< Health

Synapses, Neurons and

Brains
4.8 794 ratings

O ered By

Enroll for Free Financial aid available

49,165 already enrolled!

About Syllabus Reviews Instructors Enrollment Options FAQ

About this Course

33,773 recent views

These are very unique times for brain research. The aperitif for the
course will thus highlight the present “brain-excitements” worldwide.
You will then become intimately acquainted with the operational
principles of neuronal “life-ware” (synapses, neurons and the networks
that they form) and consequently, on how neurons behave as
SHOW ALL
computational microchips and how they plastically and constantly
change - a process that underlies learning and memory. Recent heroic
attempts to realistically
Learnersimulate large cortical networks in the
Career Outcomes
computer will be highlighted (e.g., “the Blue Brain Project”) and
processes related to perception, cognition and emotions in the brain

25% gotwill
will be discussed. For dessert we a tangible career
deliberate bene
on the t from
future this course
of brain
research, including the questions of “brain and art”, consciousness and
free will. For more information see the course promo below and read

18%
“About the course.” got a pay increase or promotion

100% online
Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Approx. 31 hours to complete

Suggested: 16 hours

English
Subtitles: English
 Coursera’s rigorous
assignments and broad
range of subjects
encourage me to keep up
with my courses. The
quality of the teachers
keeps me coming back.
— Sandra O.

○ ● ○

Syllabus - What you will learn

from this course

WEEK

1
2 hours to complete

Brain Excitements for the

21st Century
Welcome to synapses, neurons and brains!

8 videos (Total 74 min), 5 readings SEE ALL

8 videos

Introduction: What's This Course About? 4m

WEEK

Welcome Words and Great Thinkers 9m

The Blossoming of the Brain in the World 7m 2

The Connectomics 10m
2 hours to complete

Brainbow 8m

The Materialistic Mind -

Brain Machine Interface BMI 16m
Your Brain's Ingredients
Optogenetics 7m
This module's purpose is to acquaint you with "The materialistic mind
–Simulation of the
your brain’s Brain - Blue
ingredients". YouBrain Project 8m
will become intimately acquainted with
the beauty and variety of neurons – the elementary building
SHOW ALL
block/microchips of the brain. We will highlight a big controversy
between5 readings
two great anatomists (Ramon y Cajal and Camillo Golgi) who
8 videos (Total 82 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz SEE ALL
both received the Nobel Prize in 1906. They asked whether the neuron
About
is the Course
a separate 10m
“independent” unit (like other cells in other tissues) or
whether it is part of a continuum? We will next discuss the neuron as
Course Sta 10m
8 videos
Course Information 10m
Course Information 10m
Theinput-output
an Neuron 9mdevice and highlight a key property of the nervous
system, namely that neurons connect to each other via a wonderful WEEK
How to Use Discussion Forums 10m
The Neuron
devise calledDoctrine
“synapse”.
9m

Lecture Slides 10m

The Neuron as I/O Device Part I 8m
3
The Axon 14m
2 hours to complete

The Dendrite 8m

Electrifying
Neuron Type 11m Brains –Passive
Electrical
The Synapse 14m
Signals
In this module we will discuss the "Electrifying brain – passive electrical
The Neuron as I/O Device Part II 7m
signals". We will show that neurons are electrical device and learn
what enables neurons to become “electrifying”. Here we will describe
SHOW ALL
only the passive (vs. active) electrical properties of neurons. We will
1 reading
show that, at the quiescent state, the di erence in electric potential
11 videos (Total 105 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz SEE ALL
across the cell’s membrane is always negative inside the cell (“the
Lecture Slides 10m
“resting potential”); we next show that the membrane behaves like an
electrical (resistance-capacitance) RC circuit and highlight the notion of
“membrane time constant” and, consequently, the ability of neurons to
11 videos exercise
1 practice
summate (in time) successive (synaptic) inputs (“electrical memory”) – a
fundamental mechanism utilized by the brain. We will also show that
The
BrainCell as a RC Circuit
Excitements 11m
for the 21st Century and The Materialistic
when the synapse is activated, it generates an analog electrical signal WEEK
Mind 28m
(“the post-synaptic potential”, PSP) in the receiving (“post-synaptic”)
The Voltage Equation for the Passive Cell 9m

4
cell. Most interestingly, there are two types of synapses in the brain –
“excitatory” and “inhibitory” – we will discuss how these two opposing
The Membrane Time Constant 14m
signals interact in the receiving ``neuron. This module is more
technical than the more descriptive rst two lessons; we encourage
Temporal Summation 9m
those of 2you
hours
whoto complete
are not familiar with basic electricity (resistance,
capacitance, Ohms law and Kircho ’s law) to read about these in the
The Resting Potential 8m

Electrifying Brains – Active

sources links for this week’s lecture.

