Program Requirement:
“Please note: this Minor is only available to students studying in the faculty of Science.”
This Minor is intended to provide students with a basic understanding of how the nervous system functions. The Minor is composed of 24-25 credits: 9 required and 15-16 complementary. For the 15-16 complementary credits, at least 12-13 must be from outside the student's home department and at least 6 of the 12-13 must be at the 400 or 500 level.
Note 1: A maximum of 6-7 credits can be counted for both the student's primary program and for the Minor in Neuroscience.
Required Courses (9 credits)
-
BIOL 200
Molecular Biology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): The physical and chemical properties of the cell and its components in relation to their structure and function. Topics include: protein structure, enzymes and enzyme kinetics; nucleic acid replication, transcription and translation; the genetic code, mutation, recombination, and regulation of gene expression.
Offered by: Biology
- Fall
- 3 hours lecture, 1 hour optional tutorial
- Prerequisite: BIOL 112 or equivalent
- Corequisite: CHEM 212 or equivalent, or CHEM 204
- Terms
- Instructors
- Kenneth E M Hastings, Paul Lasko, Shaun Turney, Rodrigo Reyes Lamothe, Serge Champetier
-
NSCI 200
Intro. to Neuroscience 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Neuroscience: An introduction to how nerve cells generate action potentials, communicate with one another at synapses, develop synaptic connections, early brain development, and the construction of specific neural circuits.
Offered by: Physiology
- Terms
- Instructors
- Edward S Ruthazer, David Stellwagen, Aparna Suvrathan
-
NSCI 201
Intro. to Neuroscience 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Neuroscience: An introduction to how the nervous system acquires and integrates information and uses it to produce behaviour.
Offered by: Psychology
- Winter
- Prerequisite: NSCI 200 or PSYC 211 or permission of instructor.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken PSYC 308.
Complementary Courses (16 credits)
15-16 credits selected as follows:
- At least 12-13 credits must be from outside the student's home department.
- At least 6 of the 12-13 credits have to be at the 400 or 500 level.
0-10 credits from the following list of 200- and 300-level courses:
* Students may select ANAT 212 or BIOC 212 or BIOL 201.
** Students may select either BIOL 306 or PHGY 314.
Note 2: Since CHEM 212 is a prerequisite/corequisite for NSCI 200 and BIOL 200, students must take CHEM 212 if they have not yet done so.
-
ANAT 212
Molec Mechanisms of Cell Funct
3 Credits*
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Anatomy & Cell Biology: An introductory course describing the biochemistry and molecular biology of selected key functions of animal cells, including: gene expression; mitochondrial production of metabolic energy; cellular communication with the extra-cellular environment; and regulation of cell division.
Offered by: Anatomy and Cell Biology
- Terms
- Instructors
- Maria Vera Ugalde, Dieter Reinhardt, Marc R Fabian, Robert S Kiss, William Pastor
-
BIOC 212
Molec Mechanisms of Cell Funct
3 Credits*
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biochemistry: An introductory course describing the biochemistry and molecular biology of selected key functions of animal cells, including: gene expression; mitochondrial production of metabolic energy; cellular communication with the extra-cellular environment; and regulation of cell division.
Offered by: Biochemistry
- Terms
- Instructors
- Maria Vera Ugalde, Arnim Pause, Dieter Reinhardt, Lawrence Kazak, Katie Cockburn
-
BIOL 201
Cell Biology & Metabolism
3 Credits*
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): This course introduces the student to our modern understanding of cells and how they work. Major topics to be covered include: photosynthesis, energy metabolism and metabolic integration; plasma membrane including secretion, endocytosis and contact mediated interactions between cells; cytoskeleton including cell and organelle movement; the nervous system; hormone signaling; the cell cycle.
Offered by: Biology
- Winter
- 3 hours lecture, 1 hour optional tutorial
- Prerequisite: BIOL 200.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken or are taking ANAT 212 or BIOC 212
- Terms
- Instructors
- Gary J Brouhard, Siegfried Hekimi, Huanquan Zheng, Serge Champetier
-
BIOL 202
Basic Genetics
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences.
