NEUR 405: RS Laboratory Methods in Behavioral Neuroscience
Spring 2016
Instructor:
Caroline L.C. Neely, M.A. (cneely3@masonlive.gmu.edu)
Office phone: 703-993-5455
Class time: W 1:30 – 4:10 PM
Class location: Krasnow 222; Krasnow Animal Facility
Office location: DK 2024
Office hours: R 3 – 4 PM/by
appointment
Course Description: The primary goal of this course is to provide advanced undergraduate
students with skills used in conducting behavioral neuroscience research. This course will focus
on the use of rodents in behavioral neuroscience and will survey topics covering behavioral
assays, histological techniques, data analysis, and neuroethics. Specific skills learned will
include the proper use and handling of research animals, how to prepare an IACUC application,
keeping a lab notebook, behavioral testing, surgery, euthanasia, and tissue processing.
Throughout the semester, students will work together in small teams to compose an original
research question and conduct experiments to address this question. Project activities will
include reviewing and critically analyzing existing literature on the topic, choosing appropriate
methods to address the research question, analyzing data generated, and presenting the study
findings in a written form.
RS Designated Courses
This class is designated as a Students as Scholars Research and Scholarship Intensive (RS)
course, which means that students are given the opportunity to actively participate in the
process of scholarship and will make a significant contribution to the creation of a disciplinaryappropriate project. To learn more about Students as Scholars, visit oscar.gmu.edu.
RS Student Learning Outcomes
In this RS course, students will:
 Create an original scholarly or creative project.
 Communicate knowledge from an original scholarly or creative project.
 Engage in scholarly inquiry by:
1.
Articulating and refining an original research question in behavioral neuroscience
2.
Gathering evidence (i.e., collecting data) appropriate to the question
3.
Applying appropriate scholarly conventions during the inquiry process.
Prerequisites: PSYC 300, BIOL 214/312, or equivalent statistics course; PYSC 372 or 376
Required Text: None
Required Readings: Available on Blackboard
Assignments:
 Completion of Required Training: In accordance with OSHA, NIH’s Office of Laboratory
Animal Welfare, and the National Research Council, students in this course are federally
mandated to complete the following two lab safety training courses: 1) Animal and
Vivarium Safety and 2) Laboratory Safety Orientation. These courses are offered through
the Environmental Health and Safety Office (ehs.gmu.edu). EHS has kindly agreed to
offer these two courses to us IN CLASS. If you will be unable to attend then let me know
ASAP. If you cannot attend this training, then your overall class grade may be in jeopardy
as it is required for participation in the lab each week. If you do not have these trainings
completed by February 10th, then you will not be able to enter the facility.
The GMU Office of Research Integrity and Assurance also requires that students
complete on-line training in the use of animals in research provided by the Collaborative
Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). Information on how to sign up for the on-line training
courses will be provided via email. Completion of the EHS and CITI training courses is
mandatory and accounts for 5% of the final grade.

Mock IACUC Application: Before starting any research project involving laboratory
animals, approval must be obtained by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
(IACUC). The IACUC ensures that university and national standards for the ethical care
and treatment of the research animals will be followed. The procedures used in this lab
course have already been approved by the IACUC. However, students will learn the
process of navigating the IACUC by completing a mock application. Students will work in
their research project teams, using a standard form to complete the application. Main
requirements of the application include a) justifying the need for using animals to conduct
the research, b) providing evidence that the research question is novel and has not been
addressed by previous research, and c) detailing all experimental procedures, including
plans for ensuring animal well-being and preventing and/or relieving pain and distress.
Guidance and input will be provided by the instructor. The mock IACUC application will
account for 10% of the final grade.

Reading Quizzes: Assigned readings will include lab protocols, textbook chapters, and
journal articles. These readings will be distributed via Blackboard and/or GMU email.
Successful and efficient labs depend on each of you coming to lab prepared. This means
that you have to complete the readings BEFORE you come to lab. In order to ensure that
all students are reading before class, short quizzes will be given at the beginning of each
lab session. You will have the first 10 minutes of class to complete the quiz. If you are late
to class and miss the quiz, then you cannot make it up. Reading quizzes will count for a
total of 10% of your grade.

Participation: Your grade in this course will include a participation score ranging from 0 –
5 points per class meeting. A score of 5 points will be given to a student who reports to
lab on time, is prepared by having completed the readings ahead of time, is properly
dressed, and actively participates in all lab activities and class discussions. A score below
5 points will be given to a student who does not fully demonstrate 100% effort in a given
lab session. This could include things like arriving late, being unprepared, inappropriate
phone usage during class, not having done the readings, not actively participating in lab
activities and discussions, disrupting other students, failing to cooperate, leaving lab
before all the work (including cleaning) is done, etc. The participation score will count for a
total 10% of your final grade.

