Understanding the brain's remarkable ability for visual object recognition is one of the greatest challenges of brain research. The goal of this course is to provide an overview of key issues of object representation and to survey data from primate physiology and human fMRI that bear on those issues. Topics include the computational problems of object representation, the nature of object representations in the brain, the tolerance and selectivity of those representations, and the effects of attention and learning.

Neural structures and mechanisms mediating the detection, localization, and recognition of sounds. Discussion of how acoustic signals are coded by auditory neurons, the impact of these codes on behavorial performance, and the circuitry and cellular mechanisms underlying signal transformations. Topics include temporal coding, neural maps and feature detectors, learning and plasticity, and feedback control. General principles are conveyed by theme discussions of auditory masking, sound localization, musical pitch, speech coding, and cochlear implants, and auditory scene analysis.

Roles of neural plasticity in learning and memory and in development of invertebrates and mammals. An in-depth critical analysis of current literature of molecular, cellular, genetic, electrophysiological, and behavioral studies. Discussion of original papers supplemented by introductory lectures.

Lectures and discussions explore the clinical, behavioral, and molecular aspects of brain aging processes in humans. Topics include: loss of memory and other cognitive abilitites in normal aging; neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Based on lectures, readings taken from the primary literature, and discussions. Students are expected to present topics based on their readings. One written mid-term test and one final examination. Alternate years.

" The neuropharmacology course will discuss the drug-induced changes in functioning of the nervous system. The specific focus of this course will be to provide a description of the cellular and molecular actions of drugs on synaptic transmission. This course will also refer to specific diseases of the nervous system and their treatment in addition to giving an overview of the techniques used for the study of neuropharmacology. This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month."

Relation of structure and function at various levels of neuronal integration. Topics include: functional neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, sensory and motor systems, centrally programmed behavior, sensory systems, sleep and dreaming, motivation and reward, emotional displays of various types, "higher functions" and the neocortex, and neural processes in learning and memory. In order to improve writing skills in describing experiments and critiquing published research in neuroscience, students are required to complete four homework assignments and one literature review with revision.

This course explores the social relevance of neuroscience, considering how emerging areas of brain research at once reflect and reshape social attitudes and agendas. Topics include brain imaging and popular media; neuroscience of empathy, trust, and moral reasoning; new fields of neuroeconomics and neuromarketing; ethical implications of neurotechnologies such as cognitive enhancement pharmaceuticals; neuroscience in the courtroom; and neuroscientific recasting of social problems such as addiction and violence. Guest lectures by neuroscientists, class discussion, and weekly readings in neuroscience, popular media, and science studies.

This course is intended to introduce the student to the concepts and methods of transport theory needed in neutron science applications. This course is a foundational study of the effects of multiple interactions on neutron distributions and their applications to problems across the Nuclear Engineering department. Stochastic and deterministic simulation techniques will be introduced to the students.

This course introduces fundamental properties of the neutron. It covers reactions induced by neutrons, nuclear fission, slowing down of neutrons in infinite media, diffusion theory, the few-group approximation, point kinetics, and fission-product poisoning. It emphasizes the nuclear physics bases of reactor design and its relationship to reactor engineering problems.

The course draws on faculty members from the Center for Real Estate, the City Design and Development Group (Department of Urban Studies and Planning), and the Media Lab to explore extraordinary projects that challenge conventional approaches to real estate development, urban design, and advanced digital technology.

This course addresses the place of contemporary queer identities in French discourse and discusses the new generation of queer authors and their principal concerns. Class discussions and readings will introduce students to the main classical references of queer subcultures, from Proust and Vivien to Hocquenghem and Wittig. Throughout the course, students will examines current debates on post-colonial and globalized queer identities through essays, songs, movies, and novels. Authors covered include Didier Eribon, Anne GarrŽta, Abdellah Ta•a, Anne Scott, and Nina Bouraoui. This class is taught in French.

