CdeC06: The sound of neurons: How to make a cockroach dance

How to make a cockroach dance

This club will introduce students to the basic principles of neuroscience, the properties of neurons, and how neurons communicate. You’ll learn about the electrical properties of the neurons, the generation of action potentials, as well as the proteins and neurotransmitters required for proper neuronal signaling. You will learn all this while being exposed to a wide variety of neuroscience experiments using the cockroach as the model organism. Among these applied experiments, you’ll work with cockroaches and worms to investigate what type of neuronal activity goes on in the leg of a cockroach, how fast an action potential can travel through a neuron, and test what factors can modify them. To complement these activities, we’ll use a computer-based simulation program to uncover some of the basic electrical properties of neurons and the factors regulating them. Moreover, we’ll look into stimulation of the nervous system and muscles, and learn about Neuroprosthetics by making the leg of a cockroach dance to music.