Topic guide · Consciousness and philosophy / Cells, circuits and brains
How does the brain contribute to a sense of self?
Specify which aspect of selfhood is being explained, then compare embodied, network and philosophical perspectives.
Topic guide · Cells, circuits and brains / Computational approaches and AI
How do specialised brain areas work as systems?
Connect anatomy, activity relationships and circuit models without confusing one for another.
Topic guide · Evolution and other minds / Cells, circuits and brains / Methods, evidence and reproducibility
What can—and cannot—we learn by comparing brains across species?
Move from brain size and proportional scaling to cellular development and task-specific behaviour, without turning the comparison into a ranking of intelligence.
Topic guide · Consciousness and philosophy / Cells, circuits and brains
What do we mean by conscious experience?
Separate experience, its contents, reports about it and proposed explanations; compare several attributed research perspectives.
Topic guide · Development across life / Cells, circuits and brains
How do minds and brains change as we grow?
Compare developmental questions at behavioural and brain levels, then examine what different study settings let researchers observe.
Topic guide · Computational approaches and AI / Cells, circuits and brains / Methods, evidence and reproducibility
How can a model help explain neural activity?
Connect modelling goals, simplified neuronal mechanisms, spike data and fitting exercises, with an optional route into network models.
Topic guide · Cells, circuits and brains / Development across life
What do glial cells contribute beyond supporting neurons?
Use microglia as a research example while preserving the distinction between different glial cell types.
Topic guide · Cells, circuits and brains / Methods, evidence and reproducibility
How can we study what a human brain is doing?
Compare measurement approaches, experimental contrasts and interpretational limits before following a specialist brain-imaging or connectivity route.
Topic guide · Perception, attention and action / Cells, circuits and brains
How does the nervous system control movement?
Organise movement questions across motor units, spinal circuits and higher systems.
Topic guide · Cells, circuits and brains / Computational approaches and AI
How does a neuron generate an electrical signal?
Follow a membrane signal from moving ions to a deliberately simplified model of a spike.
Topic guide · Learning, memory and education / Cells, circuits and brains
Why can one kind of memory fail while another remains?
Use contrasts between memory tasks, patient evidence and computational models to ask what a memory explanation must account for.
Topic guide · Emotion, motivation and sleep / Cells, circuits and brains / Methods, evidence and reproducibility
How are sleep and biological clocks studied?
Connect timing, light cues and experimental measurements while keeping sleep and circadian questions distinct.
Topic guide · Cells, circuits and brains / Learning, memory and education / Computational approaches and AI
How do synapses change a circuit’s response?
Separate transmission, short-term changes and longer-term learning rules before moving to networks.
Lectures and explanations
Selections below prioritise source-checked annotations. Inclusion does not assess scientific correctness.
University of Oxford Podcasts · Source-checked annotation
Consciousness in Humans and in Other Things
Anil Seth explains an embodied, predictive approach to consciousness and the sense of self.
University of Oxford Podcasts · Source-checked annotation
Generative models of the mind: neural connections and cognitive integration
Inês Hipólito examines generative models, brain connectivity and cognitive integration in an argument about the organisation of mind.
University of Oxford Podcasts · Source-checked annotation
Moving beyond integration and differentiation in measures of neural dynamics
Pedro Mediano develops information-theoretic ways to distinguish redundancy and synergy when describing neural dynamics.
MIT OpenCourseWare · Source-checked annotation
Lecture 4: Brain II
Compares lesion, stimulation and recording approaches to studying the human brain, with attention to what each kind of evidence can and cannot show.
World Science U · Source-checked annotation
Christof Koch -- The Puzzle of Consciousness
Christof Koch introduces the problem of relating subjective experience to descriptions of brain activity.
MIT OpenCourseWare · Source-checked annotation
2. RC Circuit and Nernst Potential
Models neuronal responses using membrane resistance, capacitance and an electrical-circuit analogy, introducing the source of neuronal potentials.
MIT OpenCourseWare · Source-checked annotation
14. Rate Models and Perceptrons
Introduces tractable network models through rate descriptions, receptive fields, vector algebra and perceptrons.
MIT OpenCourseWare · Source-checked annotation
9: Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) / Primary Visual Cortex (V1)
Connects retinal and cortical receptive fields with visual population codes. The inspected opening compares centre–surround and orientation-selective responses, then uses the tilt aftereffect to motivate a population-response hypothesis.
Neuromatch Academy — Computational Neuroscience · Source-checked annotation
Video 2: Response of ensemble of neurons to time-varying input
A bonus lecture on how an ensemble of neurons responds to input that varies over time, following a tutorial about shared inputs and correlations.
MIT OpenCourseWare · Source-checked annotation
4. Hodgkin-Huxley Model Part 1
Introduces the Hodgkin–Huxley circuit model through voltage-clamp measurements and the time and voltage dependence of potassium current.
MIT OpenCourseWare · Source-checked annotation
Lecture 15: Hearing and Speech
Introduces questions about the functional organisation of human hearing, including speech and music.
World Science U · Source-checked annotation
Constraints and Diversity
Suzana Herculano-Houzel discusses physical constraints and metabolic models as possible explanations of biological diversity.
MIT OpenCourseWare · Source-checked annotation
Lecture 24: Attention and Awareness
Examines how perceptual processing differs when information is consciously experienced and when it is not.
MIT OpenCourseWare · Source-checked annotation
Lecture 1: Introduction
Nancy Kanwisher introduces the questions and approaches of the Human Brain course, beginning with a case that motivates the study of cognition.
MIT OpenCourseWare · Source-checked annotation
Lecture 2: Neuroanatomy
A preparatory review of cortical anatomy, major regions and topographic organisation in Kanwisher’s Human Brain course.
CARTA · Source-checked annotation
Delayed neuronal maturation in humans
Carol Marchetto examines hypotheses about prolonged neuronal maturation in humans compared with other primates.