Quick start
Online async tips
Chivero rates 4.7/5 on RMP — clear, kind, organized — but reviews flag the course as "extremely difficult, lots of material packed into one semester." Pace yourself: don't cram. Use Mastery 4-5×/wk and watch the matching MIT OCW 9.01 lecture (taught by Bear, the textbook author!).
Semester roadmap (Aug 24 → Dec 18)
| Wk | Unit | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | U1 — Neuroscience perspective | Brief history, levels of analysis, methods, brain anatomy intro. |
| 2 | U2 — Neurons & glia | Cell types, neurodoctrine (Cajal vs Golgi), classification, glia. |
| 3 | U3 — Membrane potential | Ion gradients, Nernst + Goldman, leak channels, resting potential. |
| 4 | U4 — Action potential | Voltage-gated Na⁺/K⁺ channels, threshold, propagation, myelin. |
| 5 | U5 — Synaptic transmission | Electrical vs chemical synapses, vesicle release, EPSP/IPSP, summation. |
| 6 | U6 — Neurotransmitters | Glu, GABA, ACh, monoamines (DA, NE, 5-HT), peptides, gases. |
| 7 | U7 — Sensory systems intro + somatosensory | Receptor classes, transduction, dorsal column, spinothalamic. |
| 8 | U8 — Pain & nociception | Aδ vs C fibers, gate theory, modulation. |
| 9 | U9 — Vision | Eye optics, retina, photoreceptors (R/G/B/rod), visual pathway. |
| 10 | U10 — Audition + vestibular | Cochlea, hair cells, tonotopy, vestibular system. |
| 11 | U11 — Chemical senses | Olfaction (OR + glomeruli), taste (5 modalities, T1R/T2R). |
| 12 | U12 — Motor systems intro | UMN/LMN, motor cortex, basal ganglia, cerebellum, reflex arc. |
| 13 | U13 — Glia & neuroinflammation (Chivero focus) | Microglia, astrocytes, NLRP3 inflammasome, neurodegeneration. |
| 14 | U14 — Pharmacology & drugs of abuse | Receptor agonism, addiction circuits, NEUR 1520-Bear coverage of psychoactives. |
| 15 | U15 — Methods + integration | EEG, fMRI, optogenetics, electrophysiology, imaging. |
References & free textbooks
- MIT OCW 9.01 Intro Neuroscience — Mark Bear (textbook author!) + Sebastian Seung
- MIT 9.01 lecture notes (PDFs)
- NCBI Bookshelf — Purves Neuroscience (full free text)
- Internet Archive — Bear Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain
- Bear PDF (Wesleyan course host)
- MSU Open Textbook — Introduction to Neuroscience
- Khan Academy — Neural communication
- Ninja Nerd — Neurology lectures
- Wikipedia — Bear Neuroscience textbook
- Ernest Chivero faculty profile