How Does Your Brain Work?

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Course Description

How do the biology and chemistry of the brain create the mind that lets us talk, walk, laugh, love, learn, remember, and forget? What can neuroscience say about what makes us human? How can we ask questions about the brain that are observable, testable, and answerable? The human brain is the most complex organ we know. To understand the biology of brain function, this course will use highly interactive lectures and discussions to examine the validity of common beliefs about the brain, discuss how the brain and the nervous system are organized, how individual elements of the brain function, and how together these units produce action. The brain, like all other biological structures, has evolved over time in response to natural selection by adapting to diverse behavioral and environmental constraints. We use evolutionary comparisons to illuminate important questions about brain function, including what the origins and consequences of brain damage are, how and where drugs act, and how you collect, interpret, and understand information about the world. You will learn both how the science of the brain has emerged through understanding important experiments and observations and how you can formulate and test your own experimental questions about the brain.

Grading Basis

RLT - Letter (ABCD/NP)

Min

4

Max

4

Course Repeatable for Degree Credit?

No

Course Component

Discussion

Enrollment Optional?

No

Course Component

Lecture

Enrollment Optional?

No

This course has been approved for the following WAYS

Scientific Method and Analysis (SMA)

Does this course satisfy the University Language Requirement?

No