Total course hours: 41 hours (including examinations)
Course Semester: Jan-Apr 2023
Course Modules:
Neurulation and formation of neural plate and neural tube in vertebrates (3 hours)
Neural patterning and fate specification (15 hours)
Axes formation, basic compartmentalization of embryonic mammalian brain
Early signaling centers in vertebrate brain, concept of ‘organizer’
Signaling pathways
Transcription factors
Examples of developmental anomalies due to respective mutations
Examples of techniques/technologies used to study the above processes in health and disease
Genesis and localization of neural cells (10.5 hours)
Types of neural cells
Neurogenesis and gliogenesis – proliferation, differentiation, signaling
Neuronal migration, axon guidance
Circuit formation with emphasis on mammalian forebrain and hindbrain
Examples of techniques/technologies used to study the above processes in health and disease
Evolutionary perspectives related to conserved and altered gene functions across different vertebrate brains, with emphasis on signaling centres and cortical folding (3 hours)
Introduction to developmental critical periods and spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders ranging from spina bifida, defects in cortical growth and folding to epilepsy and autism/ID; therapeutics and translational neuroscience (4.5 hours)
Tutorials/Exam/Student presentations:
Mid-phase presentations on seminal papers in neurodevelopment (3 hours)