Lecture

Understanding Neuroscience

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

Description

This lecture delves into the study of the brain and nervous system, exploring how they influence thoughts, emotions, behavior, and bodily functions. It emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of modern neuroscience, covering genetics, proteomics, cell biology, synaptic physiology, neuronal circuits, cognition, and behavior. The course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of brain function through various levels of analysis and the integration of different perspectives and technologies.

In MOOC

Neuroscience Reconstructed: Genetics and Brain Development

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Anatomy: Neuroanatomy

Related concepts (32)

Brain

A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a vertebrate's body. In a human, the cerebral cortex contains approximately 14–16 billion neurons, and the estimated number of neurons in the cerebellum is 55–70 billion. Each neuron is connected by synapses to several thousand other neurons.

Human brain

The human brain is the central organ of the human nervous system, and with the spinal cord makes up the central nervous system. The brain consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. It controls most of the activities of the body, processing, integrating, and coordinating the information it receives from the sense organs, and making decisions as to the instructions sent to the rest of the body. The brain is contained in, and protected by, the skull bones of the head.

Lateralization of brain function

The lateralization of brain function (or hemispheric dominance/ latralisation ) is the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be specialized to one side of the brain or the other. The median longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebral hemispheres, connected by the corpus callosum. Although the macrostructure of the two hemispheres appears to be almost identical, different composition of neuronal networks allows for specialized function that is different in each hemisphere.

Cognitive neuroscience

Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes. It addresses the questions of how cognitive activities are affected or controlled by neural circuits in the brain. Cognitive neuroscience is a branch of both neuroscience and psychology, overlapping with disciplines such as behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, physiological psychology and affective neuroscience.

Autonomic nervous system

The autonomic nervous system (ANS), formerly referred to as the vegetative nervous system, is a division of the nervous system that supplies internal organs, smooth muscle and glands. The autonomic nervous system is a control system that acts largely unconsciously and regulates bodily functions, such as the heart rate, its force of contraction, digestion, respiratory rate, pupillary response, urination, and sexual arousal. This system is the primary mechanism in control of the fight-or-flight response.

Related lectures (64)

Neural System Organization

Explores the organization and structure of the nervous system, including neurons, synapses, neurotransmitters, and brain functions.

Neural System Organization

Explores the organization of the nervous system, including neuron structure, synapses, neurotransmitters, and neural circuits.

Introduction to Systems Neuroscience: Memory Systems Overview

Introduces systems neuroscience, focusing on neural circuits, memory systems, and course logistics.

Neuroscience: Understanding the Brain MOOC: Neuroscience Reconstructed: Genetics and Brain Development

Delves into the study of the brain and nervous system, exploring their influence on thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

Cellular Mechanisms of Brain Function