Courses

Courses by semester

Courses for

Complete Cornell University course descriptions are in the Courses of Study .

Course ID Title Offered
BIONB1220 FWS: Special Topics in Neurobiology and Behavior
The First-Year Writing Seminar is about introducing concepts in neuroscience and behavior and writing extensively about them. Topics vary by section.

Full details for BIONB 1220 - FWS: Special Topics in Neurobiology and Behavior

Fall, Spring.
BIONB2210 Neurobiology and Behavior I: Introduction to Behavior
General introduction to the field of animal behavior. Topics include evolution and behavior, behavioral ecology, sociobiology, chemical ecology, communication, orientation and navigation.

Full details for BIONB 2210 - Neurobiology and Behavior I: Introduction to Behavior

Fall, Summer.
BIONB3220 Hormones and Behavior
Covers comparative and evolutionary approaches to the study of the relationship between peripheral hormones and neuroendocrine mechanisms in vertebrates, including humans, with sexual behavior, affiliative bonds and social grouping, parental behavior, aggression, mating systems, stress, learning and memory, and biological rhythms.

Full details for BIONB 3220 - Hormones and Behavior

Fall.
BIONB3230 Behavioral Ecology, Evolution and Genomics
This course provides hands-on experience with modern methods for studying animal behavior both in the field and in the laboratory. Class projects will be complemented with a series of workshops and demonstrations of methods. Topics include: experimental design, animal tracking, animal color analysis, sound analysis, chemical analysis, capture/marking methods, determining relatedness, measuring social behavior, and behavioral statistics in R.

Full details for BIONB 3230 - Behavioral Ecology, Evolution and Genomics

Fall.
BIONB3240 Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory
This course is designed to provide an introduction to experimental research on the neural basis of behavior and cognition in animals. Topics will include basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, neural and hormonal control of behavior, and learning and memory. Students will gain extensive hands on experience with a variety of laboratory techniques, and animal species, and behaviors.

Full details for BIONB 3240 - Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory

Fall.
BIONB3920 Drugs and the Brain
Introduction to neuropharmacology, with an emphasis on the neural mechanisms of psychoactive drugs. Topics include a brief introduction to neuropharmacology and a discussion of the major neurotransmitter families. The rest of the course covers the major psychoactive drugs, including cocaine, heroin, psychedelics, marijuana, and alcohol, as well as pharmaceuticals for the treatment of anxiety, schizophrenia, and depression. Includes a term paper in the form of a grant proposal to study a current problem in neuropharmacology. The course will use i-Clickers, which the students should have before the first class. BIONB3920 website

Full details for BIONB 3920 - Drugs and the Brain

Fall.
BIONB4200 Topics in Neurobiology and Behavior
Courses on selected topics in neurobiology and behavior; can include lecture and seminar courses. Topics vary by section; see Class Roster.

Full details for BIONB 4200 - Topics in Neurobiology and Behavior

Fall, Spring.
BIONB4330 Topics in Cognitive Science
A seminar series examining current and classical ideas in human sciences and the humanities.  Themes vary from semester to semester.

Full details for BIONB 4330 - Topics in Cognitive Science

Fall, Spring.
BIONB4380 Topics in Computational Methods for Neurobiology and Behavior
This course is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in computational methods for analyzing neural and behavioral data. Potential topics include signal processing, spectral analysis, information theory, cluster analysis, fitting parametrized models and maximum entropy models. We will also look at applications of modern machine learning techniques to scoring, analyzing and interpreting data. Although the course will be geared towards students who are new to computational methods, familiarity with calculus is recommended. Students will be asked to give a short oral presentation at the end of the semester on the use of methods from the class to analyze a real dataset.

Full details for BIONB 4380 - Topics in Computational Methods for Neurobiology and Behavior

Fall.
BIONB4700 Biophysical Methods
Overview of the diversity of modern biophysical experimental techniques used in the study of biophysical systems at the molecular, cellular, and population level. Emphasis is placed on groundbreaking methods behind recent Nobel Prizes and other techniques likely to be encountered in cutting-edge research and industry. Topics include: 1) super-resolution, multi-photon, and single molecule microscopy, 2) crystallography and structural biology methods used to characterize DNA, RNA, proteins, cells, tissues, 3) microfluidics, "lab-on-a-chip", and single cell culture techniques, 4) molecular dynamics simulations, stochastic modeling, and physical models of a cell, and 5) next-generation sequencing, protein engineering, synthetic biology, genome editing, and other experimental techniques at the intersection of applied physics and biological engineering.

Full details for BIONB 4700 - Biophysical Methods

Fall.
BIONB7201 Research Design in the Study of Animal Social Behavior
A weekly journal club-style discussion. Graduate students may be expected to present a summary of their research or a summary of research in the literature related to their thesis once per year.

Full details for BIONB 7201 - Research Design in the Study of Animal Social Behavior

Fall, Spring.
BIONB7202 Topics in Neural Basis of Behavior
A weekly journal club-style discussion. Graduate students may be expected to present a summary of their research or a summary of research in the literature related to their thesis once per year.

Full details for BIONB 7202 - Topics in Neural Basis of Behavior

Fall, Spring.
BIONB7210 Introductory Graduate Survey in Neurobiology and Behavior
Designed to assist students in mapping their graduate careers and in choosing and pursuing transformative and tractable thesis topics. The core of the course will be open-ended discussions directed by paired neurobiology and behavioral ecology faculty on novel research frontiers in the study of mechanisms and the evolution of behavior (including in the zone of their conceptual intersection). Occasional laboratory experiences may also be included. Professional development topics will include how to: navigate graduate school, allocate time between reading, thinking creatively, and investing in research, design experiments, write grant proposals, give talks, and publish peer-reviewed papers.

Full details for BIONB 7210 - Introductory Graduate Survey in Neurobiology and Behavior

Fall.
BIONB7212 Professional Development for Biology Graduate Students
In-depth discussions of career choices for academic biologists to empower them to manage their careers. Topics to be covered insclude developing strong CVs, personal statements, public speaking and interviw skills, competing for postdoctoral, faculty and other professional positions, interviewing, dual careers, where to publish, grand administration, dealing with editors, tenure promotion and other issues. Workshops will include panel discussions with postdocs, former NBB graduates and faculty members.

Full details for BIONB 7212 - Professional Development for Biology Graduate Students

Fall.
BIONB7640 Plant-Insect Interactions Seminar
Group intensive study of current research in plant-insect interactions. Topics vary from semester to semester but include chemical defense, coevolution, insect community structure, population regulation, biocontrol, tritrophic interactions, and mutualism.

Full details for BIONB 7640 - Plant-Insect Interactions Seminar

Fall, Spring.
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