Neuroscience is the study of the mind, how the brain functions, and the role of the nervous system in normal and abnormal behavior.
 

The Neuroscience Program at Middlebury offers a wide array of courses that explore the neural bases of behavior from multiple perspectives, including biology, psychology, and philosophy. Neuroscience students actively engage in research both as part of the Neuroscience Program curriculum and in the research laboratories of Neuroscience faculty.

 

Course Offerings for the coming semesters this academic year.

Student working in BiHall.

Why Neuroscience?

The Neuroscience major is an excellent choice for students interested in health professions, education, athletics, graduate school, and businesses like pharmaceuticals, brain testing and therapy.

Curriculum

The neuroscience curriculum represents the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Students take seven core courses that cover the biological, psychological, and philosophical roots of neuroscience. You’ll also take three elective courses selected from an array of offerings in the core disciplines.

Majors complete a minimum of one semester of senior work, either as part of a small seminar class or by conducting research with a Neuroscience faculty member.

Stylized image of a brain.

Research Labs

The Neuroscience Program draws faculty from across the academic departments to explore the field from multiple perspectives, including biology, psychology, and philosophy. These are just a few of the research labs where students can pursue their interests.

Explore All Labs

Social/Emotional Regulation Lab

Associate Professor of Psychology Kim Cronise explores how emotions alter individual and social responses.  We investigate the impact of emotion regulation on endophenotypes of addiction such as impulsivity. 

Experience and Language Lab

Associate Professor of Philosophy John Spackman focuses on the relation between experience and language, and in particular on recent debates about whether perceptual, religious, and aesthetic experience should be viewed as conceptual or non-conceptual.

Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Lab

Associate Professor of Biology Mark Spritzer focuses on the effects of hormones on spatial memory and underlying neural plasticity, including how sexual interactions and social isolation influence adult neurogenesis and associated cognitive abilities. 

Facilities

Neuroscience faculty and students have access to state-of-the-art facilities for both laboratory-based coursework and scholarly research. Extensive hands-on laboratory experience is central your coursework, senior thesis work, and student-faculty research collaborations. You can study a wide array of topics, including the following as example:

  • Adult neurogenesis
  • Alcohol tolerance
  • Neural bases of cognitive flexibility
  • Neural control of behavior
  • Sex differences in spatial processing
  • Physiological bases of psychological trauma
  • Bases of memory

Meet with Faculty

Office Hours

Explore the Major

About Requirements

Opportunities for Students

Student Resources

What Graduates Do

Meet Alumni

Congratulations to Kristen Monten!!!

Kristen has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the T. Ragan Ryan ‘91 Award for Excellence. The award was established in 1990 by Emily and Thomas C. Ryan ’55 in memory of their son, T. Ragan Ryan ’91. The award is bestowed upon a junior or senior who “best exemplifies the spirit of humanism and excellence in premedical studies exemplified by Ragan Ryan”.  The recipient is chosen by the Ryan family and Dr. Phil Johnson after reviewing nominees provided by the Health Professions Program at Middlebury College. Kristen joins a distinguished group of former recipients who have gone on to make significant contributions to the field of medicine. Mr. Ryan shared that he was deeply moved by the work Kristen has done at the bench, in the classroom, as a first responder, and on the soccer pitch!