedlearning.com
Siegel, Agranof, Albers, Molinoff (1989) Basic Neurochemistry 4ed
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
MIT open courseware: 901 An Introduction to Neuroscience http://ocw.mit.edu
Belmonte and Thoroughman Introduction to Neuroscience
http://www.mattababby.org
Clancy, Barbara An Introduction to Neuroscience
http://faulty.uca.edu/~bclancy/bio3370.html
The Wizard of Oz (1939) www.youtube.com
Pinky and the Brain www.youtube.com
National Society for Neuroscience
Perron et al (1997) Molecular Identification of a Novel Retrovirus Repeatedly
Isolated from Patients with Multiple Sclerosis. PNAS 94(14):7583-7588