Neurophysiology of Behavior - free course from Open Education, training 18 weeks, Date: December 5, 2023.

The course gives an idea of ​​the events that occur every second in our nervous system and provide key aspects human behavior: learning and memory formation, manifestations of biological needs, thinking, sensory and propulsion systems. The proposed materials are a logical continuation of the course “Physiology of the Central Nervous System”, but can also be considered as an independent block of scientific knowledge about the functioning of the brain. The course includes information about modern methods of studying the central nervous system; information characterizing its work at various levels of organization (synaptic, cellular, neural networks, nuclei and tracts). During the course, students will learn about the contribution of neurons, neurotransmitter systems, and various areas of the brain to the activity of the sensory organs and the recognition of sensory images; formation of short-term and long-term memory; functioning and mutual competition of centers of biological needs; organization of motor acts of varying degrees of complexity. The structure of the course includes sections and topics devoted to: the key analytical systems of our body (vision, hearing, taste, smell, skin and pain sensitivity); the main groups of biological needs that determine human behavior (including programs of fear, aggression, empathy, curiosity); mechanisms of associative learning (characterized by I.P. Pavlov) and non-associative learning (summation, imprinting, etc.); neurophysiological foundations of the implementation of reflex and locomotor programs, as well as voluntary and automated movements.