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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Medical Neuroscience by Duke University

4.9
stars
2,693 ratings

About the Course

Medical Neuroscience explores the functional organization and neurophysiology of the human central nervous system, while providing a neurobiological framework for understanding human behavior. In this course, you will discover the organization of the neural systems in the brain and spinal cord that mediate sensation, motivate bodily action, and integrate sensorimotor signals with memory, emotion and related faculties of cognition. The overall goal of this course is to provide the foundation for understanding the impairments of sensation, action and cognition that accompany injury, disease or dysfunction in the central nervous system. The course will build upon knowledge acquired through prior studies of cell and molecular biology, general physiology and human anatomy, as we focus primarily on the central nervous system. This online course is designed to include all of the core concepts in neurophysiology and clinical neuroanatomy that would be presented in most first-year neuroscience courses in schools of medicine. However, there are some topics (e.g., biological psychiatry) and several learning experiences (e.g., hands-on brain dissection) that we provide in the corresponding course offered in the Duke University School of Medicine on campus that we are not attempting to reproduce in Medical Neuroscience online. Nevertheless, our aim is to faithfully present in scope and rigor a medical school caliber course experience. This course comprises six units of content organized into 12 weeks, with an additional week for a comprehensive final exam: - Unit 1 Neuroanatomy (weeks 1-2). This unit covers the surface anatomy of the human brain, its internal structure, and the overall organization of sensory and motor systems in the brainstem and spinal cord. - Unit 2 Neural signaling (weeks 3-4). This unit addresses the fundamental mechanisms of neuronal excitability, signal generation and propagation, synaptic transmission, post synaptic mechanisms of signal integration, and neural plasticity. - Unit 3 Sensory systems (weeks 5-7). Here, you will learn the overall organization and function of the sensory systems that contribute to our sense of self relative to the world around us: somatic sensory systems, proprioception, vision, audition, and balance senses. - Unit 4 Motor systems (weeks 8-9). In this unit, we will examine the organization and function of the brain and spinal mechanisms that govern bodily movement. - Unit 5 Brain Development (week 10). Next, we turn our attention to the neurobiological mechanisms for building the nervous system in embryonic development and in early postnatal life; we will also consider how the brain changes across the lifespan. - Unit 6 Cognition (weeks 11-12). The course concludes with a survey of the association systems of the cerebral hemispheres, with an emphasis on cortical networks that integrate perception, memory and emotion in organizing behavior and planning for the future; we will also consider brain systems for maintaining homeostasis and regulating brain state....

Top reviews

MG

Jan 14, 2021

This course was a great opportunity for me to understand the world of neurology and helped me to clear all the ambiguities regarding the complex mechanisms that are happening in our beautiful brains.

KT

Nov 21, 2018

I leant so much without even realising it until I got to the final exams and all this knowledge was making sense. Amazing lecturer with so much wisdom in the area. The course is very well delivered.

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26 - 50 of 802 Reviews for Medical Neuroscience

By Prithvi M

Dec 20, 2018

It is a must course for medical students , I wish all have access to it. Love it very much

By Norman K

Feb 4, 2019

Exceptionally well presented, well researched and relevant course. Very educative.

By Vaida

Aug 4, 2019

Terrible terrible terrible!!! I take classes about sleep disorders and I was recommended to take a class in neuroscience first. But the class here are just an advertisement. They just talk about themselves and what they are doing,what I am not interested in. I was waiting when theoretical lessons are starting,but I give up. And money is already paid.

By tungala s

May 15, 2020

As the tutor had mentioned one of the largest course in the coursera. Being prepared for that I had some expectations about the course structure and relevance and worth each second. But to my disappointment, only a few modules were made interesting. Most of the time its too much jargon and irrelevant to the term medial neuroscience title.

Good points

introduction of brain lab and Sylvius.

some experimental based data to convince the concepts

an easy and simple way of presentation by the Dr White

well ordered structure to cover basics

Not so good points:

it is boring to watch some repeated concepts

one gets irritated by so much bragging about self-research in the field of visual neuroscience

so entire brain development and early synaptic plasticity were cornered to the visual cortex.

so much data points and so much stuff without a proper background or clear explanations (esp about all the special senses part, associated brain cortex part and brain development chapters)

Please reconsider the title for this program. No medical part involved in the whole course.

Good for those in the early stage of MD-PhD guys.

