Developmental Neurobiology (19765)

The course Neuroethology has the general objective of introducing students to the study of the neural bases of animal behavior within ecological and evolutionary contexts. This discipline integrates knowledge from neuroscience, ethology, and evolutionary biology to understand how nervous systems have evolved to produce specific adaptive behaviors in different species. The course will be organized into two main parts: comparative neuroanatomy and the evolution of behavior across various species.

K9: Understands the structures of the nervous system, how these develop and evolve, and how neural functions control cognitive processes. S1: Uses a variety of techniques to find, manage, integrate and critically evaluate available information for the development of professional activities in Neuroscience, especially in the digital sphere S4: Uses their ability to analyse and synthesise, as well as to apply the principles of the scientific method in the work environment, in order to provide innovative responses to the needs and demands of society in their area. S5: Appropriately uses the scientific and technical vocabulary of the different subfields within Neuroscience. C1: Apply knowledge about the biological basis of Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders and their effects to the development of improved diagnostics and treatments. C2: Apply knowledge about the organisation, structure and function of the Central Nervous System (CNS) to contribute to the evolution and improvement of technologies and systems for computing, data handling and analysis. C5: Apply your neuroscience knowledge in a unifying and integrated fashion as part of a multidisciplinary team (pharmaceutical sector, health industry, diagnostic techniques, health information technologies, government agencies and regulatory bodies. C6: Apply the results of your comprehensive training to your everyday professional activities, combining Neuroscience knowledge with a solid foundation of ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights, diversity and democratic values. C7: Apply the scientific and technical principles you acquired during your undergraduate training, together with your own natural learning capabilities, to better adapt to novel opportunities arising from scientific and technological development.

Neuroethology combines studies of naturalistic behavior with cutting-edge neuroscience techniques to understand the neural mechanisms that have evolved in different species in the course of their evolutionary adaptation to their particular environmental niches. This comparative approach emphasizes how information is processed and transformed by the brain, and is particularly powerful for gaining a comprehensive understanding of systems neuroscience. This course will present core concepts in ethology, the design of sensory and motor systems, neural plasticity and development by focusing on the behavior and brains of animals such as crickets, barn-owls, honey-bees, echolocating bats, electric fishes and songbirds. Findings from studying these non-traditional systems will be compared with those acquired using more traditional laboratory animals (rodents, primates) and humans. In addition to providing students with a deeper respect for the complexity of animal behaviors, it will provide them with specialized expertise in both systems neuroscience and in the computations performed by neural circuits.

Classroom lectures. Face-to-face classes workshops and seminars. Student individual work. Laboratory sessions. Final exam. Seminars and lectures supported by computer and audiovisual aids. Individual and group tutorials to resolve doubts and queries about the subject.