Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life

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Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life

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About this course: Learn how the nervous system produces behavior, how we use our brain every day, and how neuroscience can explain the common problems afflicting people today. We will study functional human neuroanatomy and neuronal communication, and then use this information to understand how we perceive the outside world, move our bodies voluntarily, stay alive, and play well with others.

Who is this class for: This class is designed to be self-contained and accessible to anyone, from non-scientists interested in the material to those who have already had some formal training in neurobiology.

Created by:  The University of Chicago
  • Taught by:  Peggy Mason, Professor

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When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan

  • Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
  • Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.

About this course: Learn how the nervous system produces behavior, how we use our brain every day, and how neuroscience can explain the common problems afflicting people today. We will study functional human neuroanatomy and neuronal communication, and then use this information to understand how we perceive the outside world, move our bodies voluntarily, stay alive, and play well with others.

Who is this class for: This class is designed to be self-contained and accessible to anyone, from non-scientists interested in the material to those who have already had some formal training in neurobiology.

Created by:  The University of Chicago
  • Taught by:  Peggy Mason, Professor

    Neurobiology
Level Beginner Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.9 stars Average User Rating 4.9See what learners said Coursework

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Syllabus


WEEK 1


The Nervous System



Neurobiology is a rapidly growing area of scientific research, and is becoming increasingly prevalent in the news and popular culture. In this course, we will study of the nervous system from a biological perspective by exploring the fundamental concepts in neurobiology, including how we sense the world, how we act in the world, and common neurological disorders.


17 videos, 3 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction: The Bauby Story
  2. Video: Ethics and Brain Science
  3. Video: I Am a Patient
  4. Video: The Four Functions
  5. Video: Central Anatomy
  6. Video: Meet the Stars: Neurons
  7. Video: Parts of the Neuron
  8. Video: Neuronal Uniqueness: Stars of the Sky
  9. Video: Glial Cells
  10. Video: Myelin
  11. Video: Demyelinating Diseases
  12. Video: Meninges
  13. Video: Peripheral Diseases
  14. Video: Brain Tumors
  15. Video: The Brain and the Spinal Cord
  16. Video: Meninges
  17. Video: Brain Tumors
  18. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  19. Reading: Clinical Vignette: Brain Tumor
  20. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: The Nervous System

WEEK 2


Neural Communication + Embodied Emotion



Neurons are the cells of the nervous system responsible for communicating, relaying, and integrating information. Neurons "talk" to other neurons through a special type of language that involves electrical signaling within individual neurons, and the use of chemical compounds known as neurotransmitters to communicate between neurons. In this module, you will learn more about how a neuron functions at rest, how information is relayed within a neuron, and how neurons relay information to other neurons or target tissues. In the second half of this module, you will be learning about how the body and emotions work together to produce our everyday emotional experiences. We will look at the enteric nervous system and learn how to discern whether the sympathetic or parasympathetic system is impacting our current emotional state.


17 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Electrical Language
  2. Video: Electricity Review
  3. Video: Action Potential
  4. Video: Neurotransmitter Synthesis
  5. Video: Neurotransmitter Release
  6. Video: Clostridial Toxins: Botox
  7. Video: Signal Termination
  8. Video: Receptors
  9. Video: Metabotropic Receptors
  10. Video: Wrap-Up: Neurocommunication
  11. Video: Introduction to Embodied Emotion
  12. Video: Enteric Nervous System
  13. Video: Parasympathetics & Sympathetics
  14. Video: Parasympathetic/Sympathetic Balance
  15. Video: Autonomic Pharmacology: Adjusting the PS/S System
  16. Video: Spinal Cord Injury
  17. Video: Wrap-Up: Embodied Emotion
  18. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  19. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Neurocommunications

WEEK 3


Neuroanatomy



Neuroanatomy tells us how the nervous system is organized. Understanding the form of the brain is essential to understanding its function. By comparing the structure of the brain with a patient's symptoms, neurologists are able to identify the location of certain disorders. Studying how the human brain develops provides insight to why it is organized as it is. This module, you will learn about how the brain develops during gestation, some major pathways in the nervous system, and what can go wrong!


