Course Summary
This course will focus on molecular and genetic mechanisms that give rise to disease in the developing and mature central nervous system. Aberrant signaling in neural circuitry results from the disruption of one or more of four fundamental processes in cellular physiology: development, excitability, death and repair. The contributions of specific molecular pathways in these processes will be correlated with the clinical phenotypes of major categories of neuronal and glial disease and the natural history of their cellular pathologies. Analysis of the biology of neural plasticity and trophic interactions will provide a basis for newly emerging strategies for promoting neuronal survival and repair. Critical hypothesis testing of proposed cytopathological mechanisms will be emphasized.