Readings

Please note that this page will be updated frequently as we move through the semester. This page last updated: August 20, 2016.

All the documents you need for class are available as web pages or downloadable in Acrobat PDF format . If you don't have the Adobe reader installed on your computer, you can download and install the free version. There are several core texts we will make use of throughout the semester. In addition, I will also assign shorter texts and articles from the scientific literature that are relevant for each of the major topics we cover in class.

Required Sources you will rely on throughout the course

Course Documents

• The Course Syllabus - be sure to read this and take it to heart!

Electronic textbooks

• Neuroscience Online - a free electronic textbook from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. This is an outstanding text, designed to be used online. The graphics and multimedia features are simply awesome.
• Electrophysiology of the Neuron (2008). Huguenard and McCormick. This is the text and manual that accompanies the simulation software we will use for many of our activities.
• The Axon Guide - a downloadable PDF that was written as an introduction for scientists who perform electrophysiological experiments on neurons. It also turns out to be a fantastic resource for anyone interested in the biophysics of neurons.

Module 1: Passive properties of excitable cells (Weeks 1 and 2)

• Course Manual for Module 1 - this is a brief text I have written to present important information that will not be presented in class. This is the central reading resource for the first two weeks of class. Please note that the PDF files include hyperlinks to additional online information that will further clarify the content if you wish to follow them.
• Chapter 3 of Neruoscience Online - presents the same basic material in a different way, and with better graphics and animations to help your understanding of the material.

Module 2: Ion gradients and equilibrium potentials (Week 3).

• Course manual for Module 2 - My own take on the most important information for this week.
• The key concepts for this module will be presented in lecture.
• Chapter 1 of Neuroscience online is a useful resource
• Pages 9-14 of Electrophysiology of the Neuron are concise and helpful

Module 3: Ion channels Part 1 (Weeks 3 and 4)

• Course manual for Module 3 - A brief summary of the most important points including some not presented in lecture
• The key concepts for this module will be presented in lecture.
• A very useful video tutorial on voltage clamp

Module 4: The action potential Part 1

• This module is primarily synthesis of all the concepts we have developed so far
• The key concepts for this module will be presented in lecture and through in-class simulations
• Chapter 2 of Neuroscience online is an important resource to help clarify the concepts we will cover

Module 5: Ion channels part 2

• Course manual for Module 5 - My own take on the most important information for this week.
• Pages 33-49 of Electrophysiology of the Neuron are essential reading

Module 6: The action potential Part 2

• The key concepts for this module will be presented in lecture and through in-class simulations

Module 7: Synaptic transmission Part 1

• Course manual for Module 7 - My own take on the most important information for this week.
• The key concepts for this module will be presented in lecture and through in-class simulations

Module 8: Dendrites

• The key concepts for this module will be presented in lecture and through in-class simulations

Module 9: Sensory processing

• General Introduction:
  • HHMI Holiday Lectures 1997: Sensory transduction - getting the message (Necessary material for Equiz 9)
• Auditory Processing
  • An absolutely outstanding video explaining
  • From Purves, Neuroscience, 2nd edition: Hair cells and the mechanoelectrical transduction of sound waves.
  • An outstanding interactive animation of hair cell function, including the effects of efferent nerve activity.
  • HHMI Lecture Video: The Science of Sound - how hearing happens
  • HHMI Lecture Video: Neural Processing - Making sense of sensory information
  • Neuroscience Online: Structure and Function of the Auditory System
  • Neuroscience Online: Auditory System Pathways and Reflexes
• Visual Processing
  • HHMI Lecture Video: The Science of Sight - Getting the picture
  • HHMI Lecture Video: Neural Processing - Making sense of sensory information
  • Neuroscience Online: Visual Processing - Eye and retina
  • Neuroscience Online: Visual Processing - Cortical pathways

Module 10: Learning and Memory

• Neuroscience Online: Synaptic plasticity
• Neuroscience Online: Learning and Memory
• HHMI Lecture Video: Mapping memory in the brain
• HHMI Lecture Video: Memories are Made of This

©2012 Michael R Markham | Department of Biology | The University of Oklahoma
Last updated: August 20, 2016