This workshop is designed to introduce students to different perspectives on international politics in the 21st century. Students will explore how advances in information technology are changing international relations and global governance through opening new channels of communication, creating new methods of education, and new potentials for democratization. We will consider the positive and negative externalities associated with applications of such technologies. Students will be encouraged to look at alternative futures, and/or to frame solutions to problems that they define. The class will include guest lectures, discussions, and a final project and presentation.

In this class we will come to understand the vast changes in Spanish life that have taken place since Franco's death in 1975. We will focus on the new freedom from censorship, the re-emergence of movements for regional autonomy, the new cinema, reforms in education and changes in daily life: Sex roles, work, and family that have occurred in the last decade. In so doing, we will examine myths that are often considered commonplaces when describing Spain and its people.

"Can you make a cellphone change the world? NextLab is a hands-on year-long design course in which students research, develop and deploy mobile technologies for the next billion mobile users in developing countries. Guided by real-world needs as observed by local partners, students work in multidisciplinary teams on term-long projects, closely collaborating with NGOs and communities at the local level, field practitioners, and experts in relevant fields. Students are expected to leverage technical ingenuity in both mobile and internet technologies together with social insight in order to address social challenges in areas such as health, microfinance, entrepreneurship, education, and civic activism. Students with technically and socially viable prototypes may obtain funding for travel to their target communities, in order to obtain the first-hand feedback necessary to prepare their technologies for full fledged deployment into the real world (subject to guidelines and limitations)."

Every time we scientists think that we have dissected the precise biological nature of a process, an incidental finding, a brilliantly designed experiment, or an unexpected result can turn our world upside down. Until recently thought by many to be cellular "junk" because they do not encode proteins, non-coding RNAs are gaining a growing recognition for their roles in the regulation of a wide scope of processes, ranging from embryogenesis and development to cancer and degenerative disorders. The aim of this class is to introduce the diversity of the RNA world, inhabited by microRNAs, lincRNAs, piRNAs, and many others. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

This course is designed for graduate students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current research around non-conventional light stable isotope geochemistry.

Principles of tomographic imaging using ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and ultrasound. Emphasis is placed on fundamental physics and mathematics involved in image formation, including basic interactions, data acquisition and reconstruction. Planar radiographic imaging, multi-dimensional tomography (X-ray CAT, PET, SPECT), ultrasound, and NMR imaging covered. 22.56J aims to give graduate students and advanced undergraduates background in the theory and application of noninvasive imaging methods to biology and medicine, with emphasis on neuroimaging. The course focuses on the modalities most frequently used in scientific research (X-ray CT, PET/SPECT, MRI, and optical imaging), and includes discussion of molecular imaging approaches used in conjunction with these scanning methods. Lectures by the professor will be supplemented by in-class discussions of problems in research, and hands-on demonstrations of imaging systems.

Introduction to the theory and phenomenology of nonlinear dynamics and chaos in dissipative systems. Forced and parametric oscillators. Phase space. Periodic, quasiperiodic, and aperiodic flows. Sensitivity to initial conditions and strange attractors. Lorenz attractor. Period doubling, intermittency, and quasiperiodicity. Scaling and universality. Analysis of experimental data: Fourier transforms, Poincar, sections, fractal dimension, and Lyapunov exponents. Applications drawn from fluid dynamics, physics, geophysics, and chemistry.

This graduate-level course provides a unified treatment of nonlinear oscillations and wave phenomena with applications to mechanical, optical, geophysical, fluid, electrical and flow-structure interaction problems. A more detailed course outline is given in the syllabus section.

This course presents micro-econometric models, including large sample theory for estimation and hypothesis testing, generalized method of moments (GMM), estimation of censored and truncated specifications, quantile regression, structural estimation, nonparametric and semiparametric estimation, treatment effects, panel data, bootstrapping, simulation methods, and Bayesian methods. The methods are illustrated with economic applications