ECTS credits:
1 ECTS per semester

Course parameters:
Language: English
Level of course: PhD course
Time of year: All year
No. of contact hours: 1 hour every second week
Capacity limits: 20 participants

Objectives of the course:
The course is a journal club where current topics in circuit neuroscience are discussed. The aim of the course is to find and discuss novel or seminal research articles in the field of neuroscience and to develop a general understanding of the current state of neuroscience research, relevant experimental techniques and theoretical approaches. Topics covered will be:

• Neural and genetic basis of behavior (incl. visual system, emotions and higher cognitive functions like decision-making)

Participants can choose among different discussion formats, including paper discussion, own research data or problem discussion related to circuit neuroscience.

Learning outcomes and competences:
At the end of the course students should be able to:

• Select and present relevant papers in neuroscience at an academic level

• Obtain a general understanding of neuroscience approaches and perspectives, including experimental techniques and theoretical models

• Analyze, review and constructively criticize papers regarding their hypotheses, techniques and conclusions
  
  

Compulsory programme:
The student is expected to read the relevant papers, participate actively in discussions of the papers and to present on a regular basis.

Course contents:
The course consists of bi-weekly meetings to discuss scientific papers selected in advance by the student who is presenting. The presenter will make a brief introduction of the papers and lead the following academic discussion. The expected workload per journal club amounts to 3 hours, (2 hours to read papers and search information and one hour to attend the journal club). All participants are expected to read the papers and actively participate in the presentation and discussion. The paper discussions are connected to a forum on AU labbook, to share questions and additional discussion material before and after the presentation.

Prerequisites:

• Interest in behavioral, cognitive and computational neuroscience

• Basic knowledge of animal models, imaging techniques, neural networks or optogenetics advantageous
  
  

Name of lecturer:
Keisuke Yonehara, DANDRITE, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University

Course assessment:
Active participation at the sessions and satisfactory presentations.

Provider:
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics

Time:
All year, every second Thursday, 09:00-10:00

Place:
Building 1170, library (440)
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics
Aarhus University
Ole Worms Allé 3
8000 Aarhus C

Registration:
Please write an e-mail to: keisuke.yonehara@dandrite.au.dk

If you have any questions, please contact Keisuke Yonehara, e-mail: keisuke.yonehara@dandrite.au.dk