Neuroscience

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024
The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments. Topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Final assessment to be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Freshman Seminar: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Summer 2025 First 6 Week Session
The human brain is the most complex structure in the known universe. The study of its structure and function and how it figures into our actions and mental experience is among the most exciting projects of modern science. This class begins with molecules and cells, builds up to brains and nervous systems, encompasses neural signaling, sensory perception, memory, language, and emotion, and culminates with the great mystery of how brain processes relate to consciousness and mental experience — that is, how the mind is related to the brain. This is a comprehensive introduction to the exciting subject of contemporary neuroscience, open to all interested students. This course runs in Session A.
Brain, Mind, and Behavior: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
The human brain is the most complex structure in the known universe. The study of its structure and function and how it figures into our actions and mental experience is among the most exciting projects of modern science. This class begins with molecules and cells, builds up to brains and nervous systems, encompasses neural signaling, sensory perception, memory, language, and emotion, and culminates with the great mystery of how brain processes relate to consciousness and mental experience — that is, how mind may be related to brain. This is a comprehensive introduction to the exciting subject of contemporary neuroscience, open to all interested students.
Brain, Mind, and Behavior: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Not yet offered
Psychoactive drugs — stimulants, sedatives, psychedelics, analgesics, antidepressant and antipsychotic pharmaceuticals, and others — powerfully impact the human mind and brain. Understanding these substances and their effects is a truly transdisciplinary endeavor: anthropology, botany, cell biology, chemistry, clinical medicine, physiology, psychology, public policy, sociology, governmental law, and more. This class explores that territory, emphasizing the complex nature of drugs as both medicines and poisons, and emanating from plants and fungi having deep historical relationships with humankind.
Drugs and the Brain: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Summer 2025 Second 6 Week Session
This course aims to introduce students to concepts that are central to the field of Neuroanatomy. The main emphasis of the course will be on the human central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. Importantly, anatomy will be discussed in relation to the functions of the nervous system. Students will learn topics such as Cell Biology and Physiology, Neurodevelopment, sensory-motor systems, autonomic divisions, and the anatomy responsible for generating some of our higher cognitive functions. There are no prerequisites for this course, but a basic understanding of high school chemistry and biology is recommended.
Introduction to Functional Neuroanatomy: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Summer 2025 8 Week Session, Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Summer 2023 8 Week Session
This course will introduce lower division undergraduates to the fundamentals of neuroscience. The first part of the course covers basic membrane properties, synapses, action potentials, chemical and electrical synaptic interactions, receptor potentials, and receptor proteins. The second part of the course covers networks in invertebrates, memory and learning behavior, modulation, vertebrate brain and spinal cord, retina, visual cortex architecture, hierarchy, development, and higher cortical centers.
Exploring the Brain: Introduction to Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
Advances in neuroscience are forcing us to confront anew questions concerning the nature of identity, reality, morality, and free will. Scientists can now implant artificial memories, augment natural brain capabilities, and read out intentions from the brain before they are acted upon. This class intends to shine a light on the brave new world enabled by modern neuroscience through three lenses: science, film, and philosophy. Topics to be covered include: the architecture of the brain, AI & the mind body problem, the neural construction of reality, action and free will, memory, the neural basis of morality, mechanisms for brain wiring, mental illness, and brain machine interfaces.
Neuroscience, Film, and Philosophy: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024
This course provides a survey of neuroscience research areas represented by faculty members in the Department of Neuroscience. Each week a different faculty member will give a one hour lecture on how their research field contributes to our understanding of the brain and behavior. The course will span molecular, cellular, circuits, systems, behavioral, cognitive, and computational neuroscience, to illustrate how different approaches fit into the overall field of neuroscience. Faculty will also inform students about courses that they teach in neuroscience and related areas. This course gives undergraduates an opportunity to learn about the spectrum of research within the field of neuroscience.
Survey of Neuroscience Research: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Lectures and small group discussions focusing on topics of interest, varying from semester to semester.
Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course provides credit for independent study by undergraduates working in a lab with a faculty member. The student is responsible for finding an instructor to supervise the work and should meet with that instructor regularly throughout the semester. Faculty members must commit to supervising and evaluating the student's work.

