The School of Life · biology, medicine & health
Neuroscience
The brain and nervous system — how cells that carry signals give rise to movement, sensation, and thought.
How cells that carry electrical and chemical signals give rise to sensation, movement, and behavior.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~30 hours
Unit I — The Neuron
Neurons and glia · The resting membrane potential · The action potential · The synapse and neurotransmitters
Unit II — Organizing the Nervous System
The central and peripheral divisions · The major brain regions · The spinal cord · Development of the nervous system
Unit III — Sensing and Moving
Sensory systems and receptors · Vision and hearing · The motor system · Reflexes and control
Unit IV — Higher Function
Learning and memory · Emotion · Sleep and arousal · Plasticity
The detailed map of the brain and spinal cord — its structures, pathways, and blood supply.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~28 hours
Unit I — Orientation
Planes and terms of the nervous system · Gross anatomy of the brain · Meninges and ventricles · Blood supply
Unit II — The Cerebrum
The cortical lobes · White matter tracts · The basal ganglia · The limbic system
Unit III — Deep Structures and Brainstem
The thalamus and hypothalamus · The midbrain, pons, and medulla · The cranial nerves · The cerebellum
Unit IV — Pathways
The spinal cord in cross section · Ascending sensory pathways · Descending motor pathways · Clinical localization
The molecular machinery of neurons — ion channels, receptors, and the signals that shape the brain.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~26 hours
Unit I — Electrical Signaling
Ion channels and gradients · The action potential in detail · Propagation and myelination · Recording from neurons
Unit II — Chemical Signaling
Synaptic transmission · Neurotransmitters and their receptors · Reuptake and degradation · Neuromodulation
Unit III — Plasticity at the Synapse
Long-term potentiation and depression · The molecular basis of memory · Growth factors · Synapse formation
Unit IV — When Signaling Fails
Excitotoxicity · Neurodegeneration · Drugs and the synapse · Channelopathies
How the working brain produces attention, memory, language, and decision — and how we study it.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~26 hours
Unit I — Studying the Mind's Machinery
Methods of cognitive neuroscience · Brain imaging · Lessons from brain injury · The problem of localization
Unit II — Attention and Perception
Selective attention · Object and face recognition · The binding problem · Consciousness in brief
Unit III — Memory and Learning
Working memory · Long-term memory systems · The hippocampus and consolidation · Forgetting
Unit IV — Language and Decision
The language network · Executive function · Reward and decision-making · The social brain
A first look at how the brain works and why it makes us do what we do.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~14 hours
Unit I — Meet Your Brain
What the brain is made of · The main parts of the brain · How neurons send messages · The two sides of the brain
Unit II — Senses and Actions
How we see and hear · How the brain controls movement · Reflexes and reactions · Pain and touch
Unit III — Mind and Feeling
Memory and learning · Emotions and the brain · Sleep and dreams · Keeping your brain healthy