Behavioral
Neuroscience

Welcome from the Director

About the Program

Faculty

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Doctor of Philosophy

The program of study for the PhD degree includes the equivalent of a minimum of sixteen semester courses (64 credits) at the graduate level, of which half may be satisfied by the MA degree or its equivalent and half of which must come from the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and other graduate course offerings at the School of Medicine (including GMS BN 991, 992 Research in Behavioral Neuroscience). Candidates with a master's degree or its equivalent in psychology are required to complete the equivalent of a minimum of eight graduate-level semester courses (32 credits). If a student's background requires more than the minimum of eight courses, the student may transfer the number of courses corresponding to that required in excess of the eight. Normally no more than four courses may be taken concurrently, and students register for at least one course each semester until completion of all departmental course requirements unless granted an authorized leave of absence. Specific course requirements are determined on an individual basis by the student's faculty advisor with the approval of the Behavioral Neuroscience Doctoral Committee administering the program (see the "Administration" section).

In addition to the general requirements of the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences, each candidate must fulfill the minimum requirements corresponding to the major area of specialization: GMS BN 775, 776 Human Neuropsychology I and II; GMS BN 796 Neuropsychological Assessment; GMS BN 778 Basic Neurosciences; Statistics; GMS BN 798 Functional Neuroanatomy in Neuropsychology; and GMS BN 991, 992 Research in Behavioral Neuroscience.

The student, working with an advisor, develops a plan of coursework tailored to the student's background experience and ultimate career goals. The intent of the course requirements is to provide students with a firm foundation in basic principles and methods of experimental neuropsychology. Students also display in-depth preparation (see the "Qualifying Examination" section) in at least five areas, of which the following are examples: language disorders; disorders of purposeful movement; pathology of learning and memory; dementias; visuospatial and other perceptual problems; affective disorders; developmental disorders; neuropsychology of alcohol abuse and alcoholism; neuropharmacology; and behavioral pharmacology.

The student, working with an advisor, must design a plan that meets these course requirements. The curriculum plan is subject to the approval of the Behavioral Neuroscience Doctoral Committee.

The Program is not, by itself, designed to meet requirements for certification as to clinical competence in psychology nor in any discipline having a certification procedure, or requiring licensing. However, it accepts students enrolled elsewhere in clinical programs to take some or all of the offerings.

As one of the requirements for admission to degree candidacy, the student, upon nearing completion of coursework, must satisfactorily pass a written and an oral examination demonstrating proficiency in basic principles and methods of human experimental neuropsychology and in five areas such as those listed above. The examination is prepared by five faculty members (each representing one of the five required areas). At least two of the faculty giving questions in the qualifying examination must be from the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. Both parts of the qualifying examination must be completed no later than a student's third year in the Program.

Before embarking on his/her dissertation research (usually in the third year), the student must develop a dissertation proposal outlining clearly and distinctly the nature of the research to be undertaken. The dissertation proposal should include a background and introduction, brief review of the pertinent literature, specific aims, methods of procedure, and an assessment of the importance of the research when completed.

The student proposes a principal dissertation advisor and may suggest possible readers for the dissertation (the principal dissertation advisor may be the same or different from the student's academic advisor). The dissertation proposal is reviewed by the Behavioral Neuroscience Doctoral Committee, and an oral defense of the proposal is required. When the proposed research involves human participants, the proposal also is submitted to the Institutional Review Boards of all cooperating institutions for their approval. The principal advisor and two (or more) readers become the student's dissertation committee.

The dissertation must, in general, provide documentation of a student's creative scholarship and ability to design, conduct, and report on independent research in behavioral neuroscience. The completed dissertation will approximate (and may be substituted in part by) research papers meeting current standards of publication in refereed journals (e.g., Neuropsychologia, Cortex, Neuropsychology, Brain and Cognition, Archives of Neurology, and Behavioral Neuroscience). The dissertation research involves collection, processing, and analyses of original data.

