Graduate Seminars in Neuroscience

Understanding the brain is widely cited as being the most difficult task facing us today. Ultimately we want the combined knowledge from various approaches to provide us with insight into how nervous systems generate behaviours, and how we can intervene when it goes wrong. More than ever, critical analysis needs to be applied to neuroscience data. This critical ability is an essential component of any scientific training, yet it is often lost during the (relatively short) course of a PhD, where the focus is on generating data. Journal clubs, guest lectures and dicussions will provide a basis for developing critical skills in neuroscience.

• Postgraduates

Number of sessions: 3

• To provide a basis for developing critical skills through journal clubs based around papers of speakers in the Adrian Seminars in Neuroscience.
• These seminars bring distinguished neuroscientists to Cambridge to talk about their work.

The speakers range from those working on molecular and developmental aspects to cognitive and behavioural effects.

Seminars and debates

The journal clubs are held on Mondays at 12.00pm in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neurobiology (PDN) . After the seminar there is the chance to have lunch with the Adrian speaker and to discuss aspects of neuroscience and science generally. Secondly, we will hold debates on general aspects of neuroscience. Suggested titles include:

• Can genetics explain behaviour?
• Can brain imaging predict behaviour?

These involve two teams of students who present opposing views on an area. After an initial presentation of the two views there is a rebuttal, followed by questions from the audience of graduate and undergraduate students.

Between November and May:

• Eleven journal club sessions of one hour
• Three two hour debates

A number of times per term

• Initiative
• Subject specific
• fun things