Farzan Nadim
Professor and Chair, Biological Sciences, Biological Sciences
420E Central King Building (CKB)
About Me
I am a neuroscientist. My primary interest is how neuronal circuits in the central nervous system produce behavior, and how these behaviors are modified by neuromodulatory chemicals.
My lab performs experiments, using invertebrate animals, on the generation and neuromodulation of oscillations in the central nervous system, and how these oscillations result in the control of rhythmic movements. Of particular interest to us is how the effects of endogenous chemical neuromodulators, including monoamines such as dopamine and serotonin, and peptides such as endorphin, interact to modify the output of neural circuits.
Since 2019 I have started a collaborative research to explore cerebellar interaction with the brain dopaminergic centers, and its potential effects on motor function, learning and addiction.
In addition to our experimental work, our lab has a strong history in building mathematical and computational models to explore the mechanisms and function of neural circuits. These models are part of the tool set that we use to guide our understanding of the nervous system.
My lab performs experiments, using invertebrate animals, on the generation and neuromodulation of oscillations in the central nervous system, and how these oscillations result in the control of rhythmic movements. Of particular interest to us is how the effects of endogenous chemical neuromodulators, including monoamines such as dopamine and serotonin, and peptides such as endorphin, interact to modify the output of neural circuits.
Since 2019 I have started a collaborative research to explore cerebellar interaction with the brain dopaminergic centers, and its potential effects on motor function, learning and addiction.
In addition to our experimental work, our lab has a strong history in building mathematical and computational models to explore the mechanisms and function of neural circuits. These models are part of the tool set that we use to guide our understanding of the nervous system.
Education
Ph.D.
; Boston University
; Mathematics
; 1994
M.A. ; Boston University ; ; 1989
M.A. ; Boston University ; ; 1989
Website
2025 Fall Courses
BIOL 790D - DOCT DISSERTATION & RESRCH
BIOL 492 - RESEARCH & INDEPENDENT STUDY
BIOL 790E - DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
BIOL 491 - SENIOR PROJECT
BIOL 725 - INDEPENDENT STUDY I
BIOL 790A - DOCT DISSERTATION & RESRCH
BIOL 790C - DOCTORAL DISSERTN & RESRCH
BIOL 643 - BIOLOGY OF ADDICTION
BIOL 701B - MASTER'S THESIS
BIOL 792B - PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
BIOL 443 - BIOL ADDICTION
BIOL 726 - INDEPENDENT STUDY II
BIOL 790B - DOCT DISSERTATION & RESRCH
BIOL 792C - PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
BIOL 492 - RESEARCH & INDEPENDENT STUDY
BIOL 790E - DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
BIOL 491 - SENIOR PROJECT
BIOL 725 - INDEPENDENT STUDY I
BIOL 790A - DOCT DISSERTATION & RESRCH
BIOL 790C - DOCTORAL DISSERTN & RESRCH
BIOL 643 - BIOLOGY OF ADDICTION
BIOL 701B - MASTER'S THESIS
BIOL 792B - PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
BIOL 443 - BIOL ADDICTION
BIOL 726 - INDEPENDENT STUDY II
BIOL 790B - DOCT DISSERTATION & RESRCH
BIOL 792C - PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
Teaching Interests
Cellular Neurobiology
Systems Neurobiology
Neurophysiology
