I.Neural Signaling

  • Basic concepts of neuroscience

    • The Neuron: The Basic Functional Unit of the Brain
    • Evolution of the concept of neurons
    • Studying the Nervous Systemsof Humans and Other Animals
    • Organizational Principles of Neural Systems
    • Neural Circuits

  • Neuronal membrane

    • Cytosol and extracellular fluid
    • The phospholipid membrane
    • Membrane proteins
    • Channels and transporters
    • The movement of ions
    • Resting membrane potential
    • The distribution and permeability of ions across the membrane
    • Regulation of potassium and sodium concentration

  • The Action Potential

    • The ups and downs
    • Generation of action potential
    • Membrane currents and conductance
    • Ionic Basis of Action Potentials
    • Voltage – Gated sodium and potassium channels
    • Action potential conduction
      • Factors affecting conduction
      • Myelin and saltatory conduction
      • Roles of axons and dendrites

    • Neural signaling

      • Electrical Potentials across Nerve Cell Membranes
      • Forces That Create Membrane Potentials
      • Voltage-Dependent MembranePermeability
      • Ion Channels Underlying Action Potentials

    • Synaptic transmission

      • Electrical and chemical synapses
      • Principles of chemical synaptic transmission
      • Neurotransmitters
      • Neurotransmitter synthesis, storage and release
      • Neurotransmitter recovery and degradation
      • Neuropharmacology
      • Synaptic integration
      • Excitatory and Inhibitory Synapses

    • Neurotransmitter Systems

      • Transmitters and transmitter-synthesizing enzymes
      • Release of transmitters
      • Synaptic mimicry
      • Receptors
      • Categories of Neurotransmitters
        • Catecholaminergic
        • Serotonergic neurons
        • Acetylcholine
        • GABA and Glycine
        • Glutamate
        • Biogenic Amines
        • Peptide Neurotransmitters
        • Transmitter-gated channels

    • Molecular Signaling within Neurons

      • Activation of Signaling Pathways
      • GPCRs
      • Second Messengers, Protein Kinases andPhosphatases
      • Nuclear Signaling

    • The Structure of the Nervous System

      • Central nervous system
        • Cerebrum
        • Cerebellum
        • Brain Stem
        • Spinal Cord
      • Peripheral nervous system
        • Somatic
        • Visceral
      • Cranial nerves
      • Meninges
      • Ventricular System

II.Sensory and Motor Systems

  • The Chemical Senses

    • Taste
      • Organs of taste
      • Taste receptors
      • Mechanism of taste transduction
      • Neural coding of taste
    • Smell
      • Organs of smell
      • Olfactory receptors
      • Central olfactory pathways
      • Odour values
    • Vision
      • Anatomy of the Eye
      • Formation of Images on the Retina
      • Phototransduction
      • Rod and cones
      • Retinal circuits
      • Central Visual System
        • Retinofugal projections
        • lateral geniculate nucleus
        • striate cortex

      • Auditory and Vestibular Systems

        • Sound: The audible and inaudible spectrum
        • Anatomy of ear
          • External
          • Middle
          • Inner
        • Hair Cells and the Mechano-electrical Transduction ofSound Waves
        • Tuning and Timing in the Auditory Nerve
        • Integrating Information from the Two Ears
        • Vestibular Labyrinth and hair cells
        • Otolith Neurons and Linear Forces
        • Semicircular Canal Neurons and AngularAccelerations
        • Pathways for Stabilizing Gaze, Head, andPosture
        • Auditory and vestibular pathways of Thalamus and cortex

      • Somatic Sensory System

        • Mechanoreceptors of the skin
        • Spinal Cord
        • Dorsal column–medial lemniscal pathway
        • Trigeminal touch pathway
        • Pain
          • Nociceptors and the transduction of painful stimuli
          • Ascending pain pathways
          • Regulation of pain

        • Spinal Control of movement

          • Somatic motor system
          • Lower motor neuron
          • Excitation-contraction coupling
          • Alpha and gamma motor neurons
          • Spinal interneurons

        • Central Control of Movement

          • Lower Motor Neuron Circuitsand Motor Control
          • Upper Motor Neuron Controlof the Brainstem and SpinalCord
          • Basal Ganglia modulation
          • Cerebellum modulation
          • Visceral Motor System

        • Complex Brain Functions: Behaviour

          • Chemical controls
            • Secretory hypothalamus
            • Autonomic nervous system
            • Noradrenergic Locus Coeruleus
            • Serotonergic Raphe Nuclei
            • Dopaminergic Substantia Niagra and Ventral TegmentalArea

          • Motivation

            • Reinforcement and reward
            • Appetite, eating, digestion and satiety
            • Serotonin and mood
            • Dopamine andaddiction

          • Sex and the brain

            • Hormonal control of sex
            • Neural basis of sexual behaviours
            • Male and female brains
            • Sexual dimorphisms of cognition
            • Sexual orientation

          • Brain mechanisms of emotion

            • Limbic system
            • Amygdala and associated braincircuits
            • Serotonin and aggression
            • Attention and eye movements

          • Language and speech

            • Localized and lateralized basis
            • Anatomical differences between the right and lefthemispheres
            • Role of the right hemisphere in language
            • Aphasias
            • Mapping language functions
            • Speech

          • Sleep and wakefulness

            • Why do you sleep?
            • Circadian cycle
            • Stages of sleep
            • Physiological changes in sleep
            • Electroencephalography
            • Neural circuits governing sleep
            • Consciousness
            • Rem sleep and dreaming
            • Sleep disorders

          • Memory

            • Qualitative and temporal categories
            • Phylogenetic memory
            • Short term and long term memory
            • Savant syndrome
            • Declarative and non-declarative learning
            • Memory and aging
            • Alzheimer’s disease

          • Mental illness

            • Psychosocial approaches to mentalillness
            • Biological approaches
            • Anxiety disorders
            • Depression
            • Schizophrenia

III.The Changing Brain

          • Early Brain Development

            • Initial Formation of the Nervous System:Gastrulation and Neurulation
            • Molecular Basis of Neural Induction
            • Genetic Abnormalities and Altered Human BrainDevelopment
            • Generation of Neuronal Diversity

          • Construction of Neural Circuits

            • Axonal Growth Cone
            • Selective Synapse Formation
            • NeuronalPopulations
            • Cell proliferation, migration and differentiation
            • Neurotrophin Signaling

          • Modification of Brain Circuitsas a Result of Experience

            • Development of Language.
            • Visual System Development
            • Visual Deprivation on Ocular Dominance
            • Neuronal Activity Affects theDevelopment of Neural Circuits

          • Plasticity of Synapses and neural circuits

            • Synaptic Plasticity Underlies Behavioral Modification
            • Synaptic competence, segregation and convergence
            • Short term and long term synaptic plasticity
            • Long term potentiation
            • Long term synaptic depression
            • Silent synapses
            • Epilepsy
            • Korsakoff’s syndrome
            • Recovery from Neural Injury
            • Generation of Neurons in the Adult Brain