- Platform
- FutureLearn
- Provider
- University of Birmingham
- Effort
- 3 hours/week
- Length
- 3 weeks
- Language
- English
- Credentials
- Paid Certificate Available
- Part of
-
Good Brain, Bad Brain program
- Course Link
Overview
Understand your own amazing brain
We will look at what your brain is made of, how these components are organised and how they function.
This information is helping neuroscientists across the globe understand the brain - and how it is able to do everything from stopping you falling off your bike, to making you feel sad that your football team lost their game, to helping you learn how your brain works.
This course is aimed at anyone with an interest in finding out the fundamentals of how the human brain works. It assumes that you will have basic school-level biological knowledge.
You might be doing your A-levels and considering a neuroscience-related degree; a computer-scientist interested in neural networks; or in business and wondering how the workings of your employees’ brains influences the culture of your business.
Taught by
Alison Cooper
Understand your own amazing brain
We will look at what your brain is made of, how these components are organised and how they function.
This information is helping neuroscientists across the globe understand the brain - and how it is able to do everything from stopping you falling off your bike, to making you feel sad that your football team lost their game, to helping you learn how your brain works.
This course is aimed at anyone with an interest in finding out the fundamentals of how the human brain works. It assumes that you will have basic school-level biological knowledge.
You might be doing your A-levels and considering a neuroscience-related degree; a computer-scientist interested in neural networks; or in business and wondering how the workings of your employees’ brains influences the culture of your business.
What topics will you cover?
- The cells of the nervous system: neurones and glia
- Basic neuroanatomy of the brain and the concept of the relationship between structure and function
- Basic properties of neurones, including an introduction to the action potential
- A brief introduction to the functioning of the synapse
- Examples of drugs (legal and therapeutic) that alter the function of neurones and synapses
- Examples of brain disorders that illustrate how some functions are highly localised, such as the sensory systems, whilst others are distributed throughout the brain, such as emotion
Taught by
Alison Cooper