SEMINARS 2024-2025


ON THIS PAGE:
-Post-Lottery Information
-Lottery Information
-Seminar Program Overview
-2024-2025 MBB Seminar Descriptions
-2024-2025 Department Courses

For spring 2024 seminars, see Seminars, Spring 2024 | Mind Brain Behavior (harvard.edu).
For fall 2023 seminars, see Seminars 2023-2024 | Mind Brain Behavior (harvard.edu).


POST-LOTTERY INFORMATION

After the seminar lottery, we have openings in a couple seminars...

MBB 980V, Advances in Understanding the Wiring of the Brain: Neuroimaging and Big Data in Connectomics, Lisa Nickerson (lisa_nickerson@hms.harvard.edu)

MBB 980DD, Computational Psychiatry, Poornima Kumar (pkumar@mclean.harvard.edu)

If you would like to enroll in either course now, please contact the instructors and copy Shawn Harriman (shawn_harriman@harvard.edu) as soon as possible.

Other seminars do not currently have openings. If openings occur, we will have a second "mini" course lottery on Monday, August 19th, the beginning of add-drop period. Details on openings and the "mini" lottery process will be posted here by August 15th.


MBB 980 SPRING 2024 LOTTERY INFORMATION

Students will be admitted into MBB 980 courses via lottery. The lottery will take into account student and instructor preferences, enrollment limits (15), and priorities (MBB students).

A course lottery can be an important means of “course shopping.” However, the MBB seminar lottery is different. You should only lottery for a course you will definitely take if admitted. We only offer a limited number of MBB seminars and many of our popular courses have several interested students for each available slot. We thus need to prioritize students who are certain of their interest in the course.

The fall 2024 lottery will take place on Tuesday, April 9th. To participate, complete the lottery form by 5:30 p.m. You may lottery for multiple seminars (and will be asked to rank your preferences if you do); however, you will only be admitted to one seminar in a given semester. Again, only lottery for a course you will definitely take if admitted; if you are admitted to a course and do not enroll in it, you will not be able to participate in the next MBB lottery. Also by April 9th, be sure to request admission via your Crimson Cart for all MBB seminars you have lotteried for.

Note: Each semester on lottery day, several students are still resolving advising, immunization, or financial holds on their college registration. If this is your situation, you may still lottery for an MBB seminar; indeed, you should participate in the lottery because it is the major opportunity to join a seminar.
 

You will be informed of lottery results on Wednesday, April 10th and must enroll in the course by Wednesday, April 17th. If you do not enroll by the 17th, your place in the seminar will be given to another student.

There will be no waiting list for MBB courses. If spaces remain in courses after the lottery and subsequent course registration deadline, we will hold a mini-lottery on August 26th. This webpage will add details about the August mini-lottery by August 19th.


SEMINAR PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Each MBB student is required to take an Interdisciplinary Seminar, usually during the junior year. These seminars are discussion-based courses that usually meet once a week for a few hours, during which students consider important readings and research on a topic or set of topics related to mind/brain/behavior. In lieu of exams, students usually prepare papers based on library or laboratory research, and grades are usually based on these papers and class participation.

In choosing a seminar, you might select a seminar closely allied to your interests to allow you to deepen your specialized knowledge, or you might take one in a more distant area to gain an appreciation of the varying perspectives and methodologies within MBB.

The seminars offered by the MBB program, listed in the catalog as Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980 courses, explore questions in mind/brain/behavior whose answers will require the perspectives and findings of several fields. Unless otherwise noted, their enrollments are limited to 15, with enrollment priority given to juniors in MBB tracks or in the MBB secondary field, and they provide four units of course credit. In addition to the seminars listed currently, we expect to offer several additional seminars in the spring.

In addition to the MBB 980 courses, some departmental courses also qualify, and are listed below after the MBB seminars.

Neuroscience students are expected to choose only from among the MBB 980 courses (no departmental options). Some tracks, including Psychology and Human Evolutionary Biology, will want to approve which course a student takes from those listed below; consult your concentration advisor if this applies to you.



