Module: 3
Sponsoring Program: Neuroscience
Administrator: Lucita Nacionales

STUDY LIST INFORMATION
Course Number: NS 219
Course Name: Pathobiology of the Basal Ganglia
Units: 3
Grading Option: S/U
Course Director: Ken Nakamura
Co-Directors: Simon Little

MORE COURSE INFORMATION
Dates: May 12, 2025 - May 30, 2025
Campus: MB
Location: MH 2100
Schedule: M/W/F, 9:00am-11:00am, except 5/16, 1:00-3:00pm
Minimum Class Size: 5
Maximum Class Size: 12 

The basal ganglia control a host of related functions, including motivation, reinforcement learning, and motor control. Diseases of the basal ganglia are equally diverse, producing a range of disparate movement and neuropsychiatric disorders including Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, dystonia, Tourette syndrome, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This mini-course will provide an overview of physiological functions of the basal ganglia, and how these functions are compromised in disease.

Students will be introduced to ongoing research efforts to understand disease pathophysiology and selective neuronal vulnerability, including studies on protein aggregation and mitochondrial dysfunction, and those using invasive human brain recording, as well as the development of new therapies including invasive neurostimulation. Physiology of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical loop will also be discussed.

This class will meet two-three times a week for two hours per class to have in depth discussions on current research papers (2 papers per class). There will be a total of 8 classes. At the end of this course, students should have an up-to-date, fundamental understanding of the basic physiology and pathophysiology of the basal ganglia, and current tools and approaches used to study this brain region.