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Comparative Nervous Systems Bi/CNS 157 Fridays 2-4 pm, 200 Broad (Midterm and lab in 317 Kerckhoff) Professor:  John Allman (cebus@caltech.edu) Teaching Assistants:   Cindy Chiu (cnchiu@caltech.edu), Anna Abelin (abelin@caltech.edu) Textbook:  Evolving Brains (PDF will be provided) Classes will be held in 200 Broad except for the brain dissection lab on April 17 and the midterm exam on May 1, which will be held in 317 Kerckhoff. Midterm exam on May 1 in 317 Kerckhoff. Final exam for seniors and graduate students will be emailed to you on Wednesday, June 3 and will be due at 11:59 PM on Friday, June 5. Final exam for other students will be emailed to you on Wednesday, June 10 and will be due at 11:59 PM on Friday, June 12. April 3: Organizational Meeting Organizational meeting. April 10: Brain Development and Evolution Readings: Evolving Brains, Chapters 1, 2, and 3. Visit the Allen Brain Atlas, select a gene of interest, and see the pattern of expression of that gene in the mouse. (http://www.brain-map.org) Visit the Comparative Brains website of the National Museum of Health and science to observe the enormous variability of mammalian brains. (http://www.brainmuseum.org) Download lecture slides April 17: Dissection of Sheep Brains in 317 Kerckhoff There are several guides for dissecting sheep brains: Cindy Chiu's Sheep Brain Lab Manual. The Sheep Brain: A Basic Guide by Richard K. Cooley and C. H. Vanderwolf can be purchased from Amazon.com. There is an online guide at http://academic.scranton.edu/department/psych/sheep/framerow.html. For registration of the sheep brain dissection with histological sections see https://www.msu.edu/~brains/brains/sheep/thumbnails.html. April 24: The Neurobiology of Sleep (lecture by Cindy Chiu) Download lecture slides May 1: Midterm Exam in 317 Kerckhoff Identify brain structures and short essays. May 8: The Visual System Readings: Evolving Brains, Chapters 4 and 6. Download lecture slides May 15: Cephalopod and Arthropod Brains Readings: Land, M. F. (1969) Structure of the retinae of the principal eyes of jumping spiders (Salticidae: Dendryphantinae) in relation to visual optics. J. Exp. Biol. 51:443-470. Download lecture slides May 22: Evolution of Big Brains Readings: Evolving Brains, Chapter 7. Download lecture slides May 29: Emotion and Cognition Readings: Allman, J. M., Watson, K. K., Tetreault, N. A., and Hakeem, A. Y. (2005) Intuition and autism: a possible role for Von Economo neurons. Trends Cogn. Sci. 9(8):367-373. Allman, J.M., Hakeem, A., and Watson, K. (2002) Two phylogenetic specializations in the human brain. The Neuroscientist 8(4):335-46. Seeley, W.W., Carlin, D.A., Allman, J.M., Macedo, M.N., Bush, C., Miller, B.L., and Dearmond, S.J. (2006) Early frontotemporal dementia targets neurons unique to apes and humans. Ann. Neurol. 60(6):660-667. Download lecture slides June 5: Final Examination for Graduate Students and Seniors due @ 11:59 PM Exams will be sent to you by e-mail on June 3. June 12: Final Examination for other students due @ 11:59 PM Exams will be sent to you by e-mail on June 10.