•Assigned papers
•Murray pubs
•Murray photos
•Tritonia swim papers
•Lecture notes
•Gastropod Neuroscience
•Tritonia photos on Molluscan Neuro Gateway
Student papers
•Cal State East Bay
•Eastern Oregon U.
•Gillette lab
•U. Victoria
•Cooper lab
•Faulkes lab
Class photos
Friday Harbor Laboratories (U. Washington)
Session A June 11 - July 14, 2007
5 weeks: M-F 8-5; S 8-12
Biology 533A (9 credits)
Dr. Jim Murray and Dr. Shaun Cain
The focus of this course was on the neural mechanisms that underlie behavior. During the course we used invertebrates as model systems to investigate how individual neurons and groups of neurons contribute to a given behavior. To this end, we investigated and discussed the neural control of behavior (orientation and navigation) at various levels of biological organization -- from behavioral to molecular.
The marine slug Tritonia diomedea glides on its foot and explores its world with a touch and taste sensitive oral veil (mustached like anterior tentacles), and it smells food and mates using its posterior head tentacles known as "rhinophores").
The course consisted of lectures/discussions of basic neurobiological principles and experimental work. The first week of experimental work consisted of learning common neurobiological procedures. The next four weeks, students conducted two 2-week projects (individually or in groups). Each project culminated in a written report.
A wide array of experimental approaches were available to the students, including indirect immunofluorescence, in situ hydridization, light-level microscopy, intracellular and extracellular recordings from isolated central nervous systems, semi-intact preparations and unrestrained, freely behaving animals, and video analysis.
Acknowledgements:
This course was supported by grants and donations from many FHL supporters, and they are gratefully acknowledged. We thank the American Society for Cell Biology, donors to FHL's Adopt-a-Student Program, and the Friday Harbor Research Fellowship fund for financial support of students. Equipment was provided by FHL, ADInstruments, Noldus, and
Dagan. We also would like to acknowledge the assistance of Prof. Dennis Willows with advising students and loaning equipment.