Behavior is manifest in the function of neurons, the cells that comprise the nervous system. The networks of a few to many million neurons that underlie the simple and complex behaviors exhibited by humans and animals are shaped by biological, environmental, ecological, evolutionary, social and psychological influences. To develop an understanding of the complex interactions among these factors that generate normal and abnormal behavioral states, critical thinking, reading and writing skills across disciplinary boundaries are required. The Biological Foundations of Behavior Program is offered jointly by the departments of Biology and Psychology. It presents students the opportunity to complete an interdisciplinary major with a focus on either animal behavior or neuroscience.
Neuroscience is an integrative discipline that utilizes knowledge and tools from biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and psychology to study the nervous system across several levels of analysis from molecules to the behavior of individual organisms. Despite the amazing advances that have been made in neuroscience to date, the human brain is a frontier that we’ve only begun to chart. Understanding how it works, how to protect it from disease and how to fix it when it becomes damaged or diseased is one of humankind’s greatest challenges.
Animal Behavior-Behavior is a fundamental property of all living things. Indeed, whether animals survive and reproduce often depends on how they behave. Studying individual variation in behavior can reveal the role of natural selection in shaping behavior. Comparative research with many species provides animal models for studying development, sensation, perception, life history evolution, reproductive behavior, learning and cognition as well as providing a broader context for better understanding the influences affecting human behavior and the mind. In addition, studying how individuals behave in response to varying environmental conditions can help predict effects of climate change and the fate of populations. Conservation efforts and resource management depend upon ecological and evolutionary studies of the relationship between animal behavior and the environment.
The Neuroscience and the Animal Behavior majors begin with core courses in biology, chemistry, physics and/or mathematics, that create a solid foundation upon which to begin the research-intensive coursework that follows. Following cornerstone courses at the introductory level in neuroscience and biopsychology, Neuroscience students choose elective courses in neuroscience and related areas. After foundational, research-intensive training in animal behavior, Animal Behavior students select from a series of core and elective courses in animal behavior. The Neuroscience and the Animal Behavior majors each culminate with capstone research experiences, typically through independent study, that may be defended for honors in the major during the senior year.
