Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Identify the spinal cord, cerebral lobes, and other brain areas on a diagram of the brainDescribe the basic functions of the spinal cord, cerebral lobes, and other brain areas

Survey of principles underlying the structure and function of the nervous system, integrating molecular, cellular, and systems approaches. Topics: development of the nervous system and its connections, cell biology or neurons, neurotransmitters and synaptic transmission, sensory systems of the brain, the neuroendocrine system, the motor system, higher cortical functions, behavioral and cellular analyses of learning and memory. First half of an intensive two-term survey of brain and behavioral studies for first-year graduate students. Open to graduate students in other departments, with permission of instructor.

The course will start with an overview of the central and peripheral nervous systems (CNS and PNS), the development of their structure and major divisions. The major functional components of the CNS will then be reviewed individually. Topography, functional distribution of nerve cell bodies, ascending and descending tracts in the spinal cord. Brainstem organization and functional components, including cranial nerve nuclei, ascending/descending pathways, amine-containing cells, structure and information flow in the cerebellar and vestibular systems. Distribution of the cranial nerves, resolution of their skeletal and branchial arch components. Functional divisions of the Diencephalon and Telencephalon. The course will then continue with how these various CNS pieces and parts work together. Motor systems, motor neurons and motor units, medial and lateral pathways, cortical versus cerebellar systems and their functional integration. The sensory systems, visual, auditory and somatosensory. Olfaction will be covered in the context of the limbic system, which will also include autonomic control and the Papez circuit. To conclude, functional organization and information flow in the neocortex will be discussed.