Course Highlights
The course is a hands-on experimental laboratory class with some preparatory lectures and descriptive procedural handouts. Teams of students will embark an intensive effort to execute neurophysiological experiments from start to finish. This will include manufacturing and construction of the implanted recording and stimulation microdrive array, animal training, experiment preparation, running of behavioral experiments, and subsequent data post-processing. There will be opportunities to participate in all phases of the experimental process.
This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.
Course Description
Students will be exposed to all aspects of a cutting-edge technique in modern electrophysiology, in a highly structured, team oriented environment. The research projects will probe the neural mechanisms of learning and memory through tetrode array recordings coupled with patterned microstimulation. Due to the broad nature of tasks to be completed, coupled with the team oriented approach we will be employing, we are interested in students with a wide variety of laboratory experience and skill levels.
