From Sensation to Perception: Discovering the Brain

Course Description

This course is designed specifically for English Language Learners interested in further developing their English skills in a challenging college-level academic setting.

Our world is alive with stimuli and our brains have the unique ability to not only detect these stimuli, but also transform them into rich perceptions of our everyday experiences. How does it accomplish this monumental task so flawlessly? In this course, we will explore the neurobiology of your 5 senses, and more, in an attempt to understand just this.

In this inquiry-based course, students will explore the brain and how we detect, understand, and interact with the world around us using our sensory and motor systems. Students will learn the neuroanatomy of major sensory and motor systems as well as key concepts of sensory transduction and motor control. Among other experiments, students will have the opportunity to noninvasively record their own electrical activity from their brain and muscles and record electrical activity from different sensory systems of the cockroach in an attempt to understand how sensory information is processed and coded by the nervous system.

At course end, students will understand the neuroanatomy of the major sensory and motor systems and sensory transduction with in each of these systems, the process by which stimuli from the external world are transformed into signals the brain can understand. Students will also be able to compare different sensory systems and understand the similarities and differences. Finally, students will have an understanding of how neural activity is recorded experimentally and sensory information is coded by neural activity.

Prerequisites: There are no academic prerequisites required for this course, however, students should arrive with an interest in studying the brain and a willingness to participate in classroom activities and discussions.