The Brain: The Final Frontier

Catalog description

How our brains produce our minds has been debated for hundreds of years. In the past half century, scientists have explored the inner workings of the brain that result in its extraordinary capabilities. They have demonstrated that brain function results from electrical signals traveling through neural circuits consisting of neurons and interconnecting synapses. How do these neural circuits produce our sensations of vision, touch, taste and smell? How does the brain control our muscles to produce behaviors? How do our experiences shape our brain to produce our individuality? What do we know about brain abnormalities leading to mental illness? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this course. In addition, we consider the impact of artificial intelligence on our understanding of higher-order brain functions. Does not yield credit towards the major in biology.