Offered by: Biology
- Winter
- 3 hours lecture, 1 hour optional tutorial per week
- Prerequisite: BIOL 200 or BIOL 219
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken or are taking LSCI 204 or BIOL 302.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Nam Sung Moon, Laura Nilson, Daniel J Schoen, David Hipfner, Serge Champetier
-
BIOL 300
Molecular Biology of the Gene
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): A survey of current knowledge and approaches in the area of regulation of gene expression, post-transcriptional control of gene expression, and signal transduction.
Offered by: Biology
- Terms
- Instructors
- Frieder B Schöck, Nam Sung Moon
-
BIOL 306
Neural Basis of Behaviour
3 Credits**
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): Neural mechanisms of animal behaviour; neuroethology; cellular neurophysiology, integrative networks within nervous systems; neural control of movement; processing of sensory information.
Offered by: Biology
- Terms
- Instructors
- Jon Sakata, Joseph Alan Dent
-
BIOL 320
Evolution of Brain & Behaviour
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): Functional and comparative approach to neuroanatomy, examining how species changes in brain organization contribute to evolutionary changes in behaviour.
Offered by: Biology
- Winter
- 2 hours of lecture and 1 hour of conference (mandatory)
- Prerequisite: NSCI 201 or BIOL 306
- Terms
- Instructors
- Sarah Woolley, Jon Sakata
-
BIOL 389
Laboratory in Neurobiology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): Methods of neurobiological research, including extracellular and intracellular recordings, electrical stimulation, and the study of neuro-behavioural problems.
Offered by: Biology
- Terms
- Instructors
- Joseph Alan Dent, Alanna J Watt, Michael Hendricks, Tomoko Oyama, Nicolas Tritsch
-
CHEM 212
Intro Organic Chemistry 1
4 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Chemistry: A fundamental study of aliphatic compounds and saturated functional groups including modern concepts of bonding, reaction mechanisms, conformational analysis, spectroscopy, and stereochemistry.
Offered by: Chemistry
- Terms
- Instructors
- Danielle K Vlaho, Mitchell J Huot, Pallavi Sirjoosingh, Youla S Tsantrizos, Laura Pavelka, Nathan Luedtke
-
NEUR 310
Cellular Neurobiology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Neurology and Neurosurgery: A survey of the functional organization of nerve cells, signalling in the nervous system, and principles of neural development. Topics include cell polarity, neurotransmitters, neurotrophins, receptors and second messengers, cell lineage, guidance of axon outgrowth, and nerve regeneration. Emphasis will be placed on analysis of neurons at the molecular level.
Offered by: Neurology and Neurosurgery
- Terms
- Instructors
- Jean-Francois Cloutier, David S Ragsdale, Timothy E Kennedy, Alyson Elise Fournier, Wayne Steven Sossin, Edward S Ruthazer, Jerome Fortin
-
PHGY 311
Channels, Synapses & Hormones
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physiology: In-depth presentation of experimental results and hypotheses on cellular communication in the nervous system and the endocrine system.
Offered by: Physiology
- Fall
- 3 hours of lectures per week; 1-3 hours optional lab/demonstration/tutorial arranged for a maximum of 3 afternoons per term
- Prerequisite: PHGY 209 or permission of the instructor.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Ellis Cooper, Per Jesper Sjostrom, Arjun Krishnaswamy, Reza Sharif Naeini
-
PHGY 314
Integrative Neuroscience
3 Credits**
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physiology: In depth presentation of experimental results and hypotheses underlying our current understanding of how single neurons and ensembles of neurons encode sensory information, generate movement, and control cognitive functions such as emotion, learning, and memory, during voluntary behaviours.
Offered by: Physiology
- Fall
- 3 hours of lectures per week
- Prerequisites: PHGY 209
- Terms
- Instructors
- Maurice J Chacron, Christopher C Pack, Amir Shmuel, Melissa A Vollrath, Stephen Lomber, Mark Brandon, Pouya Bashivan
-
PSYC 302
Pain
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: An introduction to pain research and theory, with emphasis on the interactions of psychological, cultural and physiological factors in pain perception. The role of these factors in clinical pain and its management by pharmacological and non-pharmacological means will be discussed.
