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Manipulating Minds (C8904)

15 credits, Level 6

Spring teaching

Over the last decade or so, many genetic tools have been developed that allow us to probe deeply into and manipulate the brains of mice and rats, to work out the neurobiological processes controlling their actions. These experiments provide an important bedrock for understanding the fundamentals of how the brain works, and can be applied to find out what happens when things go wrong, including. mental health disorders and diseases.

You will explore the advantages and limitations of using animal models. You’ll also examine the methods and cutting edge techniques that are being used, as well as their power to inform us of how our brains work. Each week you will learn about a different technique or research problem, and the information it provides.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.