Supervised Independent Study: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Fall 2024
This course is a comprehensive introductory survey of cellular and molecular neuroscience, including cellular neurophysiology, membrane biophysics, ion channel function, synaptic transmission and plasticity, sensory transduction, and nervous system development. We will discuss topics at the level of molecules to cells to simple circuits.
Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
This course is a comprehensive survey of circuits and systems neuroscience, including how brain function underlies behavior. Students will learn how brain circuits are organized, how the brain processes sensory information, how it plans and executes movement, and how it stores information during learning. We will discuss brain rhythms and sleep, and brain systems for emotion, reward, attention, and other higher functions. The major focus is on the mammalian brain, but we will also discuss principles from other organisms. By the end of the course, students will have a strong understanding of the biological and computational principles for neural circuit function, and the neurobiological basis of behavior.
Circuit, Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Spring 2025
Students in this course will develop competency in scientific communication, including scientific writing and presentation of data. We will use active learning exercises to teach strategies for organizing and presenting scientific ideas and evidence verbally and in writing. Each semester there will be one broad neuroscience topic (such as color vision or memory) that we will study in three different research areas: cellular, circuits/systems and cognitive neuroscience. Throughout the semester, students will read and discuss research articles, practice interpreting graphs, make presentations, and complete scientific writing assignments such as analyzing a research article.
Scientific Logic and Communication: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
This course covers the anatomical composition of the human brain with particular emphasis on modern understanding regarding the micro- and macroanatomy of the cerebral cortex and the underlying white matter. The course is designed for students who intend to continue their postgraduate education toward a masters, doctorate, or medical degree in a field involving the study of the human brain.
Human Neuroanatomy: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025
This course will provide a comprehensive overview of psychedelic drugs. We will examine their pharmacological, biochemical, synaptic, behavioral, and clinical effects, with a focus on the neurobiological framework. Drugs in this category (e.g. ketamine, PCP, LSD, Psilocybin, DMT, Mescaline, MDMA, Ibogaine) will be contrasted with psychoactive drugs that are not psychedelic (e.g. cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana) and compared with non-drug practices with overlapping phenomenological mechanistic or therapeutic effects (breathwork, EMDR, deprivation, meditation). While much of the course will focus on the neurobiology of psychedelics, historical and anthropological uses will be explored where appropriate.
Psychedelics: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
The course will provide students with an overview of the tight interface between neural engineering and neuroethological approaches in the field of neuroscience. This course will also discuss the concepts of causal manipulations, such as the control of brain circuits using optics and genetic engineering. Lastly, students will also inquire and discuss what discoveries have yet to be made and how neuroethological approaches can inform neural engineering designs that will revolutionize the future of neural medicine.

Interface Between Neuroethology & Neural Engineering: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Neuroethologists study neural systems by combining behavior and neuroscience to understand the neural mechanism that have evolved in various animals to solve particular problems encountered in their environmental niches. This comparative approach that emphasizes how information is processed and transformed by the brain is particularly powerful for understanding neural systems. In this course, you will learn important concepts in ethology, sensory systems, motor systems and neural plasticity and development by studying the behavior and brains of animals such as crickets, lobsters, barn-owls, honey-bees, echolocating bats, electric fishes and songbirds.
Neuroethology: Complex Animal Behaviors and Brains: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
This course provides a comprehensive overview of behavioral endocrinology beginning with hormone production and actions on
target tissues/circuits and continuing with an exploration of a variety of behaviors and their regulation/consequences. The course also examines the reciprocal interactions between the neuroendocrine system and behavior, considering the impact of hormones on development and adult behavior, and how behavior regulates physiology. Although non-human vertebrate species will be the primary focus, the relevance of these topics to humans will also be explored. Topics include sexual differentiation and sex differences in behavior, reproductive, parental, and aggressive behavior, biological rhythms, and homeostatic regulation.
Hormones and Behavior: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025
This course provides an overview of cognitive neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience is a broad field of study that aims to create quantitative computational models that explain how behavior and cognition are subserved by brain anatomy and function. The field combines philosophy, insights and methods from several other fields: neurology, cellular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, computational neuroscience, statistics, and machine learning.
Cognitive Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025
This course is an introduction to the theories and application of computational methods to neuroscience. Students will learn how computational methods are applied to cellular processes, sensory coding, learning and memory, and cognitive processes. The major focus is on the mammalian brain, but we will also discuss principles from other organisms. By the end of the course, students will have a strong understanding of the computational principles for neural circuit function, and the neurobiological basis of behavior.
