Neuroscience is the multidisciplinary study of the structure and function of nervous systems. Through a balance of depth in the principles of neuroscience and a broad understanding of knowledge and approaches from related disciplines, neuroscience students at Holy Cross are empowered to become critical, flexible, and creative thinkers in pursuing unanswered scientific questions with philosophical and societal implications.
The interdisciplinary program in neuroscience offers a major and a minor. The curriculum includes courses from the natural and quantitative sciences, philosophy, and psychology.
NEUR 110: Introduction to Neuroscience is a good choice for many neuroscience-interested students. While NEUR 110 counts toward the major or minor, and provides the quickest potential path to declaring a neuroscience major, it is NOT a requirement for either.
Students planning to declare a neuroscience major or minor must first complete one foundational course in STEM (i.e., BIOL 161, CHEM 181, CSCI 131, MATH 135 or equivalent, NEUR 110, or PHYS 115) and one neuroscience-focused course. NEUR 110 can count as both the foundational course in STEM and the neuroscience-focused course.
Courses students may take in the first year that count towards the Neuroscience Major include BIOL 161, CHEM 181, CSCI 131, MATH 135, and PHYS 115. Students who start with one or two of these courses but do not enroll in NEUR 110 should be able to enroll in a neuroscience-focused course in the spring of their first year or fall of their second year and successfully complete a neuroscience major or minor.
Advanced Placement: The Neuroscience Program follows the relevant departmental AP credit policies for courses counted toward the Neuroscience Major.
Courses
NEUR 110
Introduction to Neuroscience
Common Area: Natural Science
This course is a broad introduction to neuroscience including topics in comparative vertebrate and invertebrate neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, sensory and motor systems, behavioral neurobiology, neuropharmacology, and neural basis of cognition. Important general principles of nervous system structure and function will be emphasized, as well as broad scientific proficiency as a foundation for further interdisciplinary study of the neural basis of behavior.
PSYC 236
Cognition & Memory
Common Area: Natural Science
Examines current perspectives on how a physical system can have intelligence and know its world. Historical, cognitive science (computer metaphor) and connectionist perspectives will be surveyed. Of interest is how we can model cognitive 'machinery' and how this machinery produces such phenomena as attention, pattern recognition, and information storage.