Biology of Reward and Addiction
Cerebellar Function
Computational Neuroscience
Systems Neurobiology
Neurophysiology
Biology of Reward and Addiction
Cerebellar Function
Computational Neuroscience
Past Courses
BIOL 443: BIOLOGY OF ADDICTION
BIOL 447: CELLULAR&SYSTEMS NEUROSC-HON
BIOL 447: CELLULAR&SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE
BIOL 447: SYSTEMS NEUROBIOLOGY
BIOL 447: SYSTEMS NEUROBIOLOGY - HONORS
BIOL 498: SPECIAL TOPICS IN BIOLOGY
BIOL 630: CRITICAL THINKING FOR LIFE SCI
BIOL 641: SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE
BIOL 643: BIOLOGY OF ADDICTION
BIOL 698: ST:
BIOL 698: ST: GRANT WRITING
BIOL 698: ST:NEUROSCIENCE
BIOL 788: ST:OSCILLATIONS IN CEN NERV SY
BIOL 788: ST:QUANTITATIVE NEUROSCIENCE LA
BIOL 788: ST:QUANTITATIVE NEUROSCIENCE LE
MATH 213: CALCULUS IIIB
MATH 222: DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
MATH 337: LINEAR ALGEBRA
MATH 373: INTRO TO MATHEMATICAL BIOLOGY
MATH 792B: PRE DOCTORAL RESEARCH
BIOL 447: CELLULAR&SYSTEMS NEUROSC-HON
BIOL 447: CELLULAR&SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE
BIOL 447: SYSTEMS NEUROBIOLOGY
BIOL 447: SYSTEMS NEUROBIOLOGY - HONORS
BIOL 498: SPECIAL TOPICS IN BIOLOGY
BIOL 630: CRITICAL THINKING FOR LIFE SCI
BIOL 641: SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE
BIOL 643: BIOLOGY OF ADDICTION
BIOL 698: ST:
BIOL 698: ST: GRANT WRITING
BIOL 698: ST:NEUROSCIENCE
BIOL 788: ST:OSCILLATIONS IN CEN NERV SY
BIOL 788: ST:QUANTITATIVE NEUROSCIENCE LA
BIOL 788: ST:QUANTITATIVE NEUROSCIENCE LE
MATH 213: CALCULUS IIIB
MATH 222: DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
MATH 337: LINEAR ALGEBRA
MATH 373: INTRO TO MATHEMATICAL BIOLOGY
MATH 792B: PRE DOCTORAL RESEARCH
Research Interests
Oscillations in the central nervous system
Rhythmic motor activity and its neuromodulation
Neurobiology of reward and addiction
Rhythmic motor activity and its neuromodulation
Neurobiology of reward and addiction
Journal Article
Xinping Li, Omar Itani, Dirk M. Bucher, Horacio G. Rotstein, Farzan Nadim.
2023. "Distinct Mechanisms Underlie Electrical Coupling Resonance and Its Interaction with Membrane Potential Resonance."
Frontiers in Systems Biology , vol. 3 , pp. 1122433.
Daniel Levenstein, Manny Authors, Manny Authors, Horacio G. Rotstein, Farzan Nadim, David Redish. 2023. "On the role of theory and modeling in neuroscience." The Journal of Neuroscience , vol. 43 , pp. 1074-1088.
Haroon Anwar, Diana Martinez, Dirk M. Bucher, Farzan Nadim. 2022. "Inter-Animal Variability in Activity Phase Is Constrained by Synaptic Dynamics in an Oscillatory Network." eNeuro , vol. 9 , no. 4 .
Bemin Ghobreal, Farzan Nadim, Mesut Sahin. 2022. "Selective neural stimulation by leveraging electrophysiological differentiation and using pre-pulsing and non-rectangular waveforms." Journal of Computational Neuroscience .
Srinivas Gorur-Shandilya, Elizabeth M Cronin, Anna C Schneider, Sarah Haddad, Dirk M. Bucher, Farzan Nadim, Eve Marder. 2022. "Mapping circuit dynamics during function and dysfunction." Elife , vol. 11 .
Daniel Levenstein, Manny Authors, Manny Authors, Horacio G. Rotstein, Farzan Nadim, David Redish. 2023. "On the role of theory and modeling in neuroscience." The Journal of Neuroscience , vol. 43 , pp. 1074-1088.
Haroon Anwar, Diana Martinez, Dirk M. Bucher, Farzan Nadim. 2022. "Inter-Animal Variability in Activity Phase Is Constrained by Synaptic Dynamics in an Oscillatory Network." eNeuro , vol. 9 , no. 4 .