The Synaptic Potential Part 1 9m

Electrical Spikes
The Synaptic Conductance 6m

In this module we are covering "Electrifying brains – active electrical

The Synaptic
spikes". In theBattery 10m
previous module we learned that: 1-neurons are
electrical devices, 2 - that the membrane behaves as an RC circuit, 3 -
SHOW ALL
The
that Synaptic
synapsesPotential
operate Part 2 8m a new cross-membrane
by opening
conductance attached with a battery. In the present module we will
5 videos (Total 80 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz SEE ALL
The Voltage
proceed Equation
to deal for active
with the the Synapse andaspects
electrical EPSP and IPSP 13m
of neurons. Synaptic
inputs are the elementary (input) sources to neurons and, typically,
Summary 3m
many (excitatory) of them are required to summate (“temporal
summation”) to generate a highly (“all or none”) output signal – the
5 videos
notorious spike (or “action potential”). In our current understanding,
1 reading
sensory, motor, emotional, etc., information is represented by a
The Hodgkin Huxley Experiments 13m Show More
particular set of neurons that “ re” these spikes. So no movies or
Sources
music in for Lesson
your brain 3only
10mspikes representing (coding for) these movies
The All or None Spike and the Voltage Clamp 11m
and music. We will focus on the membrane mechanisms underlying
the generation of the spike and in particular on the model of Hodgkin
Membrane Currents Underlying the Spike 14m
1 practice
& Huxley exercise
for the spike which is probably the most fundamental and
beautiful model in neuroscience. Hodgkin & Huxley received the Nobel
Modeling the Membrane Currents 14m
Electrifying
Prize Brains –Passive Electrical Signals 22m
in 1963.

4.8
The H&H Spike Model 24m

214 Reviews
1 reading

Lecture Slides 10m

Top reviews from Synapses, Neurons and

1 practice exercise
Brains
Electrifying Brains – Active Electrical Spikes 26m
By A • AUG 14TH 2017

Excellent teaching by Sir. He has created one more enthusiast in the

journey of decoding Human Brain. Thank you Sir, getting my basics
clear and this will help me to be better Neuro/AI researcher.

By DD • SEP 18TH 2015

It is a very interesting and well-done course about neurobiology.

Prof. Sedev has many interactive tasks and he tries to explain details
as easy as possible. All in all it is understandable.

Instructor

Idan Segev
Professor
Computational Neuroscience

About Hebrew University of

Jerusalem
Ranked among the top academic and research
institutions worldwide, the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem is Israel's leading university and premier
research institution. Serving 23,000 students from
70 countries, the Hebrew University produces a
third of Israel’s civilian research and is ranked 12th
worldwide in biotechnology patent lings and
commercial development. The Hebrew U... MORE

Start Learning Today

Financial aid available

Enroll for Free

49,165 already enrolled!

Shareable on

You can share your Course Certi cates in the Certi cations
section of your LinkedIn pro le, on printed resumes, CVs, or
other documents.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

Once you enroll for a Certi cate, you’ll have access to all videos,
quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review
What can
assignments will Ionly
get if
beI purchase
submittedthe
andCerti cate? once your session
reviewed
has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing,
When you purchase a Certi cate you get access to all course materials,
you may not be able to access certain assignments.
including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your
What
electronic is the
Certi caterefund
will bepolicy?
added to your Accomplishments page -
from there, you can print your Certi cate or add it to your LinkedIn
You will be eligible for a full refund until two weeks after your payment
pro le. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can
date, or (for courses that have just launched) until two weeks after the
audit theIs course for free.
nancial
rst session of the aid available?
course begins, whichever is later. You cannot
receive a refund once you’ve earned a Course Certi cate, even if you
Yes, Coursera provides nancial aid to learners who cannot a ord the
complete the course within the two-week refund period. See our full
More
fee. Apply for it by clicking on the Financial Aid link beneath thequestions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
refund policy.
"Enroll" button on the left. You’ll be prompted to complete an
application and will be noti ed if you are approved. Learn more.

Coursera Community

About Learners
Leadership Partners
Careers Developers
Catalog Beta Testers
Certi cates Translators
MasterTrack™ Certi cates Blog
Degrees Tech Blog
For Enterprise
For Government
For Campus

More

Terms
Privacy
Help
Accessibility
Press
Contact
Directory
A liates

Learn Anywhere

Follow Us

© 2019 Coursera Inc. All rights reserved.