Elective Courses

*Please note: Not all courses are offered every semester. Consult the Williams College Course Catalog for more detailed information regarding course offerings.

Group A

Biology 204: Animal Behavior
Making sense of what we see while watching animals closely is both an enthralling pastime and a discipline that draws on many aspects of biology. Explanations can be found on many levels: evolutionary theory tells us why certain patterns have come to exist, molecular biology can help us understand how those patterns are implemented, neuroscience gives insights as to how the world appears to the behaving animal, endocrinology provides information on how suites of behaviors are regulated. The first part of the course focuses upon how descriptive studies provide the basis for formulating questions about behavior as well as the statistical methods used to evaluate the answers to these questions. We then consider the behavior of individuals, both as it is mediated by biological mechanisms and as it appears from an evolutionary perspective. The second half of the course is primarily concerned with the behaviors of groups of animals from a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species, concentrating upon the stimuli, responses, and internal mechanisms that maintain social systems and on the selection pressures that drive animals toward a particular social system. Format: lecture/laboratory, six hours per week. Evaluation will be based on examinations, lab reports, and a research paper. Prerequisites: Biology 102, or Psychology 101, or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 42 (expected: 28). Preference given to seniors, Biology majors, and Neuroscience concentrators. Satisfies distribution requirement in the major.

Biology 209T: Animal Communication (W)
Animal communication systems come in as many varieties as the species that use them. What they have in common is a sender, who encodes information into a physical signal, and a receiver, who senses the signal, extracts the information, and adjusts subsequent behavior accordingly. This tutorial will consider all aspects of communication, using different animal systems to explore different aspects of the biology of signaling. Topics will include the use of syntax to carry meaning in chickadee calls, the "piracy" of signaling system by fireflies, statements of identity, allegiance and affiliation in the form of toothed whales' signature whistles, and long-distance chemical attractants that allow male moths to find the object of their desire.
Format: tutorial. Evaluation will be based on five 5-page papers, tutorial presentations, and the student's effectiveness as a critic. Prerequisites: Biology 101 and Biology212/Psychology212/Neuroscience201; open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Preference given to senior Neuroscience concentrators who need a Biology elective to complete the concentration. Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 10)

Biology 303: Sensory Biology
How are important conditions or changes in the environment received and transduced by organisms? We will examine the molecular and cellular bases of the transduction and encoding of physical phenomena such as light, sound, and chemicals in a variety of organisms, including plants and invertebrates. We will focus on questions such as: What properties of the physical world are sensed (and which ones are ignored)? What mechanisms are used to convert physical or chemical energy into a changed biological state within a cell? What are the consequences of this changed state? How are differences in the attributes of one modality in the physical world represented by differences in molecular and cellular processes? Among the examples we will consider are: a comparison of visual structures and pigments in bacteria, plants, arthropods, molluscs, and primates; sound transduction and its musical consequences; and the olfactory system of mammals-which is able to produce a large variety of receptors specific to an individual's experience. Format: lecture/discussion/laboratory. Evaluation will be based on examinations, a paper, and a project proposal. Prerequisites: Biology 205. Enrollment limit: 32 (expected: 24). Preference given to seniors, then to Biology majors.

Biology 304: Neurobiology
This course is concerned with understanding the biology of the nervous system, focusing primarily on the cellular bases of neuronal function. Lectures will cover such topics as nerve resting and action potentials, ion channels, neurotransmitters and synapses, and the neural correlates of behavior in organisms with simple nervous systems. Reading original research papers and discussing them constitutes an important part of the course. Some of the topics that may be covered include: transmitter release mechanisms, ion permeation through channels, plasticity in the nervous system, and various clinical disorders. Laboratories are designed to introduce the students to modern techniques in neurobiology including extracellular and intracellular recording, histochemistry, and immunohistochemistry. Format: lecture/laboratory, six hours per week. Evaluation will be based on class participation, laboratory notebooks and posters, two hour exams and a final exam. Prerequisites: Biology 205. Enrollment limit: 16 (expected: 16). Preference given to Biology majors and Neuroscience concentrators.

Biology 310: Mechanisms of Nervous System Development and Plasticity
Development can be seen as a tradeoff between genetically-determined processes and environmental stimuli. The tension between these two inputs is particularly apparent in the developing nervous system, where many events must be predetermined, and where plasticity, or altered outcomes in response to environmental conditions, is also essential. Plasticity is reduced as development and differentiation proceed, and the potential for regeneration after injury or disease in adults is limited; however, some exceptions to this rule exist, and recent data suggest that the nervous system is not as hard-wired as previously thought. In this course we will discuss the mechanisms governing nervous system development, from relatively simple nervous systems such as that of the roundworm, to the more complicated nervous systems of humans, examining the roles played by genetically specified programs and non-genetic influences. We will also discuss the similarities and differences between development and regeneration, the extent to which the nervous system is hard-wired, and the controversial idea that degeneration represents "development in reverse." Format: lecture/discussion/laboratory, six hours per week. Evaluation will be based on exams, short papers and lab reports. Prerequisites: Biology 202 and either Biology 205 or Biology 212. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 12). Preference given to Biology majors.

