Anticipated Duties and Responsibilities:
Orientation-Training
Office Hours
Preparation
Student Consultation
Lecturing
Email Correspondence/Monitoring
Conducting Labs/Seminars
TA Coordination Meetings
Invigilating Exams
Grading
Other Duties (specified below)
Other Duties Described:
The main objective of this course is to provide a basic understanding of the physical phenomena underlying nerve and membrane activity, and to illustrate how these phenomena occur in different types of excitable cells. As well, show how the basic principles of diffusion and electricity apply to biological membranes and individual nerve cells, giving rise to resting and action potentials. These principles will demonstrate how neural processes are utilize din sensory systems, and show how physical principles influence the structure and function of excitable cells. Material to be covered (in 12 weeks of lecture) as follows: Membrane structure, diffusion, permeability of membranes, Nernst equation, electricity, mobility of ions, electric current, C.D. electric circuits and electrical models of the membrane, ionic basis of the action potential of nerve and muscle membrane, measurement of voltage changes, the voltage clamps, biophysics of ion channels, the patch clamp, synaptic transmission, vertebrate and invertebrate visual systems, structure and function of taste and olfactory cells, frequency detection and coding in the vertebrate ear. This course has GTA support.