The Neuroscience program maintains its own Web site.More ...
Contact Information
(315) 859-4165
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEHAVIOR AND BIOLOGY? How can that relationship best be observed and studied? What does it reveal about ourselves, our culture, our health, even our technology? These are the questions posed and pursued by neuroscience, the multidisciplinary study of the nervous system.
The goal of Hamiton's Neuroscience Program, operated jointly by the departments of Psychology and Biology, is to present students the opportunity to explore the fascinating, rapidly changing intersection of those disciplines — the biological basis of behavior.More ...
Academic Program
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Research is a constant in the life of a neuroscience major, but it can come in many forms: regular coursework, independent study, the senior project, the Senior Fellowship Program, or collaborative summer research with a faculty member. Such opportunities are available only to graduate students at many other colleges and universities.
During a typical summer, more than 70 Hamilton undergraduates collaborate with faculty members on research projects in neuroscience and other fields. Many receive summer research grants funded by the College, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health and alumni gifts. Students and faculty members often co-author papers that are presented at national conferences and published in leading scholarly journals. In recent years students have published in such journals as Behavioral Neuroscience, Brain and Language, Perception and Psychophysics, Journal of Experimental Zoology and Behavioral and Neural Biology.
THE SENIOR PROGRAM
As seniors, neuroscience majors carry out a research project that culminates in a thesis and an oral presentation. Working closely with a faculty advisor, each student uses the senior project to synthesize and focus previous coursework. The senior project is an original work of scholarship that provides an in-depth examination of a particular empirical or theoretical issue.
Some of the top neuroscience majors each year are selected for the Senior Fellowship Program, in which up to seven Hamilton students undertake a major research project under the supervision of two or more faculty members. Recent senior fellows in neuroscience have studied the neurochemistry of octopamine, patterns of human motion, integration of sensory information by single neurons, evoked potential correlates of cognitive processing, brain mechanisms of reward and tactile psychophysics.
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RESOURCES
Hamilton’s Science Center, which houses the neuroscience program through the departments of Psychology and Biology, includes more than 100 teaching and research laboratories and 11 high-tech classrooms as well as state-of-the-art instrumentation. In a recent survey of college administrators, Hamilton was one of only 11 colleges and 28 universities in the nation credited with offering exemplary research opportunities and facilities for undergraduates.
Neuroscience students have access to lab facilities for scanning and transmission electron microscopes, tissue culture, analytical neurochemistry, molecular biology, neuroanatomical research, intracellular and extracellular single neuron recording, voltage and patch clamping, eye movement tracking, evoked-potential recording and tactile psychophysics.
Many experiments are controlled by laboratory computers, which are networked with our statistics laboratory and the rest of the campus. In addition, the psychology, biology and neuroscience programs share a 1000-square foot vivarium that contains species ranging from insects to rats.
The study of neuroscience at Hamilton began as a psychobiology program in 1976. It was one of the first such undergraduate programs in the nation. The program's title was changed in 1998, and today it is one of the most comprehensive U.S. undergraduate programs in neuroscience, with courses in neuroplasticity, neurochemistry and psychophysics.
Learn While Doing
Hamilton's neuroscience program has dimensions far beyond that of the conventional classroom. Faculty members are active scholars and researchers who often collaborate with students on research, publications and presentations. In the neuroscience program, undergraduates can make vital contributions to the field right away.
An Interdisciplinary Approach
Drawing on psychology, biology, chemistry and other fields, the neuroscience program typically draws more majors than any other interdisciplinary concentration at the College.
Cutting-Edge Equipment
Housed in the College's state-of-the-art Science Center, the Departments of Psychology and Biology provide the sophisticated facilities, apparatus and computers that at many colleges and universities are available only to graduate students.
The study of neuroscience at Hamilton began as a psychobiology program in 1976. It was one of the first such undergraduate programs in the nation. The program's title was changed in 1998, and today it is one of the most comprehensive U.S. undergraduate programs in neuroscience, with courses in neuroplasticity, neurochemistry and psychophysics.
Learn While Doing
Hamilton's neuroscience program has dimensions far beyond that of the conventional classroom. Faculty members are active scholars and researchers who often collaborate with students on research, publications and presentations. In the neuroscience program, undergraduates can make vital contributions to the field right away.
An Interdisciplinary Approach
Drawing on psychology, biology, chemistry and other fields, the neuroscience program typically draws more majors than any other interdisciplinary concentration at the College.
Cutting-Edge Equipment
Housed in the College's state-of-the-art Science Center, the Departments of Psychology and Biology provide the sophisticated facilities, apparatus and computers that at many colleges and universities are available only to graduate students.
The study of neuroscience at Hamilton began as a psychobiology program in 1976. It was one of the first such undergraduate programs in the nation. The program's title was changed in 1998, and today it is one of the most comprehensive U.S. undergraduate programs in neuroscience, with courses in neuroplasticity, neurochemistry and psychophysics.
Learn While Doing
Hamilton's neuroscience program has dimensions far beyond that of the conventional classroom. Faculty members are active scholars and researchers who often collaborate with students on research, publications and presentations. In the neuroscience program, undergraduates can make vital contributions to the field right away.
An Interdisciplinary Approach
Drawing on psychology, biology, chemistry and other fields, the neuroscience program typically draws more majors than any other interdisciplinary concentration at the College.
Cutting-Edge Equipment
Housed in the College's state-of-the-art Science Center, the Departments of Psychology and Biology provide the sophisticated facilities, apparatus and computers that at many colleges and universities are available only to graduate students.
The study of neuroscience at Hamilton began as a psychobiology program in 1976. It was one of the first such undergraduate programs in the nation. The program's title was changed in 1998, and today it is one of the most comprehensive U.S. undergraduate programs in neuroscience, with courses in neuroplasticity, neurochemistry and psychophysics.
Learn While Doing
Hamilton's neuroscience program has dimensions far beyond that of the conventional classroom. Faculty members are active scholars and researchers who often collaborate with students on research, publications and presentations. In the neuroscience program, undergraduates can make vital contributions to the field right away.
An Interdisciplinary Approach
Drawing on psychology, biology, chemistry and other fields, the neuroscience program typically draws more majors than any other interdisciplinary concentration at the College.
Cutting-Edge Equipment
Housed in the College's state-of-the-art Science Center, the Departments of Psychology and Biology provide the sophisticated facilities, apparatus and computers that at many colleges and universities are available only to graduate students.
AFTER HAMILTON
Hamilton graduates who concentrated in Neuroscience are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:
Associate, GE Capital
Clinical Research Coordinator, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Director of Research and Development, Biomarker Strategies