MBB 980 SEMINARS FOR FALL 2024

Advances in Understanding the Wiring of the Brain: Neuroimaging and Big Data in Connectomics
Lisa Nickerson / Medical School / lisa_nickerson@hms.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980V, Tuesdays 3-5 p.m.
4 units of course credit
The last decade has seen a revolution in mapping the human brain “connectome” of functional and structural wiring patterns that generate our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. In this course, we will learn the basics of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods used for connectomics research - functional and diffusion MRI. Key methodological and interpretational issues for each technique will be examined to gain a deeper understanding of MRI measures of connectivity. We will discuss some of the key brain networks in the brain’s connectome, and the links between the functional and structural wiring of the brain. Last, tremendous advancements in human brain connectomics have been made possible by efforts to collect “big” neuroimaging data in thousands and thousands of individuals. We will discuss some of these key open access resources for connectomics research, including: the Human Connectome Projects with petabytes of neuroimaging and phenotyping data collected in thousands of individuals across the entire lifespan and in numerous brain diseases; the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) decade-long longitudinal study of childhood through adolescence in 10,000 kids, and the largest neuroimaging study in the world – the UK Biobank that is collecting imaging, genetics, medical records, and deep phenotyping data in 100,000 individuals. This wave of “big data” is providing exceptional opportunities for advancements in connectomics and in machine learning applications to human health, yielding breakthroughs every day in our understanding of how our brains work, and what makes us uniquely us when we are healthy and when we are sick.

Computational Psychiatry
Poornima Kumar (Medical School), pkumar@mclean.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980DD,Tuesdays 3:45-5:45 p.m.
4 units of course credit
Computational Psychiatry is an emerging interdisciplinary field that combines principles from neuroscience, psychology, and computer science to understand the neural basis of mental disorders and develop computational models for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The objectives of this seminar are to 1) introduce students to computational methods and modeling approaches used in psychiatric research, 2) explore the application of computational psychiatry in understanding the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders, 3) to develop students’ critical thinking through assignments and final project, 4) to prepare the next generation of computational neuroscientists. Overall, the seminar aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of computational modeling in psychiatry, its applications in mental illness research, and the potential for advancing precision psychiatry through these approaches.

Cognitive Neuroscience of Meditation
Sara Lazar / Medical School
Mind Brain and Behavior 980S, Mondays 12-2 p.m.
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Science and Engineering/Applied Science
Buddhist philosophy describes a model of how the mind works, as well as a method, mindfulness meditation, that can be used as a tool to transform consciousness and reduce mental distress. Neuroscientists have begun to study the impact of meditation on brain structure and function, often using Buddhist philosophy to guide their hypotheses. We will review and discuss how the science relates to Buddhist philosophy, using the four foundations of mindfulness as the primary framework. We will also compare and contrast the Buddhist model with modern scientific models of how conscious experience is created in the brain, in order to gain a more nuanced understanding of consciousness that integrates philosophy, neuroscience, and personal experience. No prior knowledge of Buddhism is required. The course will be a mixture of lecture, discussion of two primary scientific articles that are assigned each week, and formal powerpoint presentations by students. Students will write a final paper on a topic of their choice that is relevant to the themes of the course.

The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: How Gut Microbes Modulate Human Cognition and Mental Health
Javiera Oyarzun (Psychology/FAS), joyarzun@fas.harvard.edu & Elizabeth Phelps (Psychology/FAS)
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980CC, Wednesdays 3-5 p.m.
4 units of course credit
The idea of a brain-gut connection has long been recognized. From Hippocrates' famous declaration that "all diseases originate in the gut," to contemporary idioms such as "trust your gut," and "feeling butterflies in your stomach," it seems evident that the gut is somehow connected to cognition and feelings. Today, we not only know that they are anatomically connected but are also functionally intertwined. More interestingly, evidence emerging from various fields of study underscores the pivotal role of the gut-residing microbes in the gut-brain communication and the preservation of cognitive and mental health. Excitingly, the plasticity of the gut microbiota composition opens up exciting potential for innovative therapeutic interventions. In this course, students will explore the microbiota-gut-brain axis and its role in human cognition and mental health. We will discuss literature coming from different research fields, including studies in rodents and humans, investigation involving patients with gastrointestinal, metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases, and epidemiological studies related to nutrition and mental well-being. We cover the evolutive significance of the gut-brain connection and discuss how contemporary lifestyles may be influencing its composition and, consequently, human health. By the conclusion of this seminar, students will acquire insights into the pathways through which gut microbes influence diverse brain functions, the external factors shaping the gut microbiota, the repercussions of its disruption, and the current methodologies employed to study and modify its composition. The course will comprise a mix of brief lectures and discussions centered around papers previously curated by the instructor or suggested by the students. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and pursue the answers by exploring the available literature and propose experimental ideas. In this way, students will be able to shape the class content according to their own interests. Additionally, we have two guest speakers scheduled to join us.

