Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/human-brain
Ever wondered how you effortlessly find your keys, navigate a familiar street, or even recognize a friend in a crowd? The answer lies deep within the intricate workings of your brain, and Coursera’s course, ‘The Brain and Space,’ offers a fascinating journey into this complex subject. This course delves into how our brains construct our sense of spatial location by integrating information from various sensory and motor inputs, and how this spatial awareness, in turn, shapes our cognitive abilities.
From the very first module, ‘Course Introduction and Vision (Part 1),’ the course immediately captivates by exploring how our eyes perceive light and deduce direction. It traces the historical scientific quest to understand vision, from ancient philosophers to modern pioneers, even incorporating a fun experiment with upside-down goggles to illustrate how the brain adapts. This initial module serves as an excellent primer, offering a taste of the quiz style and helping learners decide if a certificate is the right path for them.
Moving into ‘Vision (Part 2), the Body, and Neural Signals,’ the course tackles the complexities of 3D vision and the crucial role of our body senses – proprioception (body position) and touch. It also provides a clear, accessible explanation of fundamental neural concepts like the resting membrane potential and action potential. The practical application of these concepts is highlighted through an engaging experiment involving beanbags and prisms, demonstrating the interplay between vision and bodily feedback.
The ‘Brain Maps’ module is particularly illuminating. It explains how the brain organizes spatial information using neural maps, detailing concepts like receptive fields and how specific neurons respond to edges and object boundaries. The discussion on phantom sensations, drawing from examples of amputees and electrical stimulation, offers a profound insight into how these brain maps can sometimes lead to unusual sensory experiences.
‘Sound and Brain Representations’ tackles the equally intriguing challenge of how we pinpoint sound locations. The course breaks down the auditory cues our brains use – timing differences, loudness variations, and head movements – to create a spatial understanding of sound. It also explores alternative brain representations for sound and how the brain translates between different sensory modalities. The extended video content in this module is well worth the time, offering a deep dive into this complex topic.
‘Reference Frames and Navigation’ explores how spatial information is defined and transformed. It highlights how visual, auditory, and somatosensory inputs, initially processed in different reference frames (eye-centered, head-centered, body-centered), are integrated by the brain. The course then expands to larger-scale navigation, emphasizing the role of the vestibular system (our sense of balance) in conjunction with vision and motor systems to keep us oriented.
Finally, ‘Memory and Cognition’ brilliantly synthesizes the course’s themes by linking spatial sense to broader cognitive functions. It delves into the neural mechanisms underlying memory, particularly the Nobel Prize-winning work on place cells and grid cells, which are fundamental to our spatial memory. The course concludes by presenting compelling theories and experiments suggesting that our brain’s sensory and motor structures are also utilized for abstract thought and reasoning, implying that our spatial navigation systems play a far wider role in our mental lives than we might imagine.
Overall, ‘The Brain and Space’ is an exceptional course. It is intellectually stimulating, scientifically rigorous yet remarkably accessible, and filled with engaging examples and experiments. Whether you’re a student of neuroscience, psychology, or simply a curious individual eager to understand your own brain better, this course is highly recommended. It provides a comprehensive and captivating exploration of how we perceive and interact with the world around us.
Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/human-brain