Bemin Ghobreal, Farzan Nadim, Mesut Sahin. 2022. "Selective neural stimulation by leveraging electrophysiological differentiation and using pre-pulsing and non-rectangular waveforms." Journal of Computational Neuroscience .
Srinivas Gorur-Shandilya, Elizabeth M Cronin, Anna C Schneider, Sarah Haddad, Dirk M. Bucher, Farzan Nadim, Eve Marder. 2022. "Mapping circuit dynamics during function and dysfunction." Elife , vol. 11 .
SHOW MORE
Chapter
Farzan Nadim, Xinping Li, Michael Gray, Jorge P. Golowasch.
"The Role of Electrical Coupling in Rhythm Generation in Small Networks."
pp. 51-78. Academic Press, 2017.
Dirk M. Bucher, Gal Haspel, Jorge P. Golowasch, Farzan Nadim. "Central Pattern Generators." pp. 1-12. eLS, John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
Amitabha K. Bose, Farzan Nadim. "Multistability Arising from Synaptic Dynamics." pp. 1-11. Springer New York, 2014.
David M Fox, Horacio G. Rotstein, Farzan Nadim. "Bursting in Neurons and Small Networks." In Jaeger, Dieter; Jung, Ranu, eds., pp. 1-17. Springer, 2014.
Jorge P. Golowasch, Farzan Nadim. "Capacitance, Membrane." In Jaeger, Dieter; Jung, Ranu, eds., pp. 1-5. Springer, 2014.
Dirk M. Bucher, Gal Haspel, Jorge P. Golowasch, Farzan Nadim. "Central Pattern Generators." pp. 1-12. eLS, John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
Amitabha K. Bose, Farzan Nadim. "Multistability Arising from Synaptic Dynamics." pp. 1-11. Springer New York, 2014.
David M Fox, Horacio G. Rotstein, Farzan Nadim. "Bursting in Neurons and Small Networks." In Jaeger, Dieter; Jung, Ranu, eds., pp. 1-17. Springer, 2014.
Jorge P. Golowasch, Farzan Nadim. "Capacitance, Membrane." In Jaeger, Dieter; Jung, Ranu, eds., pp. 1-5. Springer, 2014.
SHOW MORE
Conference Proceeding
"The synaptic effects of ectopic spike initiation and the history dependence of axonal conduction"
Frontiers in Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2015.
"Synapses showing a preferred frequency in a reciprocally inhibitory neuronal network"
Biomed Central Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2010.
"Using feed-forward networks to infer the activity of feed-back neuronal networks"
Biomed Central Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2010.
"A mechanism underlying short-term synaptic dynamics regulated by neuromodulator based on kinetics of Ca currents"
Biomed Central Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2009.
"Approximating the phase response curves of square wave bursting neurons."
BMC Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2008.
Frontiers in Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2015.
"Synapses showing a preferred frequency in a reciprocally inhibitory neuronal network"
Biomed Central Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2010.
"Using feed-forward networks to infer the activity of feed-back neuronal networks"
Biomed Central Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2010.
"A mechanism underlying short-term synaptic dynamics regulated by neuromodulator based on kinetics of Ca currents"
Biomed Central Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2009.
"Approximating the phase response curves of square wave bursting neurons."
BMC Neuroscience, July (3rd Quarter/Summer), 2008.
Other
"Dynamic Neural Networks: The Stomatogastric System"
October (4th Quarter/Autumn), 2012.
"Dynamic Neural Networks: The Stomatogastric System"
November, 2011.
"Dynamic Neural Networks: The Stomatogastric System"
November, 2010.
October (4th Quarter/Autumn), 2012.
"Dynamic Neural Networks: The Stomatogastric System"
November, 2011.
"Dynamic Neural Networks: The Stomatogastric System"
November, 2010.