Welcome

This site hosts lectures and material to tell you how your brain works.

The lectures reproduced here under "Lessons" were given by Prof Jan Schnupp in summer 2011 as part of a 10 week evening course given for the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education. They have been adapted to form the basis of the Gateway Education course GE1352 offered at the City University of Hong Kong.

In this course we assume almost no scientific prior knowledge, and aim to introduce you to  neuroscience in a hopefully highly accessible and enjoyable way. We start with the very basics, what nerve cells are and how they operate, and gradually build on this material to tackle more advanced topics which affect our lives: how we see, how we hear, how memory works, how networks of neurons can operate like intelligent machines, how our brain learns to make decisions which are shaped by experience and informed by our senses, but also how these processes may go wrong, leading to a range of difficulties ranging from Parkinson's disease to drug addiction.

For current and prospective students of GE1352, the video lectures may give some insight into what to expect during the GE course, and help with revision. 

But first, here a little "more polished" clip we made in 2011 to hopefully whet your appetite to start your journey into how your brain works: