Neuroscience
Choose electives that focus on Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience, or Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience, with a strong common foundation and exposure in the many techniques and sub-fields that make up the study of the brain & behavior.
Neuroscience
Introduction to the Program
Neuroscience is the study of the biological basis of behavior, cognition & other brain functions. Its application ranges from understanding complex disabilities to understanding the nature of consciousness.
The David O. Robbins Program in Neuroscience at OWU is one of the most cutting-edge found at a liberal arts college, integrating biology, chemistry, psychology, and computer modeling of neuronal and brain systems.
Program Features
- Engage in active research with Neuroscience faculty in a range of disciplines. Majors have attended scientific conferences, such as the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting.
- Dedicated Neuroscience courses designed for Neuroscience majors, ranging from molecular biology to learning & memory to computational modeling of the brain. See our Courses for more information.
- A highly interdisciplinary major that prepares students for a wide-range of careers in the health professions and/or for future research in graduate school.
Available Majors
Computational Neuroscience
How does the brain process and encode information? How can we decipher the "neural code" that neurons use in communicating and storing data? Computational neuroscientists combine computer modeling and biological processes of the brain to answer these questions. Ohio Wesleyan is the first liberal arts college to offer a major in this exciting field.
News & Updates
Apply now for the Neuroscience REU for Summer 2017!
Looking to gain some actual research experience in neuroscience, and get paid to do it? Then consider applying to OWU's Neuroscience Research Experience for Undergradautes (REU) program, funded through the National Science Foundation. Click the link below to find out more about the types of research being done this summer at OWU and at our partner institutions of Wooster, Kenyon and Earlham.
Dr. Chris Fink discusses consciousness in only 3 minutes!
Watch Dr. Fink's engaging talk about the nature of consciousness, as part of OWU's "i3" lecture series that challenges some of OWU's best professors to discuss a topic in 3 minutes or less.
Jennifer R. Yates
Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of the Neuroscience Program
Professor Yates is the department’s neuroscientist, interested in neurotrauma. Specifically, she investigates the mechanisms of damage after spinal cord injury, and therapeutic intervention that may spare motor, sensory, and cognitive functions after neurotrauma.
Christian Fink
Assistant Professor of Physics-Astronomy and Neuroscience
Professor Fink teaches courses in computational neuroscience. He researches the role that neuronal synchronization plays in brain function and dysfunction. He is particularly interested in how sleep might contribute to memory consolidation, and in mathematically modeling the generation of epileptic seizures.
Suren Ambegaokar
Assistant Professor of Microbiology & Neuroscience
Professor Ambegaokar studies neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease, infectious diseases of the nervous system, and the intersection of the two.
Kira Bailey
Assistant Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience
Professor Bailey is interested in understanding how experience modifies the neural bases of cognitive control, affective information processing, and decision-making. Specifically, she studies the effects of video games on emotion and cognition, and how pathological video game use is related to impulsivity and decision making under risk.
Pamela Pyzza
Assistant Professor of Mathematics & Computer Science and Neuroscience
Professor Pyzza studies dynamically changing network models, and develops mathematical models of biological systems such as insect olfactory systems, sleep-wake cycles and thermoregulation during sleep, and the spread of transmittable diseases.
Summer Science Research
In this is intensive, 10-week summer research program at OWU, you work with faculty and students from OWU and other universities on original research. You present your findings at the Patricia Belt Conrades Summer Science Research Symposium in the fall.
Program Contact Info
Location
Director: Jennifer Yates
Phillips Hall 52
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015
Phillips Hall 52
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015
P 740-368-3814
E jryates@owu.edu
E jryates@owu.edu