Introduction to Computational Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
This course covers topics in emerging neurotechnology including a primer on the basic rates and biophysical timescales of cellular processes, electrophysiological recordings, electrical stimulation of nervous tissue and discussions on how technologies can be built to understand and control the nervous system. We will describe technologies prolifically used to learn about the brain, focusing on electron and fluorescence microscopy. In the second part, we will focus on technologies to monitor and manipulate the nervous system that have been leveraged for use in implantable medical devices and brain-machine interface applications, including high-density extracellular electrophysiology and invasive and non-invasive neurostimulation techniques.
Neurotechnology: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
The biology of learning and memory is critical to our understanding of development, culture, behavioral change, the uniqueness of individuals, and limits to an organism’s potential. We will study experimental investigations of learning and memory at the cellular, circuit, and population level. We will discuss these topics in the context of normal development and disease. Students will become familiar with thinking about the brain at the level of circuits, cells, synapses, and proteins.
Learning and Memory: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025
How do experiences and exposures get “under the skin” to impact human development? This course takes a research approach to understanding how the environment can shape adult behavior. We begin a review of foundations in endocrinology, neurobiology, reproduction, and development. This sets the stage for studying the developmental impacts of exposures and experiences including nutrition, stress, immune challenges, endocrine disruption, and more. Weekly sections will be used to discuss papers, conduct investigations, analyze data, and provide peer feedback.
Brain, Behavior, and Environment: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025
How do experiences and exposures get “under the skin” to impact human development? This course takes a research approach to understanding how the environment can shape adult behavior. We begin a review of foundations in endocrinology, neurobiology, reproduction, and development. This sets the stage for studying the developmental impacts of exposures and experiences including nutrition, stress, immune challenges, endocrine disruption, and more. Capstone courses involve reading, writing and discussion related to research and research design. Capstones also culminate in a substantial research paper on a topic related to the course subject matter and areas of student interest.
Brain, Behavior, and Environment Capstone Course: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Fall 2024
This course will provide students with insights into the cellular mechanisms underlying development of the nervous system. We will discuss the importance of these mechanisms by highlighting cases where alterations in these processes lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. We will review what is currently known about these topics and the areas of active research. In the lecture, we will refer to figures from research literature, and you will be reading and discussing articles in the discussion section. Reading articles critically is an important skill for all biologists and a great way to learn how research is conducted. By the end of the course, you will have a good background in neural development and the latest methods used to study it.
Neurodevelopment: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
The course will give insights into the cellular mechanisms underlying neurological diseases. The course is divided into three main sections: neurodevelopmental disorders, psychiatric disorders, and neurodegeneration. We will explore each of these topics at the molecular and cellular levels, reviewing what is currently known and the areas of active research. In lecture we will refer to figures from the research literature, and you will be reading and discussing articles in the discussion section. Reading articles critically is an important skill for all biologists and a great way to learn how research is conducted. By the end, you will have a good background in neurological diseases and a better ability to understand primary literature.
Neurobiology of Disease: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Fall 2011, Fall 2010
Exposure to stress is an inevitable part of life and the body’s response to stress can shape mental and physiological health. The study of stress is an interdisciplinary endeavor, and in this class, we will examine basic, translational, and clinical aspects of the stress response. We adopt a broad-based approach to explore the concepts of stress, health, and disease, and connect them to underlying neural mechanisms. Exposure to stress can be motivating and enhance performance of some but induce anxiety and impede performance in others. In this class we will discuss and discover the mechanisms underlying trajectories towards both resilience and vulnerability.

The Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Fall 2024
In this course you will be introduced to a variety of techniques that are commonly used to study the nervous system including electrophysiology, optogenetics, cell biology, imaging, genetics, and anatomy. Experiments will be done on cells and invertebrates, and will cover molecular channel properties, neuronal cell physiology, development, and behavior. We hope that by analyzing the data from these experiments you will gain a better understanding of key principles in neuroscience. In addition, you will learn how to design experiments, troubleshoot experiments, analyze your data, and present your findings in written reports.
