Introduction to Neuroscience and Neural Engineering

This course examines a range of neural engineering approaches to investigating and intervening in the nervous system, emphasizing quantitative understanding and fundamental engineering concepts. Modern neural engineering techniques to measure and modulate neural activity and manipulate how an organism perceives, thinks, and acts are covered. The course focuses on the computing essence of neural processes and explores the relationship with molecules, spikes and synapses. Topics related to synaptic plasticity, learning and memory are examined. Based on the biophysics of brain computation, neurons are also explored as spike processing machines for creating intelligent algorithms inspired by the brain’s complexity and self-organization.