Nanocourses consist of lectures followed by the opportunity to gain hands-on experience. The brain is the foundation for our most advanced mental functions. It is among the most complex and dynamic biological systems. How the brain is built during development is a major open question at the forefront of current scientific research. A better understanding of brain development, how its circuits are wired and synapses are connected, will create a “blueprint” for understanding its normal function, and abnormalities in disorders like autism and schizophrenia. This course will contain a series of discussions on the current big picture questions and key details of brain development, structure, function, and associated disorders. Students will critically analyze foundational experiments and recent literature, with creative exercises in designing future experiments to tackle outstanding questions in the field. The course will also contain hands-on training in high resolution brain imaging and image analysis at multiple scales.
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