26 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction to Neuroanatomy
  2. Video: Neural Tube Formation
  3. Video: Neural Tube Defects
  4. Video: Brain Vesicles
  5. Video: Expansion of the Cerebral Cortex
  6. Video: Two Forebrain Tracts
  7. Video: Cerebral Palsy
  8. Video: Nerves
  9. Video: CNS Regional Functions
  10. Video: Hemisphere Functions
  11. Video: Aphasia
  12. Video: Language Circuits
  13. Video: Making a Flat Schematic of the Brain
  14. Video: Oxygen and Cerebral Blood Flow
  15. Video: Blood Supply
  16. Video: Strokes and Tumors
  17. Video: Bleeds
  18. Video: Spinal Cord
  19. Video: Inside the Cranium
  20. Video: Telencephalon
  21. Video: Cortex
  22. Video: Cerebellum
  23. Video: Visual Pathway
  24. Video: Pituitary Tumors
  25. Video: Blood Supply
  26. Video: Hippocampus & Alzheimer's Disease
  27. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  28. Reading: Additional Resource

Graded: Neuroanatomy

WEEK 4


Perception and Vision



Perception is how the brain interprets incoming stimuli. Not all stimuli that can be sensed are perceivable, and sometimes those that can be perceived play tricks on us. The systematic ways that stimuli are interpreted (or misinterpreted) show how well the brain can understand our surroundings, sometimes with limited information. This module we will explore perception and vision.This module contains a lot of material, so be sure to start early so that you have time to finish!


26 videos, 3 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction to Perception
  2. Video: Sensory Interpretation: Optical Illusions
  3. Video: Sensory Interpretation: Auditory Illusions
  4. Video: Sensory Interpretation: Weber's Law
  5. Video: Stimulus Set
  6. Video: The Road to Perception
  7. Video: Name the Senses
  8. Video: The Visual Pathway
  9. Video: Distance Vision
  10. Video: Near Vision + Near Triad
  11. Video: Emmetropization
  12. Video: Light Path
  13. Video: Rods and Cones
  14. Video: Central Vision
  15. Video: Color Vision
  16. Video: Visual Fields
  17. Video: The Importance of Edges
  18. Video: Visual Perception
  19. Video: Learning to See
  20. Video: Sheep Brain vs Human Brain
  21. Video: Sheep Cerebellum
  22. Video: Sheep Brain Parts
  23. Video: Sheep Brainstem
  24. Video: Sheep Ventricles, pt.1
  25. Video: Sheep Ventricles, pt.2
  26. Video: Sheep Spinal Cord & Cauda Equina
  27. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  28. Reading: Clinical Vignette: Albinism
  29. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Perception and Vision

WEEK 5


Hearing



The sound of birds chirping in the morning, a babbling brook or crashing waves on the beach, or warm conversation with the ones you love. The experience of all these things requires the ability to hear. Arguably the most important sense for human communication, it is also the most commonly impaired of our senses. In this module, you will learn how the human ear is artfully designed to enhance our ability to hear the human voice. You will follow sound waves as they travel from the external world, to the eardrum, through the bones of the middle ear, and to the cochlea that transduces sound information into neural impulses.


16 videos, 3 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction to Hearing
  2. Video: Experiences of Hearing Loss
  3. Video: Hearing Pathways
  4. Video: External Ear
  5. Video: Rinne Test
  6. Video: Middle Ear
  7. Video: Inner Ear
  8. Video: Cochlear Amplifier
  9. Video: Outer Hair Cell Motility
  10. Video: Otoacoustic Emissions
  11. Video: Hearing Loss
  12. Video: Weber and Rinne
  13. Video: Expectation: Interpreting Sound
  14. Video: Prosody
  15. Video: Communication
  16. Video: Wrap-up: Hearing
  17. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  18. Reading: Clinical Vignette: One Man's Story of Hearing
  19. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Hearing

WEEK 6


The Vestibular Sense & Gaze



The vestibular system and gaze control give us so much but are grossly under appreciated. They are so fundamental that we discount them, assuming that they will always be there. When the vestibular system fails us, its importance dominates our lives. Living with either a vestibular or an eye movement disorder is very disruptive to everyday life. In this module, you will learn how the inner ear is designed to detect and respond to head movements. You will learn about the circuit that connects the inner ear to the motoneurons that control the location of your eyes, allowing us to reflexively maintain our view of an object even as we move about in the world. Finally, we will talk about how you can modify this reflexive control of the eyes and how you can control where you are looking.


16 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction to Vestibular Sense
  2. Video: The Vestibular Stimulus
  3. Video: Canals and Otoconial Masses
  4. Video: Hair Cell Orientation
  5. Video: Yoked End Organs, Part 1
  6. Video: Yoked End Organs, Part 2
  7. Video: Otoconial Disorders
  8. Video: Visual Integration
  9. Video: The VOR Is Fast
  10. Video: Horizontal VOR Circuitry
  11. Video: Nystagmus
  12. Video: Adapting the VOR
  13. Video: Eye Movements
  14. Video: Saccades
  15. Video: Saccade Circuits
  16. Video: Controlling Saccades
  17. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  18. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: The Vestibular Sense & Gaze

WEEK 7


Voluntary Movements



"Voluntary movements are how we interact with the world. The organization of the motor system has implications for how we move, and the types of movements we can make. This module we'll start to explore the organization of the motor system, from neurons to muscles. This module contains a lot of material, so be sure to start early so that you have time to finish!"


