Learning About Learning: A Course on Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

Overview

COURSE OUTLINE: In this course, we propose to teach the rules governing learning and how they result in the storage of information in the form of memory. The course structure is such that the lectures introduce the student/listener to the fundamental rules that determine learning through a historical perspective. Such a design helps the listener/student to understand how these rules came about, what were the experimental observations led to the rules. In the course, we will be using these rules and applying them to various situations and experimental setting and analyse the behavioural outcomes. The framework for understanding associative learning is presented in the first few lectures followed by reinforcement learning/instrumental conditioning. In the end, synergistic views of both the learning are presented followed by a description of some of the modern behavioural paradigms. Towards the latter part of the course, the lectures connect these behavioural studies to molecular underpinnings.

Syllabus

Balaji Intro.
noc19-bt12-lec01 - Introduction to Learning and Memory - I: Historical perspective.
noc19-bt12-lec02- Introduction to Learning and Memory - II: Classification.
noc19-bt12-lec03-Associative Learning I: Rules of Associative learning.
Associative learning II: Garcia and Koelling’s Experiment, Kamin’s Blocking Experiment.
noc19-bt12-lec05-Introduction to the Rescorla Wagner Model.
lec06 Application of Rescorla Wagner Model - I.
lec07 Application of Rescorla Wagner Model - II.
lec08 Application of Rescorla Wagner Model - III.
lec09 Application of Rescorla Wagner Model - IV.
lec10 Limitations of Rescorla Wagner Model.
lec11 Introduction of Reinforcement Learning - I: Thorndike’s view, Tolman’s views, Skinner Box.
lec13 Sign Tracking vs Goal Oriented/Tracking; Linking complex behaviors to simple molecules.
lec14 Sign Tracking vs Goal Oriented/Tracking; Linking complex behaviors to simple molecules.
lec15 Sign Tracking vs Goal Oriented; Learning Linking complex behaviors to simple molecules - II.
lec16 Memory in Molecular Terms - I: Protein synthesis in memory consolidation.
lec17 Memory in Molecular Terms - II: Long term potentiation.
lec18 Memory in Molecular Terms - III: Properties of a memory molecule.
lec19 Memory in Molecular Terms - IV: Remote memory and its characteristics.
lec20 Memory in Molecular Terms V Selective labelling of memory encoding neurons.
Lec 22.
Lec 21.