Curriculum

By obtaining the Medical Neuroscience graduate certificate, students will be able to do the following:

1. Obtain and apply knowledge of the following topics to solve novel problems
   1. General neuroscience principles
   2. Nervous system disorders
   3. Drug use, abuse, and interactions
   4. Development
2. Work successfully in team-based settings
3. Analyze and interpret data from published peer-reviewed papers
4. Assess ethical, legal, and social implications of neuroscientific research, tools, and discoveries
5. Effectively and accurately communicate scientific findings

Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits from the following courses:

All of the following courses (20 credits):

• NEU 848 Cellular and Molecular Medical Neuroscience (3 credits; Fall)
• NEU 849 Medical Neuroscience Systems and Anatomy (3 credits; Spring)
• NEU 842 Neuroethics (3 credits; Summer Session II)
• NEU 846 Neurobiology of Nervous System Disorders (3 credits; Summer Session I)
• NEU 847 Development of the Nervous System (3 credits; Fall)
• NEU 850 Neuroscience Seminar Series (1 credit x 3 re-enrollments; Fall and Spring)
• NEU 891 Special Problems in Medical Neuroscience (2 credits; Spring)

One of the following options (3-4 credits)

• NEU 845 Neuroscience of Drug Use and Human Disorders (3 credits; Summer Session II)

OR

• PHM 431 Pharmacology of Drug Addiction ^1,2 (3 credits; Summer)

OR

• PHM 819 Principles of Drug-Tissue Interactions (2 credits; Summer, Spring)
• PHM 829 Neuropharmacology ³ (2 credits; Fall)

A statistics course (3 credits)

• Can be fulled by any of the following courses or course approved by program
  • NUR 804 Statistics for the Healthcare Professional (3 credits)
  • PH 802 Biostatistics for Public Health (3 credits)
  • STT 421 Statistics I (3 credits)

Remaining credits from the following courses

• BLD 830 Concepts in Molecular Biology (2 credits)
• BMB 401 Comprehensive Biochemistry ⁴ (4 credits)
• PH 803 Epidemiology and Public Health (3 credits)
• PH 806 Environmental Factors of Health (3 credits)
• PHM 817 Neurotoxicology (2 credits)
• LIN 463 Introduction to Cognitive Science (3 credits)

¹If PHM 431 was used to complete a B.S. degree at MSU, it cannot be used as part of the certificate program 

²PHM 431 is open to master's students ONLY during the summer semester. Fall PHM 431 is restricted to undergraduate students

³PHM 819 is a prerequesite for PHM 829

⁴BMB 401 is open to master's students only during spring or summer semester. Fall BMB 401 is restricted to undergraduate students

Students will also be required to successfully complete:

• Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) year-one modules and six hours of discussion-based RECR education
• A capstone project

NEU 848: Cellular and Molecular Medical Neuroscience
Survey of the genetic, molecular, and cellular biology of the nervous system with an emphasis on medical applications.

NEU 849: Medical Neuroscience Systems and Anatomy
Survey of the anatomy and physiology of neuronal mechanisms that regulate behavior, learning, and cognition with an emphasis on medical applications.

NEU 846: Neurobiology of Nervous System Disorders
Overview of abnormalities that contribute to central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and psychological diseases and disorders examined at genetic, cellular, and behavioral levels.

NEU 842: Neuroethics
Introduction to the field of neuroethics and the responsible application of advances in neuroscience research.

NEU 845: Neuroscience of Drug Use and Human Disorders
Introduction to the neurochemical basis of human disorders and how drugs are used to treat these disorders

NEU 847: Development of the Nervous System
Introduction to processes involved in the development of the nervous systems and their clinical application

NEU 850: Neuroscience Seminar Series
Current research topics in neuroscience presented through weekly seminars featuring faculty, visiting scholars, and advanced graduate students

NEU 891: Special Problems in Medical Neuroscience
Independent scholarly project for Plan B master's students integrating knowledge across medical neuroscience domains. Students will demonstrate mastery of program learning outcomes.

PHM 431: Pharmacology of Drug Addiction
Introduction to pharmacology and neuropharmacology. Understanding of the biological basis for drug abuse and addiction

PHM 817: Neurotoxicology
Biochemical, molecular, physiological mechanisms and assessment of neurotoxicity. Factors predisposing the nervous system to selective toxicants. Pathophysiology and models of toxicant-induced neurodegenerative diseases.

PHM 819: Principles of Drug-Tissue Interactions
General principles of interaction of chemicals with biological systems.

PHM 829: Neuropharmacology
Mechanisms of action of drugs on the central nervous systems, targets, clinical use and side effects.

BLD 830: Concepts in Molecular Biology
Techniques and theories of molecular biology, nucleic acid synthesis and isolation, enzymatic digestion and modification, electrophoresis, hybridization, amplification, library construction, and cloning.

BMB 401: Comprehensive Biochemistry
Structure and function of major biomolecules, organization and regulation of metabolic pathways. Special emphasis on eukaryotic systems and the biochemical basis of human disease.

PH 803: Epidemiology and Public Health
Distributions and determinants of disease in population. Epidemiologic research, quantitative methods, study designs pros/cons.

PH 806: Environmental Factors of Health
Biological, physical and chemical factors that affect health of populations. Regulatory approaches to environmental hazards. Potential impact of environmental agents on health and preventive management approaches.

PHM 817: Neurotoxicology
Biochemical, molecular, physiological mechanisms and assessment of neurotoxicity. Factors predisposing the nervous system to selective toxicants. Pathophysiology and models of toxicant-induced neurodegenerative diseases.

LIN 463: Introduction to Cognitive Science
Cognitive processing of information by animals, humans, and computers. Relevant issues in philosophy, linguistics, psychology, neurophysiology, and artificial intelligence.