At a time when many questions in biology have been eloquently answered, both scientists and the public correctly perceive that the brain remains, in basic ways, a profound mystery. Remarkable advances have certainly been made in understanding the structure, function, chemistry and development of the brain in the last fifty to one hundred years. Nonetheless, fundamental questions about this complex organ remain to be answered in both biology and medicine. These include how genetic instructions are linked to brain development, the basis of learning and memory, the nature of perception, and the etiology and proper treatment of neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease, to name but a few.

The ways in which neurobiologists approach these problems, while generally reductionist, are diverse. Preeminent are the techniques of molecular biology and molecular genetics, a host of sophisticated electrophysiological methods for detecting the activity of individual nerve cells or groups of nerve cells, and a wealth of anatomical methods for seeing the structure and connections of nerve cells. Novel and increasingly non-invasive means of imaging the nervous systemby optical mapping of intrinsic signal, nuclear magnetic resonance, positron emission, or activity related to magnetic fields also hold great promise for better understanding the brain. In addition, computation is now widely used in neurobiological research for theoretical modeling of neural function, and for more practical applications such as image processing and data analysis. Despite the power of these methods, progress in neurobiology as progress in any branch of science will depend on a few important insights arising from the imagination of neuroscientists who think deeply about these issues. The purpose of the Graduate Program in Neurobiology is to enable talented students to explore the nervous system at this level.

Neuroscience at Duke is pursued in a variety of departments and settings, all of which are possible sites for students to train in this field. Students in the Graduate Program in Neurobiology take a core curriculum that covers the major concepts of contemporary neurobiology, but are generally free to pursue with the help and counsel of faculty advisors a course of study tailored to their needs, backgrounds, and individual interests. Although much of the research is carried out in the Department of Neurobiology, many other clinical and undergraduate departments also participate in the work. Over forty faculty members and over forty graduate students work with a large and diverse body of postdoctoral fellows, and other professionals engaged in neurobiological research.