Introduction to Neuroscience

This course serves as an introduction to the structure and function of the vertebrate nervous system. We begin the course with the study of nerve cells: their basic structure, how they establish and maintain the resting membrane potential, how they propagate an action potential, and how they transfer information via the process of neurotransmission. We next move into an investigation of the anatomy of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) with an emphasis on neurodevelopment. With the above knowledge in hand, we move into the sensory systems and investigate smell, hearing, vision, and pain sensation by focusing on how physical stimuli (such as sound waves) are converted into neural signals, where these signals travel in the brain, and how they are processed. We finish the course with an investigation into the function of the various motor systems and the autonomic nervous system.