Offered by: Psychology
- Fall
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: any of the following: NSCI 201, PSYC 211, PSYC 212 or permission of instructor.
- Restriction: Not open to students who are taking or have taken PSYC 505.
-
PSYC 311
Human Cognition and the Brain
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: The course is an introduction to the field studying how human cognitive processes, such as perception, attention, language, learning and memory, planning and organization, are related to brain processes. The material covered is primarily based on studies of the effects of different brain lesions on cognition and studies of brain activity in relation to cognitive processes with modern functional neuroimaging methods.
Offered by: Psychology
- Fall
- 2 lectures; 1 conference
-
PSYC 315
Computational Psychology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: Application of computational methods to the simulation of psychological phenomena. Comparison of natural and artificial intelligence. Symbolic and neural network techniques. Methods for evaluating simulations.
Offered by: Psychology
- Fall
- Prerequisite: 15 credits in any of Psychology, Cognitive Science, Biology, Mathematics and Statistics, Computer Science, or Neuroscience.
- Restriction: Not open to U0 or U1 students.
-
PSYC 317
Genes and Behaviour
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: Focuses on current techniques employed to study which genes influence behaviour, and how they do so.
Offered by: Psychology
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
PSYC 318
Behavioural Neuroscience 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: The physiological bases of motivational states, with respect to feeding, drinking, sexual behaviour, drug use, and aggression. Physiological bases of learning and memory.
Offered by: Psychology
-
PSYC 342
Hormones & Behaviour
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: The role of hormones in organization of CNS function, as effectors of behaviour, in expression of behaviours and in mental illness.
Offered by: Psychology
- Terms
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
6-15 credits from the following list of 400- and 500-level courses:
-
BIOL 530
Advances in Neuroethology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): Neural mechanisms underlying behaviour in vertebrate and invertebrate organisms.
Offered by: Biology
-
BIOL 532
Developmental Neurobiology Sem
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): Discussions of all aspects of nervous system development including pattern formation, cell lineage, pathfinding and targeting by growing axons, and neural regeneration. The basis for these discussions will be recent research papers and other assigned readings.
Offered by: Biology
- Winter
- 1 hour lecture, 2 hours seminar
- Prerequisites: BIOL 303 or BIOL 306 or permission of instructor
- Terms
- Instructors
- Donald Van Meyel, Artur Kania, Alyson Elise Fournier, Jean-Francois Cloutier, Edward S Ruthazer
-
BIOL 580
Genet Approaches to Neur Syst
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): This course will focus on recent research employing genetic-based methods to examine the functional and structural properties of the nervous system. The focus will be on approaches for studying neural circuits and behavior in a range of model organisms. Topics will include recent technological advances, such as optogenetics for modifying and controlling neuronal activity, and animal models of neurological diseases. Students will critically analyze the application of these methods to current research through in-class discussion of primary literature, student presentations, and written assignments.
Offered by: Biology
- Prerequisite(s): BIOL 306 or permission of the instructors.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Alanna J Watt, Michael Hendricks
-
BIOL 588
Advances in Mol/Cell Neurobiol
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Sci): Discussion of fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying the general features of cellular neurobiology. An advanced course based on lectures and on a critical review of primary research papers.
Offered by: Biology
- Fall
- 1.5 hours lecture, 1.5 hours seminar
- Prerequisite: BIOL 300 and BIOL 306 or permission
- Terms
- Instructors
- Kenneth E M Hastings, Corina Nagy, Peter Scott McPherson, Jean-Francois Poulin, Yang Zhou
-
NEUR 502
Bas&Clin Aspects of Neuroimmu
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Neurology and Neurosurgery: The role of inflammation in physiological function of the nervous system, as well as in a broad range of neurological diseases where inflammation can act as a
contributing factor to the development of pathology or promote recovery, including fundamentals of neuroimmunology to molecular/cellular aspects of
neuroinflammation underlying the pathology seen in clinical conditions.
