Course Identification

This course will provide a broad introduction to the structure of the nervous system as well as comparative neuroanatomy. The course is aimed at providing the students with the knowledge of how to disassemble the complexity of brain structure into discrete and meaningful anatomical and functional properties. The students will familiarize with the major anatomical parts of the brain including cortical and sub-cortical brain structures, their organization and the connections between these different anatomical parts. We will also relate the functions of the different parts of the nervous system. Although this course will mainly focus on the human brain, we will also discuss the neuroanatomy of lower mammals, including mice and rats.

The course is based on frontal lectures + brain models + several assignments along the course (20% of the final mark).

The course will include 14 lectures (11:00-14:00) of frontal lectures on human and animal neuroanatomy (given by Liora Las). This part will also make use of models.

Topics to be covered (week by week):

1. 01/11/2017: Course overview. Introduction to basic concepts in neuroanatomy and its broader relation to neuroscience. This lecture will include a description of the basic structures of the mammalian brain, and a discussion of some basic definitions including anatomical references – the neuraxis.
2. 8/11/2017: Development of the central nervous system (CNS): The major embryological subdivisions of the CNS
3.  15/11/2017: Structural and functional organization of the Brain Stem including the Midbrain, Pons and Medulla oblongata. We will also discuss the twelve cranial nerves and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) by Dr. Eyal Cohen.
4.  22/11/2017: The nervous system is constructed by two major different cell types – neurons and glial cells. We will focus on neurons as they are the basic units of the nervous system. We will discuss their structure and main parts, and how information flow via the different type of synapses and neurotransmitters. We will also mention the different type of gila cells.
5.  29/11/2017: The cerebral cortex - Topography of the brain - including lateral, medial and ventral views of the human brain. This lecture will include description of the cerebral hemispheres and the four lobes of the cerebral hemispheres with all major gyri and sulci identified. We will also discuss the functional relevance of the different major areas.
6.  06/12/2017: Layers in the cortex - this lecture will describe the Cytoarchitecture of the cortex, the cellular composition and organization of the cortex. We will discuss the basic cortical wiring diagram, how information flow from one layer to another and out to different regions in the brain.
7. 13/12/2017: Structural and functional organization of the Spinal Cord.
8. 20/12/2017: The coordination of movement: Structural and functional organization of the Cerebellum and the basal ganglia, the two major motor control by Dr. Eyal Cohen.
9. 27/12/2017: The different structures protecting the brain, including: Meninges (Dura Mater, Arachnoid Mater, Pia Mater), Blood Brain Barrier, Ventricles, Cerebrospinal Fluid and the choroid plexuses.
10. 03/01/2018: Structural and functional organization of the Diencephalon including the thalamus, the subthalamus, the hypothalamus, and the epithalamus (including the habenula and the pineal body).
11. 10/01/2018: The visual system – from retina to cortex by Dr. Michal Rivlin.
12. 17/01/2018: Sensory and motor Nervous System – going over all the different levels of sensory/motor pathways, location and function of the major neuroanatomical structures involved. This will include neural systems for vision, audition, the chemical senses, touch, pain and temperature sensation.Motor Nervous Systems - location and function of the major neuroanatomical structures involved in motor processing.
13. 24/01/2018: The limbic system and cerebral circuits for emotion, learning and memory.
14. [31/01/2018: Techniques for studying the structure of the brain: Noninvasive and invasive techniques for studying the structural/connection of the brain