Electronic Shop Facility
The electronics shop,
in concert with the other technical support facilities, produces a vast
array of very specialized, sophisticated research equipment and systems
for the Psychobiology/Neuroscience group at Florida State University.
They specialize in designing and producing equipment that is not commercially
available. Conceptual design and prototype development by Biomedical Engineer, Ross Henderson, is followed by printed circuit board design and fabrication
by Electrical Engineer Paul Hendrick,
using advanced CAD systems. Implementation of our print-etch printed
circuit board (PCB) fabrication facility and our computer numerically
controlled (CNC) PCB drilling facility along with the design and fabrication
of specialized enclosures and power supplies completes the development
role of this shop. They also serve as the primary interface between the
machine/instrument shop and the computer software developers.
Instrument/Machine Shop Facility
This facility produces
a wide variety of hardware apparatus that are most commonly interfaced
with electronic shop projects. This well equipped facility contains metal
anodizing and electroplating baths, sheet metal cutting and forming presses,
lathes, milling machines, drill presses and grinders.
Histology Laboratory
This Neuroscience facility
is a complete histological laboratory which has extensive chemical inventory,
sliding, rotary and ultra microtomes, wet viewing microscopes and associated
equipment necessary to conduct all classes of anatomical investigations.
Molecular Laboratory
The human genome has
now been sequenced, a milestone in human biology that is certain to
influence behavioral science. To fully appreciate the significance of
this event, it is important to realize that gene expression in the brain
is not always constitutive, but rather is often regulated by development,
sensory experience, and patterns of behavior. Understanding how gene
expression interacts with development, experience, and behavior will
be a major goal for future research in psychology and neuroscience,
and may ultimately lead to a full appreciation of the interplay between
nature and nurture in the determination of human behavior. With an eye
to the future, talent and resources have been pooled to create the Molecular
Neuroscience Facility within the psychology department. Below is a listing
of techniques that are in use in the facility.