Study Notes on Neuroscience
Published:
My study notes on neuroscience, starting from molecular mechanisms and neural circuits to cognitive functions, brain disorders, and the intersection with artificial intelligence. Work In Progress.
Contents
- Introduction
- What is neuroscience?
- Major questions and scope
- Nervous System Overview
- Central Nervous System (CNS)
- Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- CNS vs. PNS
- Basic cell types: neurons vs. glia
- Neurons
- Neuron structure
- Action potentials & signal transmission
- Neurotransmitters & receptors
- Neuroanatomy
- Neural Communication and Embodied Emotions
- Perception and Vision
- Sensory systems
- Motor pathways & control
- Hearing
- Auditory system
- Higher Cognitive Functions
- Memory and learning
- Language
- Attention and consciousness
- Emotion and motivation
- Methods in Neuroscience
- Imaging techniques
- Electrophysiology
- Lesion studies
- Computational models
- Disorders of the Nervous System
- Neurological disorders
- Psychiatric disorders
- Developmental disorders
- Neuroscience & Artificial Intelligence
- Inspiration from neuroscience
- Feedback from AI to neuroscience
- Shared challenges
- Frontiers
- Applications & Future Directions
- Neurotechnology
- AI and computational neuroscience
- Neuroethics
1. Introduction
- What is neuroscience?
- Major questions and scope (molecular → cognitive).
2. Nervous System Overview
- Central Nervous System (CNS)
- Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- Central Nervous System vs. Peripheral Nervous System
- Meninges
- Peripheral diseases
- Brain tumors
- Basic cell types: neurons vs. glia
3. Neurons
- Parts of a neuron: dendrites, soma, axon, synapse
- Action potentials & signal transmission
- Neurotransmitters & receptors
4. Neuroanatomy
Early Brain Development
Lesions
Major brain regions (cortex, cerebellum, brainstem, limbic system)
Functional areas (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital lobes)
5. Neural-communication and Embodied Emotions
Neural Communications
- Electrical language
- Action potential
Neurotransmitters
- Neurotransmitter Synthesis
- Neurotransmitter Release
- Chlotridial Toxins: Botox
- Signal Termination
- Receptors
- Metabotropic Receptors
Embodied Emotions
- Enteric Nervous System
- Parasympathetics & Sympathetics
- Parasympatheitc/Sympathetic Balance
- Autonomic Pharmacology
- Spinal Cord Injury
5. Perception and Vision
- Vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell
- Motor pathways & control
6. Hearing
7. Higher Cognitive Functions
- The Vestibular Sense and Gaze
- Memory and learning
- Language
- Attention and consciousness
- Emotion and motivation
8. Methods in Neuroscience
- Imaging (fMRI, PET, EEG, MEG)
- Electrophysiology
- Lesion studies
- Computational models
8. Disorders of the Nervous System
- Neurological (e.g., epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson’s)
- Psychiatric (e.g., depression, schizophrenia)
- Developmental (e.g., autism, ADHD)
9. Neuroscience & Artificial Intelligence
- Inspiration from Neuroscience:
- Neurons → artificial neural networks
- Hebbian learning → learning rules in AI
- Visual cortex → convolutional neural networks (CNNs)
- Feedback from AI to Neuroscience:
- Deep learning models as brain models (e.g., vision, language)
- Tools for analyzing neural data (pattern recognition, decoding brain signals)
- Shared Challenges:
- Representation and abstraction of information
- Understanding learning, memory, and generalization
- Frontiers:
- Brain-inspired computing (neuromorphic chips)
- Cognitive architectures & large language models
- Ethical considerations of human-AI parallels
10. Applications & Future Directions
- Neurotechnology (BCI, neuroprosthetics)
- AI and computational neuroscience
- Neuroethics
WIP
References
- [Principles of Neural Science – Kandel et al.]
- [Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain – Bear, Connors & Paradiso]
- [Neural Networks and Deep Learning – Goodfellow et al.]
- [Surveys on Brain-Inspired AI]