Fundamentals of Neuroscience

Quality resource: this resource has been proposed for featuring on the main page of Wikiversity.

Completion status: This resource is effectively completed, although corrections are always welcome.

Subject Classification: this is a neuroscience resource.

Subject classification: this is a psychology resource.

Introduction

Welcome to the Fundamentals of Neuroscience course at Wikiversity! This course provides a general introduction to the most essential principles of neuroscience, from neuron to perception, intended to give a strong foundational understanding of the human brain and nervous system so that this foundation can be expanded on by more advanced topics like those found elsewhere in Topic: Neuroscience.

Lessons

A Chimpanzee brain

Conceptual Overviews:

• Lesson 1: What is Neuroscience?
• Lesson 2: Neural Cells
• Lesson 3: Neural Signaling
• Lesson 4: Classification of the Nervous System
• Lesson 5: Divisions of the Brain

Focused Topics:

• Lesson 6: Development
  
• Lesson 7: Sleep
  
• Lesson 8: Memory
  
• Lesson 9: Language
  
• Lesson 10: Emotion

Senses and Movement:

• Lesson 11: Sight
  
• Lesson 12: Hearing
  
• Lesson 13: Taste and Smell
  
• Lesson 14: Pain and Touch
  
• Lesson 15: Movement

Disorders:

• Lesson 16: Developmental Disorders
  
• Lesson 17: Degenerative Disorders
  
• Lesson 18: Psychiatric Disorders
  
• Lesson 19: Injury Disorders
  
• Lesson 20: Other Disorders
  

In addition, these supplemental lessons, which cover more technical topics, may be of interest:

• Lesson A: Basic Cell Biology
  
• Lesson B: Properties of Electrical Currents
  
• Lesson C: Membrane Potential at Rest
  

Exams

Ready to test your knowledge? Go to the Exams section.

Instructor

If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to contact Kernsters.

References and Resources

• Topic: Neuroscience includes a wide variety of wikipedia and wikiversity topics
• The Human Brain Book, by Rita Carter, contains many great overviews that are similar in complexity level to these lessons
• Brain Facts, published by the Society for Neuroscience, is a very good free resource, covering a broad array of neuroscience topics at a comfortable depth
• Neuroscience Online is a useful free-access and highly detailed textbook offered through the UTH Medical Center website.
• Biology, by Campbell and Reece, has well-written but fairly short chapters on many relevant topics, plus offers a firm grounding for those struggling with the biology aspects of the course
• Robert Sapolsky's Human Behavioral Biology lecture series, which can be found free online, is highly informative and entertaining, although hovers in difficulty level at an intermediate or slightly greater range
• Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain, by Bear, Connors, and Paradiso is an excellent source of information at an advanced college level