Explore the function of the nervous system and how it regulates behavior, and examine some of the fundamental questions of human nature.
Neuroscience is the interdisciplinary study of the nervous system and its relationship to mental processes and behavior. At the heart of the field are biology, psychology and chemistry.
Because many of the emerging approaches to understanding brain function require a firm foundation in several disciplines, you may take courses in several departments, including mathematics, physics, psychology and computer science.
Studying neuroscience in a liberal arts environment allows you to explore a variety of topics such as neuropharmacology, psychopathology, sensory systems, mathematical physiology, neuroimaging, neurogenetics, neuroethology and the social brain.
What You’ll Study
- Core courses in biology, chemistry, math and psychological science
- Cell and molecular neuroscience
- Systems-level neuroscience
- Human Neuroscience
- Additional electives in science and neuroscience
- A senior experimental thesis, or project thesis
Research at Pomona
Electrophysiology and Alzheimer’s Disease
Beckman Scholar Santiago Serrano ’25 uses the lab in myriad ways, ranging from utilizing transgenic mouse models to examine learning impairments in Alzheimer’s Disease to employing innovative click chemistry techniques for identifying specific peptide binding sites in the brain.
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases
Hannah Caris ’23 did remote summer research with Professor Jonathan King’s lab where she explored ginsenoside mediation of neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
MAT2A Gene
This past semester, for one of a virtual lab report, Riya Sivakumar ’23 was part of a group that helped analyze data from the Aging, Dementia, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) study done at the Allen Brain Institute. Specifically, they looked at the gene MAT2A, which is involved in DNA methylation.
The neuroscience program at Pomona College offers a comprehensive foundation while also encouraging exploration of one’s interests, ranging from the cellular mechanisms of neuropharmacology to the broader perspectives on human behavior.