Lab Notebook: Maintaining a lab notebook according to guidelines provided by the
instructor will count for 10% of your grade. Someone unfamiliar with the lab procedures
should be able to look at your lab notebook and replicate the procedures that we
conducted during class. These notes may include, but are not limited to, number of trials,
duration of trials, animal ID, any abnormal behaviors during testing, appropriate
measurements for histology, and any abnormal occurrences in the facilities (e.g. light
malfunction, computer malfunction, animal jumps off a maze), etc.

Lab Reports: Each class, students will participate in behavioral demonstrations. After
demonstrations, the student will complete a written lab report that will assess the student’s
knowledge of the performed procedures from classes prior. Some reports may include
SPSS questions that require the student to use GMU’s computer labs. Other reports will
include the objective of the experiment, the hypothesis tested, reporting of results, and
conclusions regarding the results. Together these reports will account for 25% of the final
grade.

Research Project: Students will work in small teams to design, conduct, and present an
original research project using behavioral neuroscience techniques covered in class.
Students will work together on this project throughout the semester, with specific due
dates for draft Introduction and Methods sections of the project. The project will be
presented in written form according to APA or Journal of Neuroscience guidelines
for writing a manuscript. Detailed information about this project, including the grading
rubric, will be distributed in class. The written research report will account for a total of
30% of your final grade.
Attendance and Makeup Policies:
 Attendance: Attendance will contribute to one’s grade in the form of participation.
Attendance at the EHS trainings will be mandatory as receiving this training will allow
you to work in the lab and with laboratory rodents. Arriving to class late and/or failing to
attend class will adversely affect your participation grade and will interfere with your
ability to complete the final research project. If you must miss a lab, arrive late, or leave
early please let your fellow team members and let us know in advance via e-mail. This
will ensure that you are aware of what is going on in class. You are, however,
responsible for all announcements and any syllabus changes that are made (whether or
not you are in attendance).
 Makeups: Lab space availability and class times are limited, and a large breadth of
material needs to be covered each week. Thus, lab activities cannot be made up
outside of class.
If not otherwise specified, all assignments and lab reports must be submitted via
Blackboard links. Assignments that are not turned in BEFORE 1:30 PM on the due
date will receive an automatic 0.
Grades:
 Grade Breakdown:
Required Training (5%) + Lab Notebook (10%) + Mock IACUC Application (10%) +
Reading Quizzes (10%) + Lab Participation (10%) + Lab Reports (25%) + Written
Research Project (30%) = 100%

