Doctoral Courses

Theoretical courses, courses on laboratory techniques, weekly laboratory meetings, research projects and doctoral theses are carried out in the Neuroscience Laboratory within the framework of the Institute of Health Sciences Neuroscience PhD program.

Detailed information on the neuroscience doctoral program, doctoral courses and ECTS credits can be accessed through the Gazi University Information Package.

The courses to be taught during the doctoral program are briefly described below.

Basic Neurological Sciences
Neurocytology, molecular biology, electrophysiology, neuromediators, neurogenetics, interneuron and neuron-glia relationships will be taken at a basic level, functional anatomy and physiology of central and peripheral nervous systems will be examined at the system level.

Neuropathophysiology
Basic mechanisms that lead to organic and mental diseases of the nervous system will be discussed. Topics such as migraine headache, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, cerebral ischemia, myasthenia gravis, epilepsy, basal ganglia diseases, Alzheimer's disease, demyelination, excitotoxicity will be covered.

Neuropharmacology
Neurotransmitters, mediators and receptors, drugs affecting the nervous system and their mechanism of action will be examined. Information about the clinical applications of the information acquired in basic neuropharmacology will be given; anti-epileptic drugs, anti-psychotic drugs, psychostimulant agents, antidepressants, steroids, cytotoxic drugs, analgesics, related cardiovascular system drugs and clinical applications in neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry practice will be introduced.

Laboratory Techniques in Neurobiology
Various laboratory techniques used in neurobiology will be introduced. Topics include training for conducting experiments in physiological conditions, recording and analysis of extra and intracellular bioelectric potentials from the brain, muscle and peripheral nerves. The various methods used in pain measurement include the fNIRS method showing brain blood supply and oxygenation and various immunohistochemistry (such as very early gene expression) methods.

Seminars
Students will attend the seminars and they will give a seminar each semester.

Literature Research
Students will participate in the weekly literature hours and discussions on alternately presented literature examples.

Pain Physiopathology
Topics such as neurotransmitters, signal transduction pathways, the role of peripheral and central nervous systems, and evaluation of response to pain will be covered. In particular, the pathophysiology of headache and migraine, current hypotheses, treatment modalities and experimental models that can test new hypotheses will be explained.

Biology of Learning and Memory
In this course, after the definitions of learning and memory functions are made, functional neuroanatomy of different memory functions will be reviewed, then the findings on the molecular basis of memory formation will be discussed. In the light of these data, the neurobiology and pharmacology of memory disorders will be discussed in relation to the structural and functional features of the brain.

Prefrontal Cortex and Behavior
First of all, functional neuroanatomy and connections of the prefrontal cortex will be reviewed; then the contribution of different regions of the prefrontal cortex to memory and learning, attention, executive functions, and emotional processes will be discussed. The courses will be completed by discussing the neurological and psychiatric symptoms that occur in prefrontal cortex injuries, the importance of neurotransmitter systems in prefrontal functions, and reviewing the findings related to the prefrontal cortex in mental and cognitive disorders.

Functional Neuroanatomy
Anatomical structures mediating brain functions such as language, memory, consciousness, emotions, perception and the connections between them will be examined in detail, and structural changes and treatment goals accompanying schizophrenia, depression, motion disorders, and similar pathologies will be discussed.