Essential Neuroscience: A Beginners Guide

By Prof. Basudev Lahiri | IIT Kharagpur

Learners enrolled: 714 | Exam registration: 37

ABOUT THE COURSE:

Ever wondered how your brain works? How you think, make decisions, sense the wonderful world around you and communicate with it?

In this course, Essential Neuroscience: A Beginner's Guide, we'll embark on a fascinating journey to explore the intricate world of the nervous system. We'll delve into the brain's structure, its role in controlling our thoughts and actions, and how it communicates with the rest of the body. Get ready to unlock the mysteries of your mind!

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Multidisciplinary, Engineering, Life Science, Medicine, Physics

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Bruker , F.Hoffmann-La Roche AG,GE Healthcare , Horiba Ltd. , IDEX Corporation , IPG Photonics Corporation , Koninklijke Philips NV , Procter & Gamble Company, The Qiagen Inc. , Applied Materials, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Summary

Course Status :	Ongoing
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Multidisciplinary
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Postgraduate
Start Date :	21 Jul 2025
End Date :	10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends :	04 Aug 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	15 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	02 Nov 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Studying the Nervous System: Overview, Genetics, Cellular components, Neuron & Glia, Neural Circuits

Week 2: Neural Signaling: Electrical signals of the nerve, Synaptic transmission, Neurotransmitters, Neuroplasticity, Measuring neural activities (EEG, MEG, fMRI, PET)

Week 3: Vision & Perception: Overview of the eye, Retina, Perception of Light intensity & Colour, Visual search & recognition of objects

Week 4: Hearing & Smell: Auditory system & Sound, Sound Localization, Music & Speech perception, Odors & Scents, Detection of smell & Recognition

Week 5: Touch & Taste: Touch Physiology, Sensitivity & Pain, Locating objects, Taste versus Flavor, Pleasures of taste

Week 6: Motion Perception: Motor control, Movement planning & maps, Sensory-Motor Coordination, Eye movement

Week 7: Cognitive Neuroscience: Thinking & Imagination, Risk and Reward, Uncertainty, Integration & Comparison to reach decision

Week 8: Cognitive Neuroscience: Consciousness, Attention, Learning & Memory

Week 9: Cognitive Neuroscience: Language, Emotions, Sleep

Week 10: Neurological Disorders: Stroke, Epilepsy, Migraine, Neurodegeneration (Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease & Parkinson’s Disease)

Week 11: Psychiatric Disorders: Anxiety, Depression, Addiction, Sleep disorders

Week 12: Repair & Regeneration of the Nervous System: The damaged brain, Neuronal repair, Synapse Regeneration, Immune activity of the Brain

Books and references

Neuroscience: Dale Purves et al. Oxford University Press 2019.
Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience: Dale Purves et al. Sinauer 2nd Edition 2013.
Sensetion & Perception: Jeremy Wolfe et.al. Sinauer 3rd Edition 2012.

Instructor bio

Prof. Basudev Lahiri

IIT Kharagpur

Prof. Basudev Lahiri is working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, India. I have over fifteen years of experience in various Bio and Nano Photonic technologies. I combine my expertise both as an Optical Engineer and a Biophotonics researchers to delve deeper into the human brain to understand its myriad of functions. Presently, I am developing new Quantum Sensing technologies to understand and reveal the different functionalities of the brain.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: November 02, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Kharagpur .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team

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