"The mammalian brain easily outperforms any computer. It adapts and changes constantly. Most importantly, the brain enables us to continuously learn and remember. What are the molecular mechanisms that lead to learning and memory? What are the cellular roles that activity-regulated gene products play to implement changes in the brain?How do nerve cells, their connections (synapses), and brain circuits change over time to store information? We will discuss the molecular mechanisms of neuronal plasticity at the synaptic, cellular and circuit levels, especiallysynapse formation,synaptic growth and stabilization,synaptic transmission,axonal and dendritic outgrowth, andcircuit formationWe will learn about the roles of some activity-regulated genes as well as the tools and techniques employed in modern neuroscience. Our goal will be to understand molecular mechanisms the brain employs to accomplish learning and memory.This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching."

This course highlights the interplay between cellular and molecular storage mechanisms and the cognitive neuroscience of memory, with an emphasis on human and animal models of hippocampal mechanisms and function. Class sessions include lectures and discussion of papers.

Roles of neural plasticity in learning and memory and in development of invertebrates and mammals. An in-depth critical analysis of current literature of molecular, cellular, genetic, electrophysiological, and behavioral studies. Discussion of original papers supplemented by introductory lectures.

The course presents an overview of the history and structure of modern operating systems, analyzing in detail each of the major components of an operating system, and exploring more advanced topics in the field, such as security concerns. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: explain what an operating system does and how it is used; identify the various components of a computer system and how they interact with an operating system; describe the differences between a 32-bit and 64-bit operating system; explain the different types of operating systems and the major ones in use today; discuss the importance and use of threads and processes in an operating system; describe concurrency; explain the difference between a thread and a process; discuss context switching and how it is used in an operating system; describe synchronization; explain a race condition; discuss interprocess communication; describe how semaphores can be used in an operating system; discuss three of the classic synchronization problems; explain the alternatives to semaphores; discuss CPU scheduling and its relevance to operating systems; explain the general goals of CPU scheduling; describe the differences between pre-emptive and non-preemptive scheduling; discuss four CPU scheduling algorithms; explain what deadlock is in relation to operating systems; discuss deadlock prevention, avoidance, and their differences; describe deadlock detection and recovery; explain the memory hierarchy; discuss how the operating system interacts with memory; describe how virtual memory works; discuss three algorithms for dynamic memory allocation; explain methods of memory access; describe paging and page replacement algorithms; describe a file system and its purpose; discuss various file allocation methods; explain disk allocation and associated algorithms; discuss types of security threats; describe the various types of malware; explain basic security techniques; explain basic networking principles; discuss protocols and how they are used; explain reference models, particularly TCP/IP and OSI. (Computer Science 401)

This course is an introduction to the theory that tries to explain how minds are made from collections of simpler processes. It treats such aspects of thinking as vision, language, learning, reasoning, memory, consciousness, ideals, emotions, and personality. It incorporates ideas from psychology, artificial intelligence, and computer science to resolve theoretical issues such as wholes vs. parts, structural vs. functional descriptions, declarative vs. procedural representations, symbolic vs. connectionist models, and logical vs. common-sense theories of learning.

Memory is not a unitary faculty, but rather consists of multiple forms of learning that differ in their operating characteristics and neurobiological substrates. This seminar will consider current debates regarding the cognitive and neural architectures of memory, specifically focusing on recent efforts to address these controversies through application of functional neuroimaging (primarily fMRI and PET).

In this course we will discover how innovative technologies combined with profound hypotheses have given rise to our current understanding of neuroscience. We will study both new and classical primary research papers with a focus on the plasticity between synapses in a brain structure called the hippocampus, which is believed to underlie the ability to create and retrieve certain classes of memories. We will discuss the basic electrical properties of neurons and how they fire. We will see how firing properties can change with experience, and we will study the biochemical basis of these changes. We will learn how molecular biology can be used to specifically change the biochemical properties of brain circuits, and we will see how these circuits form a representation of space giving rise to complex behaviors in living animals. A special emphasis will be given to understanding why specific experiments were done and how to design experiments that will answer the questions you have about the brain. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.