Jan 26, 2005

Psychology 467

Fundamentals of Neuroscience Call number 20283

First part of the course: Neurophysiology

Instructor: Dr. Michael Levine. (Dr. Levine's Schedule)

The first 8 weeks will be spent studying the basic signaling processes of the nerve. We will start with ionic potentials, then study the active action potential, and finally the operation of the standard chemical synapse. There will be a written exam at the end of this section; it will count for half of your final grade.

The second half of the course will be offered by Dr. Wirtshafter.

There are several simulation programs you may wish to download:
(Some of these programs will be shown in class)

Many more programs are available on the Internet

Simulation of voltage clamp (showing gates, conductances, and currents)
This is a large ZIP file -- you will need to unzip it with WINZIP, then install the program by clicking on INSTALL (blue computer icon) and following instructions.
Voltage clamp, current clamp, and action potentials
The files are available for BioS 442; scroll down to "Computer labs" and click on HH Model (exe file) (Zip file)
(The EXE file gives you a page of nonsense). You will need to unzip with WINZIP, and then you can run. You can try voltage clamps, action potentials, and various pharmacological manipulations.

MetaNeuron

Another simulation of the properties of a neuron, available as a free program (actually, you download the installer)
Nerve-Muscle synapse
A simulation of the work of Katz and his colleagues.  This is a large ZIP file -- you will need to unzip it with WINZIP, then install the program by clicking on INSTALL (blue computer icon) and following instructions.

Text for the first half of the course:
Gary G. Matthews: Cellular Physiology of Nerve and Muscle
(4th edition) Blackwell Science, 2004

Note that the chapters indicated are from the 3^rd edition – I will correct them later if I find the 4^th edition is different.

Other readings are on reserve in the Library,
either in the collection Cellular Neurophysiology by Cooke and Lipkin , or on-line (mostly as PDF files of photocopies)

at Docutek ERes:

http://uic.docutek.com/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=356
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1. Ionic potentials
        Reading: Text  Part I (Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4)

Derivation of the Goldman Equation

2. The Action Potential
Text chapters 5 and 6 are backup; we will read the original papers:

• Hodgkin, A.L., Huxley, A.F., & Katz, B. (1952) Measurement of current-voltage relations in the membrane of the giant axon of Loligo. J. Physiol. 116: 424-448.
• Hodgkin, A.L. & Huxley, A.F. (1952) Currents carried by sodium and potassium ions through the giant axon of Loligo. J. Physiol. 116: 449-472.
• Hodgkin, A.L. & Huxley, A.F. (1952) Components of membrane conductance in the giant axon of Loligo. J. Physiol. 116: 473-496.
• Hodgkin, A.L. & Huxley, A.F. (1952) The dual effect of membrane potential on sodium conductance in the giant axon of Loligo. J. Physiol. 116: 497-506.
• Hodgkin, A.L. & Huxley, A.F. (1952) A quantitative description of membrane current and its application to conduction and excitation in nerve. J. Physiol. 117: 500-544

3. Chemical transmission at the synapse
Text chapter 7 is backup; we will read the original papers:

• Fatt, P. & Katz, B. (1952) Spontaneous subthreshold activity at motor nerve endings. J. Physiol. 117: 109-128.
• del Castillo, J. & Katz, B. (1954) Quantal components of the end-plate potential. J. Physiol. 124: 560-573.
• Katz, B. & Miledi, R. (1967) The release of acetylcholine from nerve endings by graded electrical pulses. Proc. Roy. Soc ser B. 167: 23-38.
• Katz, B. & Miledi, R. (1967) The timing of calcium action during neuromuscular transmission.  J. Physiol. 189: 535-544.

If time permits, we will also read text chapter 8 and discuss several other issues concerned with neural transmission and coding. Additional papers may be assigned at a later date.