Psychology 224: Neuroscience Methods and Research Strategies PDF

Psychology 224: Neuroscience Methods and Research Strategies Reading: Carlson, Chapter 5  How to find neuroscience research opportunities 1. Look up faculty interests online to identify a lab. Here are links to faculty at Hunter College https://www.hunter.cuny.ed...

Psychology 224: Neuroscience Methods and Research Strategies Reading: Carlson, Chapter 5  How to find neuroscience research opportunities 1. Look up faculty interests online to identify a lab. Here are links to faculty at Hunter College https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/psychology/people/faculty-1 https://biology.hunter.cuny.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=ar ticle&id=55&Itemid=44 2. You can also search for faculty at nearby institutions (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NYU, Cornell Medical Center, Albert Einstein Medical Center, The Rockefeller University, other CUNY schools) 3. Email them asking if they are accepting undergraduates into their lab. -Attach your transcript and tell them your GPA -Tell them your year at Hunter (Junior, Senior) -Tell them you availability to volunteer (hrs/week, # semesters)  Methods and Research Strategies Reading: Carlson, Chapter 5  What if we want to measure neural activity?  Electrophysiological Recordings  Single unit recordings - Implant microelectrodes - Record activity of individual neurons - Location of the electrodes can be moved  Multi-unit recordings - Implant macroelectrodes - Record postsynaptic potentials of thousands of cells in one location - In humans, EEG recordings from scalp do a similar thing.  Electrophysiological Recordings Allows for recording neural activity when the animal is performing a task https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV- EMA5g288 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=vOJKlD4ukbY Measuring Neural Activity From Brain Tissue ex Vivo  Immediate Early Gene Expression IEGs turn on when neurons become active Fos Protein Expression  IEGs can be behaviorally-induced or induced by directly applying current Stimulate Non- d Side stimulated Commonly used IEGs Side are Fos and Arc Measuring Neural Activity In Humans  Functional Imaging In Humans Positron Emission Tomography (PET) - First functional imaging method - Involves administration of a radioactive tracer (2-deoxyglucose) - Tracer is taken up by active cells and emits a signal (positron) - Very expensive - Poor spatial and temporal  PET Imaging  Increased uptake of 2-deoxyglucose in areas involved in movement.  Indicates increased metabolic rate in these regions.  Functional Imaging In Humans  Functional MRI (fMRI) - Best spatial and temporal resolution - Detects levels of oxygen in the brain’s blood vessels. - BOLD signal: blood oxygen level- dependent Subjects judge whether pairs of words MALES FEMALES rhyme. What if we want to manipulate specific circuits?  Targeted Mutations In Mice  Mutated genes can be producedBad Hair Day (Bhrd) Mouse in the laboratory and inserted into the chromosomes of mice Constitutive Knockout mice: The target of the mutation prevents the production of a Spontaneous Mutation certain protein -Limitation: Compensatory mechanisms Conditional knockout mice: Temporal control over the gene -Advantage: Mice can develop normally 5-HT1B Receptor Knockout