Biology 410: Cell Dynamics in Living Systems
Far from being static entities, individual cells can exhibit dynamic behaviors, sometimes migrating great distances or structurally reorganizing as in the formation-or reformation-of neuronal synapses. The ability of cells to move and reshape underlies a vast array of normal biological processes, including immune function, embryonic development, and memory formation, as well as abnormal processes such as cancer growth and metastasis. It is through precise regulation of polymerization, depolymerization, and contraction of the cellular cytoskeleton that motility is achieved, and we are just beginning to understand the genetic and biophysical bases of how this regulation occurs. Not surprisingly, imprecise regulation of the cytoskeleton can have serious consequences, and several disorders arise from defects in this process. In this course we will review the primary literature covering migration and motility. Format: discussion, three hours per week. Evaluation will be based on class participation and several short papers. Prerequisites: Biology 202 and either Biology 205 or Biology 212. Enrollment limit: 2 sections of 12 (expected: 2 sections of 8 ). Open to juniors and seniors, with preference given to senior Biology majors who have not taken a 400-level course.

Group B

Psychology 315: Hormones and Behavior
In all animals, hormones are essential for the coordination of basic functions such as development and reproduction. This course studies the dynamic relationship between hormones and behavior. We review the mechanisms by which hormones act in the nervous system. We also investigate the complex interactions between hormones and behavior. Specific topics to be examined include: sexual differentiation; reproductive and parental behaviors; stress; aggression; and learning and memory. Students critically review data from both human and animal studies. All students will design and conduct an empirical research project. Format: Empirical Lab Course. Requirements: presentations and participation in discussions, midterm and final exams, completion of a novel empirical project. Prerequisites: Psychology 212 (same as Biology 212 or Neuroscience 201). Enrollment limit: 16 (expected: 12). Preference given to Psychology majors and Neuroscience Concentrators. Satisfies one semester of the Division III requirement.

Psychology 316: Clinical Neuroscience
Diagnosing and treating neurological diseases is the final frontier of medicine. Recent advances in neuroscience have had a profound impact on the understanding of diseases that affect cognition, behavior, and emotion. This course provides an in-depth analysis of the relationship between brain dysfunction and disease state. We will focus on neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. We will consider diagnosis of disease, treatment strategies, as well as social and ethical issues. The course provides students with the opportunity to present material based upon: (1) review of published literature, (2) analysis of case histories, and (3) observations of diagnosis and treatment of patients both live and on videotape. All students will design and conduct an empirical research project. Format: Empirical Lab Course. Evaluation will be based on position papers, class participation, and research project report. Prerequisites: Psychology 212 (same as Biology 212 or Neuroscience 201). Enrollment limit: 16 (expected: 16). Satisfies one semester of the Division III requirement.

Psychology 317T: Nature versus Nurture: Controversies in Developmental Psychobiology
Do your genes determine who you are? This course examines the relative contributions of nature (genetics) and nurture (the environment) to the development of behaviors such as eating, stress response, learning, play, aggression, parenting, alcoholism and addiction. Modern neuroscience techniques, such as brain imaging, "knock-out" mice, and quantitative trait loci mapping, report extraordinary new relationships between genes and behavior. In contrast to these findings are equally exciting studies on the critical effects of the pre- and postnatal environment and social milieu which support environmental theories of the development of behavior. This tutorial will explore the empirical and theoretical issues in this controversy to arrive at a synthetic understanding of the interaction of genes and environment. Format: tutorial. Requirements: Students will meet in pairs with the instructor for an hour each week. Each week, students will either present an oral argument of a 5 page position paper or respond to their partners' paper. Prerequisites: Psychology 212 or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 10) Preference to neuroscience concentrators and psychology majors. Satisfies one semester of the Division III requirement.

Psychology 318 (INTR 223): Image, Imaging and Imagining: The Brain and Visual Arts
This course will study the intersections of neuroscience and art. The brain interprets the visual world and generates cognitive and emotional responses to what the eyes see. It is also responsible for creating mental images and then directing the artist's motor output. We will first examine the neural mechanisms of how we perceive what we see. We will investigate how visual artists have used or challenged perceptual cues in their work. Understanding how the brain perceives faces will be used to analyze portraiture. We will consider the influence of neurological and psychological disorders of artists on their work. We will examine neuroimaging studies questioning whether the brains of visual artists are specialized differently from non-artists. Finally, we will explore how contemporary artists are using brain images in their artwork, and how "outsider" artists have portrayed brain syndromes and mental states. Students will design and conduct a research project in visual neuroscience. The class will include field trips to museums and galleries, and participation in programming centered on a WCMA exhibit on this topic. Students will have an opportunity to create their own artwork in response to these topics, culminating in a class exhibit.
Format: empirical lab course. Evaluation will be based on a midterm, several presentations, and a final project. Satisfies one semester of Division III requirement. Prerequisites: for registration under INTR, PSYC 101 and ArtH 101-102 or permission of instructor; for registration under PSYC or NSCI, NSCI 201/PSYC 212/BIOL 212 and ArtH 101-102 or permission of instructor. Preference to Art majors for registration under INTR, and to Psychology majors and Neuroscience concentrators for registration under PSYC or NSCI. Enrollment limit: 16 (expected: 16)