Guide to Research Techniques in Neuroscience

Matt Carter · Jennifer C. Shieh

Sep 2009 · Academic Press

About this ebook

Neuroscience is by definition a multidisciplinary field: some scientists study genes and proteins at the molecular level while others study neural circuitry. A single topic such as the auditory system can be studied using techniques from genetics, imaging, biochemistry, or electrophysiology. A young scientist must learn how to read the primary literature and then develop their own experiments. This book offers that scientist an overview of mainstream research techniques, provides guidelines on how to choose one technique over another, offers tips on analyzing data, and provides a list of references for additional detailed study. This book can also assist an experienced scientist understand published studies conducted outside their own subfield.*Written by Stanford University graduate students in neuroscience to provide a "hands-on" approach for other neuroscience graduate students *Techniques within one field will be compared so that user can select best technique for their experiment *Chapters include references (key articles, books, protocols) for additional detailed study *Data Analysis boxes in each chapter help with data interpretation and offer guidelines on how best to represent results *"Walk-through" boxes guide students through the experiment step-by-step

About the author

Matt Carter is an Associate Professor of Biology at Williams College where he teaches courses in neuroscience and physiology. His research program focuses on how the brain regulates food intake and sleep and is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. In addition to primary scientific publications, he is also the author of Designing Science Presentations (Academic Press). He is a recipient of the Walter Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching from Stanford University and the Nelson Bushnell Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Writing from Williams College.Jennifer C. Shieh, PhD, is currently Program Director and SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Coordinator at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the NIH. She co-authored the first edition of this book (Elsevier, 2009), and was awarded the Hans-Lukas Teuber Award for Outstanding Research and Academics in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Award for Outstanding Scholarship and BCS Contributions.