 Grading Scale:
A+ 97% & above
B+ 87 – 89% C+ 77 – 79%
D 60 – 69%
A 93 – 96%
B 83 – 86% C 73 – 76%
F 59% & lower
A- 90 – 92%
B- 80 – 82% C- 70 – 72%
Official Communications via GMU E-mail: Mason uses electronic mail to provide official
information to students. Examples include communications from course instructors, notices from
the library, notices about academic standing, financial aid information, class materials,
assignments, questions, and instructor feedback. Students are responsible for the content of
university communication sent to their Mason email account, and are required to activate that
account and check it regularly. Students will be notified through their email if class is cancelled
and if a make-up class will be scheduled.
Technology Statement: Required knowledge of technology for this course includes the ability
to retrieve handouts and notes sent to your GMU e-mail address or those uploaded to
Blackboard (mymasonportal.gmu.edu). Students will be required to use SPSS which is installed
on most GMU computers. There are computers available in the Johnson Center Room 342 and
Innovation Hall Room 301. Students can also access SPSS from their home computer using
GMU’s Virtual Computer Lab (Mac users are not able to use this function as of Fall 2014).
Students will also be using ImageJ, a software program created by the NIH which can be
downloaded for free for both Mac and PC users.
Students with Disabilities: If you are a student with a disability and you need academic
accommodations please see us and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 703-9932474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the DRC.
Please note that this course involves working with rodents (rats and mice) as well as
potential carcinogenic/teratogenic chemicals that are used in biochemical assays. If you
have a concern about this, please contact me/meet with me as soon as possible.
The GMU Honor Code will be Strictly Enforced: Cheating and plagiarism will not be
tolerated and will be reported to the University Honor Board and penalized. Information that is
used from an outside source must be cited in correct APA/JNeuro format. I reserve the right to
enter a failing grade for any student found guilty of an honor code violation.
Add/Drop Deadlines:
 Last day to add: January 26th
 Last day to drop (no tuition penalty): January 26th
 Last day to drop (33% tuition penalty): February 2nd
 Last day to drop (66% tuition penalty): February 19th
 Selective withdrawal period: February 22nd – March 25th
Tentative Schedule:
Date:
January 20
Class Topic:
th
EHS Training (in class)
Neuroethics
January 27th
Basic research designs
and overview of
behavioral tests
Validity & reliability
Review IACUC
application
Objectives:
EHS certification
(MANDATORY)
Get composition notebook by next class
Lab entry: Group members’
names; ideas for IACUC
application/project
Quiz on reading:
 Nestler & Hyman, 2010 (pages 1161 –
1163 ONLY)
 Festing & Altman, 2002
 CITI training certificates due
Meet in computer lab!
Quiz on reading:
 Harrington, 2011
 Read through Caroline’s SPSS tutorial
(won’t be on quiz)
Lab entry: Mock data analysis
February 3rd
Readings/Assignments Due:
Hypothesis testing
SPSS and data
analysis
Colony tour and upkeep
February 10th
February 17th
Rodent behavior I:
Handling and colony
maintenance
Rodent behavior II:
Anxiety & depressive
behaviors
Lab entry: Cage assignments,
animals’ IDs, ages, & weights
Lab entry: data from EZM/FST
Elevated zero maze
Forced-swim test
February 24th
Rodent behavior III:
Prosocial behaviors
and activities of daily
living
Lab entry: data from threechamber sociability apparatus
Handling
EHS training MUST be completed
Quiz on reading:
 Costa et al., 2012
 Lab Report 1 (SPSS)
Quiz on readings:
 Castagne et al., 2011
 Braun et al., 2011
 Optional lab Report 1 (SPSS) resubmit
 Optional rough draft of IACUC application
Quiz on readings:
 Kaideanovich-Beilin et al., 2011
 Cloutier et al., 2012
 Mock IACUC application due
 Lab Report 2 (Anxiety/Depression)
Nesting
March 2nd
Rodent behavior IV:
Learning and memory
Lab entry: set up and data from
fear conditioning
Morris water maze
No class – Spring Break
March 9th
Surgical procedures
March 16th
Quiz on readings:
 Bromley-Brits et al., 2011
 Shoji et al., 2014
 Lab Report 3 (Prosocial/ADL)
 Optional rough draft of intro due
NO LAB ENTRY
Perfusions & brain extractions
Quiz on reading:
 Gage et al., 2012
 Watch video:
http://www.jove.com/video/3564/wholeanimal-perfusion-fixation-for-rodents
 Lab Report 4 (Learning & Memory)
Lab entry: all info
Histology I
Quiz on reading:
 Histological techniques PDF
Brain slicing
March 23rd
Alcohol solutions
Thionin stain
Lab entry: all info

Optional rough draft of methods due
Histology II
Luxol fast blue/cresyl-violet
counterstain
March 30th
Western blotting I
April 6th
Slide analysis
Lab entry: how much protein is
loaded, specifics of
electrophoresis
Well-loading and gel
electrophoresis
Western blotting II
April 13th
Lab entry: discussion on
probing; kinds of antibodies
Secondary antibody application
Quiz on readings:
 Nature article:
http://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/
western-blot-288
 Read western blot guide section “gel
electrophoresis (running the gel)”
 Lab Report 5 (Histology I & II)
Quiz on reading:
 Read western blot guide sections
“immunodetection and antibodies” and
“analyzing the data”
Blot imaging/analysis
April 20th
April 27th
Manuscript Writing &
Preparation
Testing/Make-up snow
day
Lab entry: notes from your
classmates’ critiques
Short class for preparing your
manuscript for “submission”
over brunch!
Lab entry: any data recorded
from running your projects
Class time dedicated to student
projects
May 4th
No class
May 6th
No class
Quiz on reading:
 Kallestinova, 2011
 Lab Report 6 (Western blotting I & II)
All behavioral testing MUST be completed by
the end of this class period
 Raw data due (SPSS/.sav or Excel/.xlxs
format ONLY)
 Optional rough draft intro & methods;
maybe discussion
Lab notebooks due in my mailbox (outside
David King Hall 2024) by 5 PM
Final manuscript and project evaluations
due no later than 1:30 PM via BB links