The basics of the anatomy of the human central nervous system, including discussion of different structures and fibre systems and their function. Furthermore, an introduction to the major theories and methods that are used in behavioural neuroscience to study the basic processes of learning and cognition in animals, and finally, the development of valid animal models of human pathologies.

Study of animal models of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases: their symptoms, mechanisms and treatments. Emphasis of the importance of the integrative approach to behavioural neuroscience, including neuropsychology, neurochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, and pharmacology.

Plant Biology: Water balance, assimilation and transport in plants; developmental biology and stress physiology.Neurobiology: Development and function of the nervous system, visual processing, human amnesia, theories of human and animal memory.Immunology: Introduction into the fundamental mechanisms of our immunological defence system.

The course will use neurochemical and anatomical methods to evaluate the consequences of the behavioural animal models which were developed in vivo.This course takes place after Modelling Behavioural Dysfunction (4 - 15 February 2008) in vivo on February 18, 2008.Prerequisite: Modelling Behavioural Dysfunction in vivo.

Development and function of the nervous system. The machinery and functional mechanisms of the brain that enable us to learn, including some specific computation theories. Basic concepts and methods in behavioural neurobiology, including the brain’s regulation of emotion and cognition, and the contribution of environment and genotype to brain-behaviour function and psychiatric diseases.

Introduction to experimental methods in neuroscience with examples from neuronal information processing, genexpression and genregulation in neural systems,and the neuro psycho pharmacology of behavior.