Offered by: Neurology and Neurosurgery
- Terms
- Instructors
- Ji Zhang, Jack P Antel, Nicolas Cermakian, Jo Anne Stratton
-
PHGY 425
Analyzing Physiological Sys.
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physiology: An introduction to quantitative analysis of physiological data, both to the mode of thinking and to a set of tools that allows accurate predictions of biological systems. Examples will range from oscillating genetic networks to understanding higher brain function. Modelling and data analysis through examples and exercises will be emphasized.
Offered by: Physiology
- Terms
- Instructors
- Erik P Cook, Mladen I Glavinovic, Curtis L Baker, Pouya Bashivan
-
PHGY 451
Advanced Neurophysiology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physiology: Topics of current interest in neurophysiology including the development of neurons and synapses, physiology of ionic channels, presynaptic and postsynaptic events in synaptic transmission and neuronal interactions in CNS function.
Offered by: Physiology
- Fall
- 3 hours lecture
- Prerequisite: PHGY 311 or equivalent
- Restriction: Departmental approval required
- Terms
- Instructors
- Ellis Cooper, Arjun Krishnaswamy, Charles W Bourque, Maurice J Chacron, Aparna Suvrathan
-
PHGY 520
Ion Channels
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physiology: A discussion of the principal theories and interesting new developments in the study of ion channels. Based on a textbook, computer exercises and critical reading and presentation of research papers. Topics include: Properties of voltage-and ligand-gated channels, single channel analysis, structure and function of ion channels.
Offered by: Physiology
- Winter
- Offered in even numbered years
- 1 1/2 hour lecture, 1 1/2 hour seminar
- Prerequisite: PHGY 311
- Priority to Graduate and Honours students; others by permission of instructors.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Reza Sharif Naeini, David S Ragsdale, Alvin Shrier, John W Hanrahan, Philippe Seguela, Derek Bowie
-
PHGY 524
Chronobiology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physiology: An introduction to the field of chronobiology. The aim is to provide basic instruction on different
types of biological rhythms, with particular focus on circadian rhythms.
Offered by: Physiology
- Terms
- Instructors
- Nicolas Cermakian, Daniel Bernard, Kai-Florian Storch
-
PHGY 556
Topics in Systems Neuroscience
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physiology: Topics of current interest in systems neurophysiology and behavioural neuroscience including: the neural representation of sensory information and motor behaviours, models of sensory motor integration, and the computational analysis of problems in motor control and perception. Students will be expected to present and critically discuss journal articles in class.
Offered by: Physiology
- Winter
- Restriction: Permission of the instructor required.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken PHGY 456
- Terms
- Instructors
- Daniel E Guitton, Erik P Cook
-
PSYC 410
Sp Topics in Neuropsychology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: Developments in cognitive neuroscience and cognitive neuropsychiatry via readings from primary sources. Topics include the neural bases of memory, emotion, social cognition and neuropsychiatric diseases. Integrating knowledge from studies in clinical populations and functional neuroimaging studies.
Offered by: Psychology
-
PSYC 415
EEG Laboratory in Psychology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: Introduction to the use of electroencephalography (EEG) for measuring brain function in behavioural neuroscience experiments. Recording and analyzing EEG data, as well asin designing experiments and interpreting findings using this method. Topics include the neural basis of EEG, recording principles and techniques, EEG data analysis (frequency bands, averaging, sources of noise, filtering, signal to noise), event-related potential analysis (ERP), spectral analysis and time-frequency analysis, data visualization, topographical maps.
Offered by: Psychology
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
PSYC 427
Sensorimotor Neuroscience
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: A systematic examination of the sensorimotor system, drawing on models and data from both behavioural and physiological studies. Topics include: cortical motor areas, cerebellum, basal ganglia, spinal mechanisms, motor unit properties and force production, prioception, muscle properties.
Offered by: Psychology
-
PSYC 433
Cognitive Science
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: The multi-disciplinary study of cognitive science, exploring the computer metaphor of the mind as an information-processing system. Focus on levels of analysis, symbolic modeling, Turing machines, neural networks, as applied to topics such as reasoning, vision, decision-making, and consciousness.
