NEUROSCIENCE OFFICE HOUR:
THE CRASH COURSE
Welcome to my virtual office! The Crash Course consists of 14 short videos, or visits, lasting from 7 to 17 minutes, totaling just over two hours. In each visit, you will learn a set of key concepts to get you started in the ways of neuroscience. You should watch the videos in the order they are presented, but of course you can do your own thing - and come revisit as often as you'd like, once you gain permanent access for MUCH less than the price of a textbook (the first one is FREE). Enjoy!
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Watch each video as many times as you'd like
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Ask questions about each visit and get answers
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Do the fill-in-the-blanks exercises to consolidate your learning
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Study the transcript available for each visit
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The Crash Course: Table of Contents
Visit |
Contents |
1. What is behavior? (7'10") |
behavior | nervous system | brain | ganglion | diffusion | flexibility | intelligence
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2. Nervous systems are loops with the body (8'25") |
systems | nervous | excitability | effector cells | sensory cells | associative cells | reflexes | loops
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3. Closed loops produce behavior in tune with reality (9'14") |
spontaneous activity | actions produce sensations | associative cells add flexibility
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4. Neuronal activity is loss of cell charge (5'51") |
batteries | membrane potential | discharge | neurons are excitable cells | polarization, depolarization and repolarization
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5. Neuronal activity is contagious excitation (7'58") |
activity contagion | spontaneous activity | self-replication | effects of neuronal activity
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6. Action potentials can't jump: synaptic transmission (10'57") |
synaptic gap | action potential | electrical events | dendrites | axon | synaptic summation | channels | electrical conduction
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7. Action potentials spread like wildfire - I mean, like electricity (6'31") |
action potentials are events, not things | action potentials respawn across the synapse
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8. Neurons are organized in parallel and neatly separated from each other (7'20") |
how does brain electricity NOT shock you? | inhibition | parallel organization | insulation | myelin
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9. To each brain structure its own function (9'25") |
brain development | bundles of axons become pathways | different connection patterns | different functions | brains are heterogeneous | networks
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10. The motor network represents WHAT you are doing (12'05") |
motor effectors | spatial senses | proprioception | touch | spatial representation | sensation | perception | premotor cortex | action organization | intention | free will
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11. The visceral network represents HOW you are doing (17'08") |
visceral effectors | physiological senses | physiological state | homeostasis | NOT sympathetic and parasympathetic, NOT fight or flight | hypothalamus | endocrine control | motivated behavior | interoception | insular cortex | emotions | insight
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12. The senses keep the brain updated on the results of its own actions (14'47") |
spatial senses | proprioception | touch | vision | hearing | balance | spatial integration | physiological senses | interoception | smell | taste | physiological integration |
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13. Associative networks make behavior flexible (14'32") |
sensory integration | amygdala | the space-time continuum | hippocampus | adaptive learning | basal nuclei | predictive learning | cerebellum | executive control | prefrontal cortex
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14. The self-reference network makes you who YOU are (10'47") |
whole-brain integration | the self-reference network | meta-awareness | consciousness | human evolution | technology | culture | aging and longevity
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