Neurophysiological recording
Functional brain imaging
Computational modeling
Behavioral experimentation
Statistical analysis

Neurophysiological Recording

1. Experimental Methods. Students should be familiar with the basic principles of design and conduct of scientific experiments. One way to satisfy this requirement is to take CMU 85-716, Psychological Research Methods, or Pitt PSY 2400. Directed reading may be an acceptable substitute.

    

2. Statistics. Students should be familiar with common statistical methods for analyzing experimental data and determining significance of effects. This can be satisfied by taking a graduate statistics course such as CMU 36-746, Statistical Methods for Neuroscience, or 36-749, Statistics for Behavioral and Social Science, or by self-study followed by an oral exam by the training committee.

    

3. Anatomy and Physiology. Students should be familiar with the anatomy and phsyiology of the brain structure(s) from which they will be recording. This can be satisfied by first meeting the CNBC program's neurophysiology and neuroanatomy/systems neuroscience core requirements, and then doing additional directed reading specific to the structures to be studied.

    

4. Ethics. Students should be familiar with the ethical issues surrounding use of animals in research, and the regulations governing such research. This can be satisfied by attending the "use of animals" portion of the CNBC ethics lecture series. Another way to satisfy this requirement is to attend the equivalent component of the Survival Skills & Ethics workshop series offered annually by the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neuroscience.

    

Functional Brain Imaging

1. Experimental Methods. Students should be familiar with the basic principles of design and conduct of scientific experiments. One way to satisfy this requirement is to take CMU 85-716, Psychological Research Methods, or Pitt PSY 2400. Directed reading may be an acceptable substitute.

    

2. Statistics. Students should be familiar with common statistical methods for analyzing experimental data and determining significance of effects. This can be satisfied by taking a graduate statistics course such as CMU 36-746, Statistical Methods for Neuroscience, or CMU 36-749, Statistics for Behavioral and Social Science, or by self-study followed by an oral exam by the training committee.

    

3. Cognitive Psychology. Students should be familiar with the major results of cognitive psychology. This can be satisfied by taking CMU 85-706, the graduate core course in cognitive psychology, or by taking the three-course cognitive sequence in the Pitt Psychology program, or by demonstrating equivalent knowledge.

    

4. Fundamentals of fMRI. Students will be required to take Pitt Neurosci 25674, an fMRI course offered jointly by several CNBC faculty. They will also take a week long hands-on fMRI workshop typically offered at the beginning of each year.

    

5. Ethics. Students should be familiar with the ethical issues surrounding use of human subjects in research, and the regulations governing such research. This can be satisfied by attending the human subjects portion of the CNBC ethics lecture series. The material is also covered in the research methods courses listed above. Another way to satisfy this requirement is to attend the equivalent component of the Survival Skills & Ethics workshop series offered annually by the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neuroscience.

    

Computational modeling

1. Mathematics. Students should have a basic knowledge of linear algebra, ordinary differential equations, and probability theory. These requirements can be satisfied with upper level undergraduate courses in these areas, or with directed self-study.

    

2. Computer programming. Students should have adequate programming skills in at least one programming language, preferably C, C++, or MATLAB. Familiarity with other software tools, such as Mathematica, Maple, or S-Plus, would also be useful.

    

3. Modeling. Students should have the necessary skills to do modeling in their chosen area. Depending on the area, this may require taking modeling courses such as Introduction to Parallel Distributed Processing (CMU 85-719), Computational Models of Neural Systems (CMU CS 15-883) and/or Computational Neuroscience Methods (Pitt Math 3375 or Psych 2480). For projects using modeling software such as NEURON, GENESIS, PDP++, or XPP, students should have a working knowledge of that system.

    

4. Neurobiology and cognitive psychology. Students should be familiar with the anatomical, physiological, experimental and/or psychological aspects pertinent to their modeling projects. This can be satisfied by directed study or by taking the CNBC cognitive neuroscience course, various neuroscience/neurobiology courses offered at Pitt, or cognitive psychology courses offered in the CMU and Pitt Psychology Departments, as appropriate.

    

5. Ethics. Students should be familiar with the ethical issues that occur in scientific research, and especially those issues associated with the use of computers in research. This requirement can be satisfied by attending the CNBC ethics lecture series. Another way to satisfy the requirement is to attend the equivalent component of the Survival Skills & Ethics workshop series offered annually by the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neuroscience.

    

Behavioral Experimentation

1. Experimental methods. Students should be familiar with the basic principles of design and conduct of scientific experiments. One way to satisfy this requirement is to take CMU 85-716, Psychological Research Methods, or Pitt PSY 2400. Directed reading may be an acceptable substitute.

    

2. Statistics. Students should be familiar with common statistical methods fro analyzing experimental data and determining significance of effects. This can be satisfied by taking a graduate statistics course such as CMU 36-749, Statistics for Behavioral and Social Science, or by self-study followed by an oral exam by the training committee.

    

3. Cognitive psychology. Students should be familiar with the major results of cognitive psychology. This can be satisfied by taking CMU 85-706, the graduate core course in psychology, or by taking the three-course cognitive sequence in the Pitt Psychology program, or by demonstrating equivalent knowledge.

    

4. Ethics. Students should be familiar with the ethical issues surrounding use of humans and animals in behavioral research, and the regulations governing such research. This can be satisfied by attending the human and animal subjects portions of the CNBC ethics lecture series. The material is also covered in the research methods courses listed above. Another way to satisfy this requirement is to attend the equivalent components of the Survival Skills & Ethics workshop series offered annually by the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neuroscience.

    

Statistical Analysis

1. Mathematics. Students should have a basic knowledge of calculus and matrix algebra. These requirements can be satisfied with upper level undergraduate courses in these areas, or with directed self-study.

    

2. Computer programming. Students should have programming skills in at least one programming language, preferably C, C++, MATLAB, or S-PLUS.

    

3. Basic statistics. Students must understand elementary statistical concepts before they can move on to more advanced topics. This knowledge can be gained by taking a graduate statistics course such as CMU 36-746, Statistical Methods for Neuroscience, or 36-749, Statistics for Behavioral and Social Science, or by self-study followed by an oral exam by the training committee.

    

4. Neurobiology and cognitive psychology. Students should be familiar with the anatomical, physiological, experimental and/or psychological aspects pertinent to their projects. This can be satisfied by directed study or by taking the CNBC cognitive neuroscience course, various neuroscience/ neurobiology courses offered at Pitt, or cognitive psychology courses offered in the CMU and Pitt Psychology Departments, as appropriate.

    

5. Ethics. Students should be familiar with the ethical issues that occur in scientific research, including those issues associated with data collection and privacy, and methods of data analysis and presentation. This requirement can be satisfied by attending the CNBC ethics lecture series. Another way to satisfy the requirement is to attend the equivalent component of the Survival Skills & Ethics workshop series offered annually by the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neuroscience.