Offered by: Psychology
- Terms
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
PSYC 444
Sleep Mechanisms and Behaviour
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: This course covers basic biological mechanisms, possible functions and behavioural aspects of sleep. Additional topics include: disorders of sleep, their effects on behaviour and cognition, and treatment approaches; as well as medical, neurological and psychiatric disorders, and drugs, that affect sleep.
Offered by: Psychology
-
PSYC 470
Memory and Brain
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: Memory systems are studied with an emphasis on the neural computations that occur at various stages of the processing stream, focusing on the hippocampus, amygdala, basal ganglia, cerebellum and cortex. The data reviewed is obtained from human, non-human primates and rodents, with single unit recording, neuroimaging and brain damaged subjects.
Offered by: Psychology
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
PSYC 506
Cognitive Neuroscience of Attn
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: An introduction to cognitive properties and neural mechanisms of human attention. The material will include an overview of the history of attention research, contemporary theories of attention, the varieties of attention, behavioral and neuroimaging experimental methods, the nature of attentional dysfunctions, and the links between attention and other cognitive functions including memory and consciousness.
Offered by: Psychology
- Fall
- Prerequisites: PSYC 213 and PSYC 311, and one of PSYC 305 OR BIOL 373, or permission of instructor.
- Restrictions: Open only to Psychology, Cognitive Science and Neuroscience students. Not open to students who have taken PSYC 365.
-
PSYC 514
Neurobiology of Memory
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: Advances in the understanding of the neurobiological bases of fundamental memory
processes, such as memory consolidation maintenance, retrieval, and forgetting. The
contribution of their dysregulation to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative
diseases. Consideration of findings from a variety of species, spanning insects to humans.
Offered by: Psychology
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
PSYC 522
Neurochemistry and Behaviour
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: Anatomical, biochemical and physiological aspects of neurotransmitter systems in the brain, current theories of the function of these systems in normal and abnormal behaviour, and the actions of psychotropic drugs.
Offered by: Psychology
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
PSYC 526
Advances in Visual Perception
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychology: We examine in detail the structure of the visual system, and its function as reflected in the perceptual abilities and behaviour of the organism. Parallels are also drawn with other sensory systems to demonstrate general principles of sensory coding.
Offered by: Psychology
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
PSYT 455
Neurochemistry
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychiatry: Covers biochemical mechanisms underlying central nervous system function. Introduces basic neuroanatomy, CNS cell types and morphology, neuronal excitability, chemically mediated transmission, glial function. Biochemistry of specific neurotransmitters, endocrine effects on brain, brain energy metabolism and cerebral ischemia (stroke). With examples, where relevant, of biochemical processes disrupted in human CNS disease.
Offered by: Psychiatry
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
PSYT 500
Adv: Neur of Mtl Disorders
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychiatry: Current theories on the neurobiological basis of most well known mental disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, dementia). Methods and strategies in research on genetic, physiological and biochemical factors in mental illness will be discussed. Discussion will also focus on the rationale for present treatment approaches and on promising new approaches.
Offered by: Psychiatry
- Winter
- 3 hours
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): BIOC 212 and BIOC 311, or BIOC 312, or BIOL 200 and BIOL 201, or PHGY 311, or PSYC 308 and an upper-level biological science course with permission of the instructors, or equivalent. Basic knowledge of cellular and molecular biology is required.
- Restriction: Open to U3 and graduate students only.
- Restriction: Graduate Studies: strongly recommended for M.Sc. students in Psychiatry.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Tak Pan Wong, Lalit K Srivastava
-
PSYT 505
Neurobiology of Schizophrenia
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Psychiatry: Multidisciplinary issues on pathogenesis and pathophysiology of schizophrenia from molecular genetics to cognitive psychology, including current theories of the disorder based on up-to-date evidence from recent research.
Offered by: Psychiatry
- Office hours: After class or by appointment
- Prerequisites: PSYC 308, BIOL 306, PHGY 314 or permission of instructor
- Restriction: Open to U3 and M.Sc. students.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year