By Haris G

Jan 28, 2021

The course is sublime. I would like to give my thanks to Dr. White, to the crew, to the site. You all made something special, a unique experience on this site and further. Starting this course back in June, I felt inspired and motivated from the beginning, all thanks to Leo's pedagogical approach. The community is strong, the volunteers are doing a great job. The course was very demanding, right from the start. I would say it was the hardest in the beginning, especially if you have no prior knowledge of the brain or medical terms. I believe that I learned a lot, but there is still so many things that I didn't get the grasp of, and that's fine. I am looking forward to taking this course again in the future. But the most important thing for me was that, with this course, I created a very healthy routine, where I would turn on the lectures after waking up, while having a cup of coffee. I can only see this routine continue further, maybe while watching some other lectures or reading. All in all it was a wholesome experience, I learned a lot, created new habits, got to know more about neuroscience with no prior experience. TEAM, THANK YOU.

To future students: My mistake was that I didn't draw the tracts and the nuclei in the brainstem. It was harder to get through the course and the exams without doing so, please follow Leo's advice, it wasn't misplaced.

By Andrey S

May 4, 2018

Finally, upon completion of this excellent course, I have a structured understanding of brain function based on the knowledge of anatomy and cellular level processes. Solving clinical cases gives a sense of practical application of the knowledge you just acquired, especially those from the University of Utah with video recordings of real patients, where you can compare your findings with real physician's records. Lots of links to extremely useful resources which I can use in further studies make this course a great point of entry to modern Neuroscience.

To make the course even better in future versions, I can propose to include phylogenetic perspective to explain how different circuits formed through the evolution and why corresponding features of the brain were crucial for the survival of our ancestors - it allows for a deeper understanding of CNS function. The overall course duration can be preserved by compressing some duplicate reminders of core concepts, for example.

By Alisa Z

Oct 6, 2017

Incredible course! One of a kind! I can't but admire the meticulous preparation, methodology and the constant thought about the learner that's behind it. But I have to say - this was the most difficult course I've ever taken in my life... I had my ups and downs, many times I thought that I'm going to quit - but I kept going, mainly thanks to the thoughtful organization of the study materials, which makes it so rewarding at the end, and to the community support standing by. This course is definitely unique and for me, personally, it changed a lot. I am not a medical professional and this course opened a whole new world which is worth exploring further! Finishing this course is like finishing reading a good book, when closing the last page you think of those who are going to go through it for the first time and you are happy for them. :)

By Rangel P

Jul 20, 2020

This course is like no other online course. It takes full dedication in order to complete it but at the end you feel like you have accomplished something really meaningful. You must work really hard and show a big amount of self-discipline and then everything pays off. The structure of the course was brilliant. Dr. White is the perfect lecturer and he manages to inspire you throughout the whole course. I'm really grateful for the creation of this intensive and really helpful course. These words come from a medical student in Germany - so that's a greatly appreciation of the spectacular work that the team of Duke University has done. I'm looking forward to participating in other wonderful projects like this one!

By Odette W

Aug 23, 2020

Excellent course, the best I've had on Coursera! I really enjoyed the depth of this course into neurology and the gradual and clear explanation of Dr. White. It covers anatomy, histology, physiology, embryology, molecular biology, pathology and much more! All illustrated with anatomical specimens and illustrations. Deep respect for the immense knowledge of Dr. White about the neural anatomy! As a medical student with affinity for neurology, I've become more enthusiastic for this specialism and this course is a good way to prepare for my residency. It's a shame that the course has an ending! But i'm definitely gonna rewatch some of the tutorials again!

By S M S B M

Aug 16, 2021

Finally I completed the course! Grade achieved 83.15%. I have nothing but praise for how the course was run especially with the tutor, Mr. White. At each chapter of the course, everything was explained in detail. Being a physician, I found this course extremely helpful. I recommend this course to every junior doctor who wishes to be a neurologist in future. Guys who doesn't belong to medicine background, I'm sure this course will be good enough for them as well. Certainly this is one of the best online courses ever. Five stars all the way without any doubt. Thank you so much Mr. White, you are a real genius, sir!

By Khayliang T

Jan 21, 2023

This course is intense. It's equivalent to an entire university module. You cover almost the entire textbook Neuroscience by Purves et al. over the course of 13 weeks. Each week will take you 7 hours of lectures, with 8+ hours of textbook reading, note taking, memorization and revision. Video lectures are amazing and help to consolidate the dense information in the text. Prof White really tries his best to make each lecture as interesting and digestible as possible, adding in humorous bits every so often. If you're serious about neuroscience, I can't recommend this course enough.

By Mariane V M Á

Jan 18, 2018

Excellent material, excellent teaching techniques, excellent and challenging evaluations. Allows the student to initiate and complement study contents. I'm very satisfied with the course as a whole, and very grateful to Dr. White, Duke University and Coursera's platform for allowing healthcare professionals, like myself, to get in touch with the various aspects of Neuroscience (which are not commonly available in my country) and develop a future in this scientific world.

By Bára K

Jan 2, 2023

(Sorry for possible mistakes, English is not my native language)

This is definitely the best course I've ever participated in. You can see that Dr. White put a lot of work into it and the course is very interactive and full of side activities. I really appreciate the practical examples and the huge amount of information. Although I have not been able to complete this course yet, it is definitely very beneficial and revealing for me. Thank you!

By Joaquín C C

Nov 28, 2023

Una extraordinaria experiencia académica. Estudié Psicobiología en la UNED en España hace algunos años y los contenidos de este curso de Neurociencia Médica de Duke University me han servido para profundizar, mejorar y actualizar mis conocimientos en esta apasionante materia. Mención especial para las magistrales clases del profesor Leonard E. White. Joaquín Chueca Cía. Huesca, España

By Vivien K

Feb 19, 2021

Fantastic course! Thank you so much, Prof Dr Len White and team! 13 weeks full of super interesting neuroscience! I feel like having studied a whole semester at Duke University. And now I appreciate even more all the complex relationships inside our brain, the interconnections to our senses and muscles, and all the chemical and electrical dependencies. Awesome! :)

By Mukul S

Feb 11, 2023

This was one of the best decisions i took in order to fuel my curiosity towards Neuroscience and the brain. Prof. White's Teachings were amazing and his attitude towards this field is one that i admire truly not to mention the clinical correlation was very insightful and i would recommend this course to anyone who would want uncover the secrets of the brain...

By Yufei D Z

Apr 22, 2020

As a former US medical student, I signed up for this course as a rapid review for my upcoming PhD program involving neuroscience research. In terms of difficulty, the content of this course is on par with that of preclinical medical school coursework. The only difference being that medical school exams are longer, closed-book, and timed (obviously).

By Sofia K

Oct 29, 2023

Thank you for the wonderful course! It was no walk in the park and really demands time and effort, but it is very worth all the hard work. Dr. White is an amazing lecturer and the course is built in a way that forces you to actually think and apply the theoretical knowledge on practice when you have to analyse separate medical patient cases.

By Matheus S N

Apr 4, 2022

Wow! This is the best course ever! Amazing lecturer with so much wisdom in the area. The course is very well delivered. Even though my brain almost exploded from trying to keep up, lol, it was definitely worth it. I can proudly say that I gained more than I could ever have imagined from the course. Thank you so much for this, Doctor White.

By Nancy

May 14, 2019

I am not a medical student but love biology and want to explore how human body works. I am so much intrested in Neurocsience. This course is one of the best and professor White's way of teaching and making students understand the Nervous system is best of best. Though for me it takes time but I am able to learn slowly. Thanks Prof White.

By Lei Y

Mar 27, 2019

A singular online learning experience, certainly enriching. Thoughtfully structured with Dr. White's rigorous and gentle touch. It gives me a very effective introduction into this world and now I'm equipped with a good map to further pursue one or more of the intrigues it presents me.

By Liam

Nov 29, 2018

Very well designed and innovative course. I feel as though I have really progressed as a practitioner after completing this course. I warn you however, it is a long course and can be very challenging at parts, especially if you are juggling other commitments at the same time.

By Dr E M

May 25, 2020

This course was truly in-depth and enlightening. Compared the quality of the content with other online learning platforms and noted that this one was more practical.

It is also very trying and needs a lot of discipline and hardwork. Well done for such a programme!

By Devarshi M

Mar 11, 2021

This is the best class I have ever taken. The amount of information that I have learned goes beyond any other course I have ever taken. As an aspiring surgeon, this information is of great importance to me and Dr. White is an excellent instructor.

By Ashish K S

Aug 23, 2020

One of the most in-depth, feature complete course available on neuroscience. Highly recommended to anyone interested in neuroscience, and especially for people engaged in neuroscience research.