Neurocybernetics

This course examines the nervous system and musculature from an engineering perspective and introduces modern neuroscience methods.

• Neuroanatomy: central and peripheral nervous system structure, brain regions and their functions.
• Neurophysiology: ion channels, action potentials, synaptic transmission, neurotransmitters, plasticity.
• Electromyography (EMG): motor units, EMG signal acquisition and analysis, motor unit decomposition.
• Electroencephalography (EEG): brain rhythm generation, frequency analysis, evoked potentials, brain–computer interfaces (BCI).
• Neurostimulation: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), deep brain stimulation (DBS).
• Neural prostheses: cochlear implants, retinal implants, myoelectric prostheses.
• Modelling: Hodgkin–Huxley model, population models, neural networks.

To understand the operation of the nervous system and musculature at the level needed for developing biomedical devices and conducting neuroscience research.

After successful completion, students will be able to:

• describe the structure and function of the nervous system and the origin of bioelectric signals
• explain the principles of EEG and EMG signal acquisition and analysis
• describe the operation of modern neurostimulation methods
• present the concept and implementation of neural prostheses
• apply mathematical models to describe neuronal activity