On Monday we had our first lecture on the course NBE-E4210 – Structure and operation of the human brain. At the start of the session the course staff introduced themselves. Each student also gave a brief introduction of themselves, basically their major in their master’s as well as some of their background (major of bachelor’s studies). After the formalities we had a brief glimpse of the course practicalities and the tentative schedule.
After the structure of the course was addressed, it was time to delve into the actual topics of the course. Topics that were introduced were white and grey matter, the various scales that the brain operates in, neurons and glia cells, components of a neuron as well as axions, dendrites and the synapse.
The building blocks of the brain, white and grey matter as well as the glia cells I was rather familiar with already, through my other master’s studies as well as my bachelor’s thesis work. The inner workings of the neurons as well as the connections (synapses) between neurons (the dendrites and axions) had something familiar but a lot of new information as well. The numerous components of which a neuron is constructed has similarities with other cells of course, but then there are also components that make them totally unique, such as the dendrites, axions, the soma as well as themicrotubules, neurofilamentsand microfilaments which give neurons their distinct appearance.
All in all, I felt that the first lecture kicked-off the course nicely and I am looking forward to learning more on the brain this coming fall. I’d also like to comment that the presemo tool used in the lectures seemed brilliant and a fantastic tool to use for learning and interacting during the lecture.