18 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction to Voluntary Movement
  2. Video: Motor Hierarchy
  3. Video: Problems with Motor Hierarchy
  4. Video: Motor Modulation
  5. Video: Fast and Slow Fibers
  6. Video: Motoneuron Types
  7. Video: Orderly Recruitment
  8. Video: Exercise and Muscle Mass
  9. Video: Monosynaptic Reflex
  10. Video: Co-activation
  11. Video: Gamma Reflex Loop
  12. Video: Posture
  13. Video: Postural Control
  14. Video: Central Pattern Generator
  15. Video: Intro to Self-Generated Movements
  16. Video: Praxis
  17. Video: Emotional Movements
  18. Video: Wrap-up
  19. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  20. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Voluntary Movements

WEEK 8


Motor Modulation



You should now have an understanding of how muscles function to initiate movements. However, the brain requires more than just the cerebral cortex to determine what movements to perform and to make those movements smooth and guided. This module, we'll explore the cerebellum and the basal ganglia, fascinating structures that play a major role in movement. You'll also learn how these brain regions are involved in motor learning and disease.


19 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: The Data-Driven Cerebellum
  2. Video: The Purkinje Cell
  3. Video: Cerebellar Functions
  4. Video: Cerebellar Topography
  5. Video: Cerebellar Laterality
  6. Video: Efference Copy and Sensory Reafference
  7. Video: Cerebellar Learning and the VOR
  8. Video: Extreme Vestibular Plasticity (optional)
  9. Video: Cerebellar Learning
  10. Video: Action Selection
  11. Video: Basal Ganglia Anatomy
  12. Video: Basal Ganglia Pathways
  13. Video: Basal Ganglia Experiment (optional)
  14. Video: Operational Learning
  15. Video: Chunking
  16. Video: Parkinson's Disease
  17. Video: Non-Motor Functions of Basal Ganglia
  18. Video: Cerebellum and Basal Ganglia Cooperation
  19. Video: Wrap-Up: Voluntary Movement, part 2
  20. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  21. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Motor Modulation

WEEK 9


Homeostasis



Although our bodies are very robust and we can live in a range of environments, our brain requires very specific conditions to function properly. Homeostasis is the active process by which our nervous system regulates internal conditions, such as blood pressure and temperature. This module we will explore what homeostasis does, and how it functions in everyday life.


13 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction to Homeostasis
  2. Video: Hypothalamic Anatomy
  3. Video: Pituitary Gland & Gigantism
  4. Video: Post-Partum Mood Disorders
  5. Video: Thermoregulation
  6. Video: Hyperthermia
  7. Video: Fever and Hot Flashes
  8. Video: Breathing
  9. Video: Urination
  10. Video: Problems with the Urination System
  11. Video: Sleep Phenomenology
  12. Video: Sleep Mechanisms
  13. Video: Wrap-Up: Homeostasis
  14. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  15. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Homeostasis

WEEK 10


Abstract Function



You've now learned an incredible amount about the way the brain functions to perceive and act upon the world we live in. You've gained an understanding of neurobiology on a cellular level, and how many diseases and disorders of the nervous system can affect our bodies and minds. In our final module, we will journey into the realms of emotion, attention, memory, and language. By the end of this module, you will have a greater understanding of the more abstract cognitive functions the brain.


18 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction to Abstract Function
  2. Video: Bauby and Emotion
  3. Video: Thalamic Attention
  4. Video: Mushroom Hunting
  5. Video: Memory Types
  6. Video: PTSD
  7. Video: Semantic Memories
  8. Video: Episodic Memories
  9. Video: The Story of H.M.
  10. Video: Memory Formation Circuitry
  11. Video: Hollywood Amnesia
  12. Video: Clinical Amnesia
  13. Video: Introduction to Language
  14. Video: Aphasias
  15. Video: Prosody
  16. Video: Intellectual Disability
  17. Video: Your Brain, Your Illness
  18. Video: Future Challenges
  19. Reading: In-Video Quiz Questions and Answers
  20. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Introduction to Abstract Function
Graded: Final Project
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