Subsequent to approval of the dissertation by the student's dissertation committee, the student must present an oral defense of the dissertation to the Behavioral Neuroscience Doctoral Committee in accordance with the rules of the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. The student's oral defense committee must consist of the dissertation advisor, the two readers, and two additional persons to be appointed by the Behavioral Neuroscience Doctoral Committee.

The purpose of the final oral defense is to demonstrate the student's abilities: to design and execute an original research project, the results of which must signal progress in a significant area of behavioral neuroscience; to describe this dissertation research clearly and succinctly in oral and written contexts; to exercise mastery of methods in defending the methodological approaches employed; and to place in perspective the advance in knowledge achieved by the dissertation research. As a final goal, the defense of the dissertation and the dissertation itself serve as an indicator of the student's ability to embark on a career as an experimental neuropsychologist and behavioral neuroscientist.

The curriculum for the doctoral program consists mainly of existing courses in neuropsychology within the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. These courses are:

BN 775 Human Neuropsychology Seminar I

BN 776 Human Neuropsychology Seminar II

BN 778 (777 and 779) Basic Neurosciences (and Beginning Basic Neurosciences)

BN 780 Behavioral and Biological Aspects of Stress and Trauma

BN 782 Forsenic Neuropsychology

BN 793 Adult Neurologic Communication Disorders

BN 794 Brain Asymmetry: Functional and Structural Differences Between                 Hemispheres

BN 795 Neuropsychology of Perception and Memory

BN 796 Neuropsychological Assessment

BN 798 Functional Neuroanatomy in Neuropsychology

BN 821 Seminar in Neuroimaging

BN 891 Case Studies in Neuropsychology (Sections A, B, and C)

BN 893 Child Clinical Neuropsychology

BN 775 Human Neuropsychology Semeinar I, BN 776 Human Neuropsychology Seminar II, and BN 796 Neuropsychological Assessment are required for all incoming students in the Program.  Two additional courses , BN 778 Basic Neurosciences, and BN 798 Functional Neuroanatomy in Neuropsychology are required for incoming PhD students.

An important feature of the program is a research apprenticeship with a core faculty member, and course credits are offered as Research in Behavioral Neuroscience. This arrangement is intended as preparation for independent research careers. Students also have the opportunity to assist resident and staff neurologists/psychiatrists in providing consultative services, to participate in daily and grand rounds, and to attend didactic seminars and hospital lectures at Boston University School of Medicine and the Boston and Bedford VA Healthcare Campuses.

With permission of the major advisor and/or Program Director, other graduate-level courses from the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences may be selected for credit in the proposed doctoral program, as well as courses offered in the Graduate School (e.g., the Departments of Mathematics, Psychology, and Cognitive and Neural Systems) and in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

The individuals with overall responsibility for the program are Dr. Marlene Oscar Berman, Director of the Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Division of Psychiatry; Dr. Edith Kaplan, Boston Neuropsychological Foundation; and Dr. Martin Albert, Director of the Harold Goodglass Aphasia Research Center.

All core faculty hold appointments in the Boston University School of Medicine, and many are senior research or clinical staff members of the psychology, neurology, psychiatry, or research services of the Boston or Bedford VA Medical Centers: Drs. Albert, Berman, Ciraulo, Durso, Fein, Feldman, Friedler, Galler, Helm-Estabrooks, Kaplan, Kornetsky, Naeser, Prather, Verfaellie, and White.

The Program is not designed to meet requirements for accreditation as to clinical competence in psychology nor in any discipline which has a certification procedure. It does, however, accept students in the MD/PhD Program at Boston University School of Medicine, or other students enrolled elsewhere in related programs (including the Master of Arts in Medical Sciences Program), to take some or all of the offerings. Boston University School of Medicine is an accredited institution. Behavioral Neuroscience is a degree-granting Program having the same representation as other PhD-granting Departments in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences.