A survey of neuroscience courses for predoctoral dental students

Course directors of the seventeen neuroscience courses offered in U.S. dental schools were surveyed. Information was obtained about the course organization, topics covered, and the amount of didactic and nondidactic instruction for sixteen neuroscience courses, which included four courses that combined medical and dental student instruction. The courses averaged 51.4 contact hours with a range of 11 to 110 hours. Approximately 75 percent of time was for didactic instruction. Most courses emphasized neuroanatomy, electrochemical cell signaling, and the somatic sensory system, including specific lectures on pain sensation. The majority of courses also included several lectures on topics dealing with motor control and the limbic and the autonomic systems, whereas limited time was allocated to topics concerned with higher cortical functions. The nondidactic instruction typically included neuroanatomy laboratories and group discussions of the relation between lesions of sensory and motor pathways and neurological signs. The establishment of guidelines for neuroscience could encourage dental schools to provide a strong basic science foundation in neuroscience.