Good Brain, Bad Brain: basics (FutureLearn)

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.

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

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

• Describe the key features of the cells that make up the human nervous system that allow them to carry out their function
• Explain how the arrangement of these cells within the human brain relates to brain function
• Explain how drugs can impact on the normal function of neurones of the brain
• Discuss how brain disorders can impact on the functioning of the brain

This course is part of the Good Brain, Bad Brain program, which will enable you to explore the human brain, for CPD or as a gateway to further study.