Neuroaesthetics
Nancy Etcoff / Medical School / etcoff@gmail.com
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980N, Thursdays 12-2 p.m.
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Social Sciences
Focuses on neuroaesthetics, an emerging field offering a scientific perspective on the nature of art and the ways that art reveals human nature. Integrates findings from neuroscience, psychology, evolutionary biology, philosophy, and scholarship in the arts and humanities. Begins with a brief history of ideas on aesthetics, art, beauty, and pleasure. Considers the neural underpinnings of response to art in the brain's reward system and default network. Among the questions considered: Why are people drawn to art that is neither conventionally beautiful nor entirely pleasurable? Is art a vehicle for simulating experiences and understanding other minds? What does it mean to "enjoy" sad music or chills and thrills in response to fiction or film? Can art promote well-being? The course will focus on visual art, fiction, film, and to a lesser extent, music, and on our response to art rather than its creation. The course will include a semester long gallery classroom at the Harvard Art Museum with original works of art from the museum’s collections that will serve as primary source materials for study and as subjects of assignments.

The Role of Music in Health and Education
Lisa Wong / Medical School / lmwong@fas.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980P, Thursdays 3-5 p.m.
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Social Sciences
Music shapes the course of human history at both a micro and macro scale; The "universal language" has the power to connect people who share no other common ground. Its power to bind people together is intuitively understood, but only through recent neuroimaging advances over the past few decades have scientists been able to move past intuition to reveal its impact on the brain. In this course, we will examine the exciting progress of the fields of music, science, and social science, through a variety of lenses, and meet some of the experts in the field. Who are the key investigators and practitioners in today's emerging music/brain landscape? What are the latest discoveries about how music affects the brain? How does how we hear and listen impact our perception of music? Who are some of the key influencers in music and social change? This course invites students to deepen their relationship with music, exploring different aspects of the art form through the lens of neuroscience, education, medicine, music therapy, public health and social justice. By the end of this course, the learner will (1) understand the effect of music on the developing brain; (2) understand the mechanism of hearing music; (3) consider the pathophysiology of disordered movement and hearing and how music can be used therapeutically; and (4) understand how other disciplines can add to their knowledge of the therapeutic uses of music. Given the transdisciplinary nature of the work, students will be introduced to literature from different disciplines and use these resources to explore their own individual interests in music.

Your Brain on Poetry
Anne Dymek / Germanic Languages and Literatures / annedymek@fas.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980BB (also German 132), Fridays 9:45-11:45 a.m.
4 units of course credit
Poetry is a powerful tool for expressing and exploring the human experience. But what is it about poetry that allows it to connect with us so deeply? What can we learn about the workings of the brain, the mind, and the nature of human experience through the study of poetry, and vice versa? In this course, we delve into the science and art of poetic expression, reception, and interpretation, drawing on insights from literary and cultural studies, neuroscience, philosophy, and (psycho)linguistics. We will unravel how poetry captivates our cognition and ignites our imagination, offering profound insights into the intricate interplay between this art and the human psyche.


980 SEMINARS FOR SPRING 2025

Drug Use in Nature
Naomi Pierce / Organismic and Evolutionary Biology-FAS and Trey Scott / Organismic and Evolutionary Biology-FAS / treyscott@fas.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980AA
4 units of course credit
Humans are not the only organisms that use drugs. In their natural environments, animals and plants use a great variety of chemical substances that elicit physiological or psychological effects when consumed or absorbed that are not simply those involved in metabolic maintenance, growth and nutrition. Examples include chemical manipulation of conspecifics and/or adversaries, self-medication or zoopharmacognosy, and different kinds of sensory enhancement. Drug use, in its many forms in the natural world, can have important effects on animal behavior. In this seminar, students will explore the diverse ways that organisms perceive, extract and use drugs in their natural environments. Students will explore both the how and why of drug use in nature by discussing primary literature that examines drug use from different scientific perspectives including evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, molecular biology, chemistry, anthropology, and psychology. At the end of this seminar, students will have a better understanding of and be able to critically assess the diverse ways that animals and plants use drugs.