Neurobiology Laboratory: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025
In this laboratory course, students will be taught the experimental and analytical techniques used by cognitive and computational neuroscientists. Students will learn how to assess humans’ performance in visual and auditory tasks, how to design experiments for testing theories of motor control, and how cognitive processes such as memory and decision-making affect perceptual and motor behavior. Students will also be introduced to computational methods used to analyze the large behavioral and neural data sets that are acquired in systems and cognitive neuroscience. Finally, students will be introduced to the tools of theoretical neuroscience for generating mathematical descriptions of the computations performed by a thinking brain.
Cognitive and Computational Lab: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
This course provides you with a basic understanding of the principles of brain structures and function. Our emphasis is more integrative and broadly-based than in most neuroanatomy courses. In addition to the fundamental structural biology of the central and autonomic nervous systems, we will introduce a variety of techniques that are commonly used to study the nervous system including immunohistochemistry, MRI, and fluorescence imaging. We will address topics in developmental neurobiology, the sensory, motor, and limbic systems, as well as aspects of neurochemistry and neuropathology. You will also learn how to design experiments, troubleshoot experiments, analyze your data, and present your findings in written reports.
Neuroanatomy Laboratory: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course is intended for advanced undergraduates wishing to pursue independent research projects under the mentorship of a Neuroscience faculty member. To apply for NEU 191, the research project must be rigorous and provide significant training in biology.
Senior Research Thesis: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course is intended for advanced undergraduates wishing to pursue independent research projects under the mentorship of a Neuroscience faculty member. To apply for NEU H196A, the research project must be rigorous and provide significant training in biology, have a major GPA of 3.5 or higher, and a cumulative UC Berkeley GPA of 3.3.
Honors Research Thesis: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course is intended for advanced undergraduates wishing to pursue independent research projects under the mentorship of a Neuroscience faculty member. To apply for NEU H196B, the research project must be rigorous and provide significant training in biology, have a major GPA of 3.5 or higher, and have a cumulative UC Berkeley GPA of 3.3.
Honors Research Thesis: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Not yet offered
This course is intended for students who are engaged in a major-related internship program that requires the student to earn academic credit. The mentorship of a Neuroscience faculty member is required. It is the student’s responsibility to find a faculty member to sponsor this course (Instructor of Record).
Supervised Internship: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
Lectures and small group discussions focusing on topics of interest, varying from semester to semester.
Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course provides credit for independent study by undergraduates working in a lab with a faculty member. The student is responsible for finding an instructor to supervise the work and should meet with that instructor regularly throughout the semester. Faculty members must commit to supervising and evaluating the student's work.
Supervised Independent Study: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Fall 2024
Professional core competency training for graduate students involved in neuroscience research at Berkeley. Includes survey of modern research methods, and professional skills including principles of experimental design and data reproducibility.

Neuroscience Research Design and Analysis: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
Professional core competency training for graduate students involved in neuroscience research at Berkeley. Includes training in giving scientific presentations, scientific writing, and project management.

Neuroscience Career Skills: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Not yet offered
This course provides an introduction to the theory of neural computation. The goal is to familiarize students with the major theoretical frameworks and models used in neuroscience and psychology, and to provide hands-on experience in using these models. Topics include neural network models, supervised and unsupervised learning rules, associative memory models, probabilistic/graphical models, and models of neural coding in the brain.
Neural Computation: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
A survey of the field of biological psychology. Areas covered are (a) cognitive neuroscience; (b) biological bases of behavior; (c) sensation and perception (d) learning and memory, (e) thought and language.
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
The focus of the course is on weekly readings of recent papers in Reinforcement Learning and Decision-Making. The instructors have created a topical list of recent papers published in leading journals. We selected the papers because they sounded important and/or interesting. We have not necessarily read them. This should help you to not only learn about the field, but also learn to spot and critique a bad paper. Typical topics that are covered include: dopamine and temporal difference learning, model-based learning, cognitive maps in the hippocampus and beyond, economic choice, and the role of replay.
Reinforcement Learning and Decision-making: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
This is a graduate-level course on current topics in circuit and systems neuroscience. Topics include sensory coding, neural circuit computations, plasticity and learning, hippocampal function, motor control, and circuits for innate behaviors.
Circuit and Systems Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Fall 2024, Fall 2015
This course covers molecular and cellular aspects of cellular excitability (including membrane potential, action potential generation, spike propagation, and ion channel structure and function), synaptic transmission and plasticity, and sensory systems. Primary reading material will be research papers. We will provide references to textbook chapters for background and review. This will be an interactive course in which you will be expected to be an active participant.
Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025
This graduate course will provide a complete introduction to the theoretical and practical skills needed to conduct human functional MRI experiments. Topics to be covered include: MRI physics, BOLD signals and functional imaging, data preprocessing, data analysis and interpretation. The course will consist of lectures, practical lab sessions, and group work. Some sessions will take place in the Henry J. Wheeler Brain Imaging Center, where students will learn how to conduct their own MRI experiments.
Functional MRI Methods: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Fall 2023
This course is intended for graduate students in the early stages of their thesis research who are contemplating using modern microscopy tools as part of their work. It endeavors to cut through the confusion of the wide array of new imaging methods, with a practical description of the pros and cons of each. In addition to providing an intuitive physical understanding how these microscopes work, the course will offer hands on experience with cutting-edge microscopes where students will be able to see firsthand how different imaging modalities perform on their own samples, and where they will be able to access computational tools for the visualization and analysis of their data.
Modern Optical Microscopy for the Modern Biologist: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Not yet offered
This intermediate-level statistics class is tailored for PhD students in neuroscience and related fields, emphasizing a collaborative learning approach. Led by a GSI with faculty oversight, students actively engage in discussions, presentations, and exercises. The course focuses on understanding statistical methods' applications, assumptions, and limitations in neuroscience research, as well as their implementation in Python. Covering traditional statistics and data modeling, students learn to analyze data and design experiments effectively. It's a dynamic format that requires students' active participation and commitment to reading and practical exercises.
Applied Statistics for Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024
Course that focuses on topical subjects in specific fields of neuroscience.
Seminars: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Fall 2024
Closely supervised, intensive laboratory experimental research under the direction of an individual faculty member. For first-year neuroscience graduate students, this course will provide an introduction to experimental methods and research approaches in the different areas of neuroscience. Course sequence includes 3 ten-week laboratory rotations spread out over the fall and spring semesters. Credit and grade to be awarded upon completion of the full sequence.
Neuroscience Introduction to Research: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025
Closely supervised, intensive laboratory experimental research under the direction of an individual faculty member. For first-year neuroscience graduate students, this course will provide an introduction to experimental methods and research approaches in the different areas of neuroscience. Course sequence includes 3 ten-week laboratory rotations spread out over the fall and spring semesters. Credit and grade to be awarded upon completion of the full sequence.
Neuroscience Introduction to Research: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024
For graduate students in neuroscience in their second or later years. Individual research under faculty supervision. In this course each graduate student conducts basic thesis and dissertation research after successful completion of the first-year laboratory rotation, Neuroscience 291A-291B. Laboratory work provides the basis for students' thesis research, preparation for the preliminary examination, and continued progress toward completion of Ph.D. dissertation.
Neuroscience Graduate Research: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024
This course provides a holistic approach to graduate neuroscience education, with a focus on three key areas: 1) Improving research presentation skills: Fourth and fifth-year students present seminars on their dissertation research, emphasizing conceptual organization, data presentation, and summarization. 2) Exploring current neuroscience topics: Faculty speakers discuss advanced technical methods, analytical techniques, and preparing grant applications. 3) Seminar readiness: Students engage with seminar speakers during class sessions, reviewing articles authored by upcoming speakers and related publications.

Neuroscience Graduate Student Presentation Seminar: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024
For graduate students in neuroscience in their second or later years. Two hours of seminar per week which complements the individual laboratory work under faculty supervision. Seminar will review current scientific literature and discuss original research performed by faculty, postdoctoral fellows, scientists, and graduate students in individual faculty laboratories.
Neuroscience Research Review: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Meetings for the presentation of original work by faculty, visiting lecturers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students.
Neuroscience Colloquium: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Not yet offered
This course will introduce you to effective teaching methods that you can use in the courses you will be teaching this year. Through readings, discussions and demonstrations, you will learn how to engage and motivate students, facilitate active participation, plan a class period, and write exam or practice problems. Emphasis will be placed on science education literature and proven practical techniques. We will also provide support and solutions for dealing with difficult situations that may come up during your first semester of teaching.
Pedagogy for NEU Graduate Student Instructors: Read More [+]