(COURSE COMPLETED)
An Introduction to Behavioral Research Protocol Programming: Getting Started with MED-PC®

Tuesday, October 20; 9am – 3:30pm
Renaissance Chicago Hotel, Chicago, IL
$250
(Scholarships are available to defer costs. See below or email sales@med-associates.com for more information.)

Held in conjunction with the 2009 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

This course is geared towards the beginner user of Med Associates operant conditioning equipment, including the powerful MED-PC® software. During the first part of the workshop, attendees will learn about the structure of a Med Associates operant conditioning system, including how to set up a system using the student trainer interfaces (laptop computer, MED-PC® software, USB interface, trainer conditioning panel) that will be available to all attendees at the workshop. During the second part of the workshop, students will write their own procedures using the tutorials and exercises in the MED-PC® programmer’s manual as a guide. If you have already worked on your own MedState Notation programs, you can bring examples of them, or bring the details of your behavioral experiments. This will allow you to practice using your own protocols and procedures. This course will be taught by Med Associates staff.

(COURSE COMPLETED)
Running Basic MED-PC® Programs: An Introduction to MEDLAB 8
July 23, 2009
FREE

This course is a free workshop geared to introduce the novice MED-PC® user, or potential user, to running basic behavioral test protocols using our powerful and flexible MED-PC® Research Control and Data Acquisition software. Software and equipment installation will be covered. Med Associates staff will teach this course.

(COURSE COMPLETED)
An Introduction to Behavioral Research Protocol Programming:
Getting Started with MED-PC®
July 24, 2009
$250 Stimulus Package Promotion—course fee waived!

Learn the basics of writing MedState Notation™ programs to control your behavioral experiments. Instruction will be provided by following the exercises in the MED-PC® Programmer’s Guide. If you already have worked on your own MedState Notation™ programs, be prepared to bring examples of them, or bring the details of your behavioral experiments. This will allow you to practice using your own protocols and procedures. Med Associates staff will teach this course.

(COURSE COMPLETED)
Learning, Memory and Classical Fear Conditioning
June 24–26, 2009
$500 Stimulus Package Promotion—course fee waived!

This three-day intensive workshop will cover theoretical and technical aspects related to the study of conditioned fear using the freeze response as a dependent measure. In addition, spatial learning and memory will be covered using the water maze. Other modules will focus on place conditioning, and assays for locomotor activity. Laboratory exercises will be performed using an automated video motion analysis system, and this type of system will be compared/contrasted to freeze scores obtained by human observation. Special attention will be paid to activity and shock reactivity, training, testing, extinction, and context discrimination. Water maze studies will be conducted using automated video tracking systems. Laboratory exercises for locomotor assays and place conditioning will be conducted using standard systems offered by Med Associates Inc. The course will be taught by Dr. Stephan Anagnostaras from UCSD, a recognized authority in murine fear conditioning.

Dr. Anagnostaras obtained his Ph.D. in Psychology in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Fanselow at the University of California, Los Angeles, studying the neural basis of Pavlovian fear conditioning. After completing his graduate studies, Dr. Anagnostaras went on to train as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Professor Alcino Silva at UCLA.  He is a well-respected young scientist and already has several high-impact publications in the field. He has taught undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in the Neurosciences, as well as serving as Course Organizer for the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Summer Course on Mouse Behavioral Analysis.

The general aim of Dr. Anagnostaras' research is to combine the molecular-genetic, systems, and cognitive-behavioral levels to understand how the brain produces behavior and cognition. A major emphasis in this endeavor is bridging systems and molecular approaches using hippocampus-dependent learning, in particular, learning about context. The hippocampal-neocortical memory system offers an excellent opportunity in which the molecular and cognitive levels may be first plainly joined. Long-term objectives of Dr. Anagnostaras' research are to advance our understandings of the mechanisms of memory, cognition, and drug addiction.

Stephan G. Anagnostaras, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of
Psychology, University of
California, San Diego

Integration of Molecular
Genetics and Cognitive