Functional Neuroimaging of Psychiatric Disorders: Insights into the Human Brain-Mind in Health and Disease
David Silbersweig / Medical School / dsilbersweig@bwh.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980M, Thursdays 3-5 p.m.
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Sciences and Engineering/Applied Sciences
Functional brain imaging has revolutionized the study of systems-level behavioral neuroscience and psychiatric disorders, through the ability to localize and characterize distributed brain activity directly associated with perception, cognition, emotion and behavior in disorders where there are not gross brain lesions. This seminar will introduce students to translational neuroimaging methods at the interface of neuroscience, psychology and medicine. It will cover recent and ongoing advances in our understanding of fronto-limbic-subcortical brain circuitry across the range of psychiatric disorders (e.g. mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, personality disorders, addictions). It will discuss new, emerging biological (as opposed to descriptive) taxonomies and conceptualizations of mental illness and its treatment. It will explore the implications of such knowledge for issues such as consciousness, meaning, free will, emotion, resilience, and religiosity. It will incorporate clinical observations, scientific data and readings, and examine future directions in brain-mind medicine. Class Note: Additional class meetings for site visits to be arranged.

Sleep and Mental Health
Edward Pace-Schott / Medical School / epace-schott@mgh.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980T, Mondays 3:45-5:45 p.m.
4 units of course credit, course ID 207092
The scientific study of sleep is an area of research that is both highly diverse and among the most interdisciplinary and unifying of topics in psychology and neuroscience. In the past several decades, exciting new discoveries on the neurobiology of sleep have been facilitated by technologies such as functional neuroimaging and molecular genetics. Nonetheless, sleep remains mysterious and controversial and, remarkably, there still is no generally agreed upon function for this behavioral state that occupies one third of our lives! Sleep science exemplifies the translational approach in biomedical science whereby human and animal research together continually advance the field of sleep medicine. In this seminar, lectures during the first half of each class will provide overviews of the physiology and behavioral neuroscience of sleep. The second half of each class will be devoted to student-led discussions of assigned study questions as well as free discussions. In a short term paper, students will research in depth a topic of their choice that they find particularly interesting related to sleep neuroscience or mental health. will also briefly present what they have learned about their topic during the final class meetings. Some topics students might choose are described in the following paragraph. In addition, students will keep a nightly sleep and/or dream diary for 2-3weeks at some point during the semester in order to learn more about sleep from their own experiences. They will then describe what they have observed in a short essay. In the past, students have found this exercise to be especially interesting. Lastly, there will be a short open-book, unlimited-time final exam on material from the lectures. Topics for term papers might include the characteristic abnormalities of sleep in mood, anxiety, psychotic, addictive or neurodevelopmental disorders. Scientific findings increasingly point to the importance of sleep for mental health and optimum performance, as well as to sleep disruption as both a result and a contributing cause of mental illnesses. Thus, one might focus on the contribution of primary sleep disorders to psychiatric and neurological illness, such as the circadian rhythm disorders in bipolar illness or insomnia as a risk factor for mood and anxiety disorders. Still other topics might focus on the contribution of normal sleep to emotional regulation, memory consolidation, and cognitive performance. For those with more cellular neuroscience interests, topics might focus on linkages between sleep and immunity or the role of sleep in disposal of abnormal proteins as it relates to neurodegenerative diseases.

