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Course Overview
This page focuses on the course 7.343 Biological Bases of Learning and Memory as it was taught by Postdoctoral Associate Lauren Makuch and Research Scientist Jai Subramanian in Spring 2014.
This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. In these pass/fail seminars, students draw upon primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive, small-group setting. This particular seminar focuses on the biological basis of learning and memory.
Course Outcomes
Course Goals for Students
This course is designed to encourage critical thinking skills in future scientists. Students learn how to read research articles and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the experiments presented.
Curriculum Information
Prerequisites
- 7.03 Genetics
- 7.05 General Biochemistry
- 7.06 Cell Biology
- 7.28 Molecular Biology
- 7.29J Cellular Neurobiology
Offered
Seminars are offered each semester and are topic-based. This particular topic is not offered every semester.
Ideal Class Size
Class size is limited to 8, to enable a high degree of personal contact with the instructor.
During an average week, students were expected to spend 6 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:
Seminar Meeting
- Met once per week for 2 hours per session; 14 sessions total.
- Class time was spent discussing the assigned readings for the week.
- The final 15 minutes of each class consisted of an introduction to the next week’s topic.
Out of Class
- Reading assignments consisted of two journal articles per week.
- One written assignment was completed on an assigned topic.
- Students delivered an oral presentation in the final class session.
Semester Breakdown
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