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Systems and Behavioural Neuroscience
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The question of how the brain works is one of the great mysteries
of science and a major focus of the Systems and Behavioural Neurosciences.
Perception, cognition, learning, memory, reasoning, emotion, and
all other aspects of psychological functioning depend on communication
that occurs among the brain's neurons. Behavioural Neuroscientists
study behaviour and its functional correlates in the brain with the
goal of understanding the neural bases of psychological and behavioural
responses. At McMaster University, systems and behavioural neuroscientists
study behavioural mechanisms using techniques ranging from recording
of activity in single neurons to imaging activity in the human brain. |
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| For Graduate
Students
The Systems and Behavioural Neuroscience group includes 15 laboratories,
creating opportunities for integrated, multidisciplanary research
in the areas of Attention, Development, Learning & Memory,
Neural Plasticity, and the Neural Basis of Perception and Cognition.
We have a tradition of collegiality and collaboration that makes this a strong
training environment. Our laboratories include state-of-the-art facilities
for studies at all levels of neuroscience including: cellular/molecular, brain
imaging, electrophysiology, computational modeling, psychophysics, optical
imaging, ERP, and behavoural studies.
There are opportunities for students to hear and present research throughout
the year. Browse through the Web pages of our systems and
behavioural neuroscience faculty to learn more about the research laboratories,
and visit our graduate web
page for details on applying to our graduate programme.
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| For Undergraduate
Students
The question of how the brain works is one of
the great mysteries of science and a major focus of the Systems
and Behavioural Neurosciences. Sensation, perception, learning,
memory, reasoning, emotion, and all other aspects of brain functioning
depend on cellular communication within the nervous system. Behavioural
neuroscientists study behaviour and its physiological correlates
in the brain with the goal of understanding the neural mechanisms
underlying behaviour. At McMaster University, systems and behavioural
neuroscientists study behavioural mechanisms using techniques ranging
from recording of activity in single neurons to imaging activity
in the human brain. Our laboratories include state-of-the-art facilities
for studies at all levels of neuroscience including: cellular/molecular,
brain imaging, electrophysiology, computational modeling, psychophysics,
optical imaging, ERP, and behavoural studies.
The Department offers a variety of courses that
are relevant to the study of Systems and Behavioural Neuroscience,
including Introduction to Neuroscience (2F03), Sensory Processes
(2E03), Neuropsychology (2D03), and Animal Behaviour (2TT3), which
provide a solid foundation from which students can branch into
more specialized coursework in their later years. Students may
then study topics in Audition (Psych 3A03), Cognitive Neuroscience
(3BN3, 4BN3), Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (3FA3), Visual
Neuroscience (3J03), Hormones, Neurochemistry and Behaviour (4Y03),
Special Topics in Neuroscience (4F03), and Neurobiology (BIOLOGY
4T03). Valuable laboratory experience is available from several
relevant lab courses (3EE3, 3L03, 3MM3). Students interested in
pursuing post-graduate studies should take one of the thesis courses
(4D09, 4D06, 4DD6), which allows a full year of experience in the
laboratory of one of our faculty members. It is also recommended
that student have some physics and chemistry. Students who have
studied in this area will be well prepared for careers in areas
related to biomedical sciences and neuroscience. |
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- Systems and Behavioural Neuroscience
Faculty
 Sue
Becker - Computational models of learning, memory, and
perception. 
- Patrick
Bennett - Visual perception, psychophysics, perceptual
learning & development, aging & vision, ideal observer
theory.
- Denys
deCatanzaro - Behaviour and neuroendocrine interactions
in stress and pregnancy. decatanz@mcmaster.ca
Paul
Faure - animal communication; audition; biological sonar;
bioacoustics; echolocation; evolutionary neurobiology; hearing;
neural mechanisms of acoustically-evoked behavior; neuroethology;
psychoacoustics; sensory ecology; sensory systems. paul4@mcmaster.ca
- Deda
Gillespie - sensory neuroscience, systems neuroscience, activity-dependent
plasticity, synaptic plasticity, synaptic inhibition, auditory
development, sound localization.
Dan
Goldreich - Tactile perception and psychophysics,
Tactile perceptual consquences of cortical plasticity following
sensory deprivation' Tactile perception as Bayesian inference. 
David
Jones - Computational models of biological vision systems, optical imaging
of brain function. djones@insight.mcmaster.ca
- Daphne
Maurer - Development of vision in normal infants and infants
born with cataracts. maurer@mcmaster.ca
- Bruce
Milliken attention and visual perception. millike@mcmaster.ca
- Kathryn
Murphy - Neural development and plasticity, visual neuroscience,
optical imaging of brain function. kmurphy@vision.mcmaster.ca
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- Larry
Roberts - Cortical map plasticity and associative learning
in humans. roberts@mcmaster.ca
- Judith
M. Shedden - MRI and ERP studies of the processes involved
in spatial attention. shedden@mcmaster.ca
- David
I. Shore - Crossmodal temporal processing, memory and visual
search, varieties and effects of attention. dshore@mcmaster.ca
- Allison
Sekuler - Cognition neuroscience, visual perception, perceptual
organization, face and object recognition, motion perception,
aging and vision, neuroimaging. sekuler@mcmaster.ca
- Louis
Schmidt - Neural basis of human emotion, developmental
psychophysiology, social emotional development in children. schmidtl@mcmaster.ca
- Hongjin
Sun - Visual neuroscience, visual motion processing and
visuomotor control, virtual reality. sunhong@mcmaster.ca
- Laurel
Trainor - Auditory development, ERP measures of auditory
cognition in normal and low birth-weight infants as predictors
of language development. ljt@.mcmaster.ca
Scott
Watter - Divided attention and executive control.
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