Biological Basis of Behavior Program

The Biological Basis of Behavior Program (BBB) is an interdisciplinary major in which students explore the relationship between behavior (both human and animal) and its organic bases. The program was created in 1978 by then Professor Norman Adler of the Psychology Department. BBB offers courses in virtually all areas of neuroscience ranging from cellular neurobiology to cognitive neuropsychology and integrates these basic interdisciplinary courses with basic science requirements in biology, chemistry and psychology. The Program is successfully integrating interdisciplinary teaching and research in neuroscience through the cooperative interactions of faculty and staff in several departments in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

One of the strengths of the major is the opportunity for students to pursue individualized research in the laboratories of the standing faculty at Penn. Each year more than fifty students are engaged in supervised research in areas as diverse as molecular neurobiology, chemical neuroanatomy, visual sciences and behavioral ecology.

Majors are invited to participate in the BBB Society. The Undergraduate BBB Society is an organization for all Penn students who are interested in the study of psychology, biology, and neuroscience. Its aim is to inform students of ongoing features and programs relating to the biological basis of behavior, to stimulate the intellectual capacities of students, to encourage social and academic relations between students and faculty members as well as communication between students, and to provide advising in course selection.