Translational Neuroscience: The Limits of Adaptation from Extreme Environments to Clinical Practice
Vladimir Ivkovic / Medical School / vivkovic@mgh.harvard.edu & Gary Strangman / Medical School / strang@mgh.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980X, Fridays 12-2 p.m.
4 units of course credit
What can we learn about the limitations of human neurobehavioral function through exposure and adaptation to extreme environments, as well as readaptation to “normal” environment, or onset of neuropsychiatric disorders? Within the translational neuroscience paradigm, this course explores the concepts of neurobehavioral adaptation, stress, resilience, and neuropsychiatric disorders, in relation to the underlying neurophysiologic mechanisms that regulate them. We will explore adaptations to extreme activities such as spaceflight, expeditionary (polar, underwater, desert exploration, military deployments), emergency response services (e.g. firefighting), and impact sports (e.g. football). These will be discussed in the context of mental and occupational health, gender differences, and understanding the etiology of neuropsychiatric conditions such as, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), intracranial hypertension, etc. This course may be particularly interesting to Mind Brain and Behavior students pursuing careers in translational neuroscience, psychology, medicine, and related fields. features expert guest lecturers (e.g. NASA researchers, Antarctic expeditionary physicians, underwater explorers, etc.), demonstrations of unique experimental methodologies and equipment (e.g. ambulatory brain and physiologic monitoring) used in extreme environments, and potential visits to field / operational facilities.

What Disease Teaches about Cognition
William Milberg / Medical School / william_milberg@hms.harvard.edu
Mind, Brain, and Behavior 980H, Tuesdays 3:45-5:45 p.m.
4 units of course credit, divisional distribution Social Sciences
This course seeks to reconcile the complicated and messy problems of patients with brain disease with the concise analysis of precisely defined cognitive functions in normal subjects. Students will learn to overlap cognitive functions on to the brain in disease - at the gross dissection and imaging levels - and to understand some of the complex interactions of individual cognitive operations in disease using the examples of famous landmark cases in the literature (e.g.Broca’s Monsieur Leborgne, Phineas Gage, HM and others) The course will include a dissection of a human brain, an examination of how the actual brain maps onto two dimensional neuroimages, and discussions of how the classic lesion based maps of cortical function are related to contemporary maps based on functional neuroimaging.
 

DEPARTMENTAL SEMINARS FOR FALL 2024

History of Science 1490, The History and Culture of Stigma

History of Science 1735, Being Human since 1945

History of Science 1740, The Psychology of War

Human Evolutionary Biology 1245, Technology, Behavior, and Human Evolution

Human Evolutionary Biology 1353, Dogs: Behavior, Evolution, and Domestication

Human Evolutionary Biology 1381, The Arrogant Ape: Rethinking our Relationships to Others

Neuroscience 101U, Neural Circuits for Navigation

Neuroscience 101V, Sculpting Activity: How Inhibition Shapes the Brain in Health and Disease

Neuroscience 101W, Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience

Neuroscience 101Y, Neuropharmacology of Pain

Neuroscience 130, Visual Recognition: Computational and Biophysical Perspective

Psychology 980HU, Psychology of Humor

Psychology 1033, Beauty in the Eyes of the Beholder: The Psychology of Visual Art

Psychology 1304, Brain Damage as a Window into the Mind: Cognitive Neuropsychology

Psychology 1617, Language Development in the First Few Years of Life


DEPARTMENTAL SEMINARS FOR SPRING 2025

History of Science 1770, Broken Brains: A Patient-Centered History

Human Evolutionary Biology 1270, Primate Playtime

Human Evolutionary Biology 1290, Genes, Mind, and Culture

Human Evolutionary Biology 1328, Clinical Comparative Medicine: Evolutionary Perspectives on Mental and Physical Health

Human Evolutionary Biology 1336, A Pan Model for Human Evolution: What Can We Learn from Chimpanzees and Bonobos about Ourselves?

Human Evolutionary Biology 1384, Thinking through Human Cognition

Linguistics 132, Psychosemantics

Neuroscience 101L, Sleep Talk: Unraveling the Mystery of Sleep

Neuroscience 101Q, The Neuroscience of Learning and Memory

Neuroscience 101R, Neurobiology of Emotion and Mood Disorders

Neuroscience 101X, Stress Resilience and Susceptibility: Mechanisms and Models

Neuroscience 140, Biological and Artificial Intelligence

Philosophy 158, The Spontaneous Flow of Thought

Psychology 1325, The Emotional, Social Brain

Psychology 1624, Mental Time Travel and the Human Mind

Psychology 1816, Broken Brains: Mechanisms and Markers of Mental Illness