Introduction to Neuroscience

Neuroscience continues to be one of the fastest-growing areas of biology and is at the cutting edge of technical and conceptual advances in the life sciences. If you want to know the mechanisms that animals use to hear, see, smell, and remember things, then you need to study ions, molecules, cells, neural networks, brain structure, and behavior. This course begins with the study of nerve cells: their structure, the propagation of nerve impulses, and the transfer of information between nerve cells, and the effect of drugs on these processes. We will then move to the sensory systems, including touch, olfaction, gustation, audition, and vision. We will discuss how energy, such as light, is converted into neural signals, where these signals travel in the brain, and how they are processed. Next, we will study the control of voluntary movement. Finally, we will cover the neurochemical bases of some brain diseases and learning and memory.

This course satisfies a prerequisite for the Behavioral Health Support Specialist certificate program.

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies: