Environmental Neuroscience

In this course, we will work to understand how our environment shapes our brain by exploring the powerful-and often surprising-ways our surroundings influence how our brains function. This course brings together neuroscience, psychology, and environmental science to examine the complex relationship between the brain and the world it inhabits. This course will challenge you to think critically and creatively about how the environment affects brain health and behavior. Along the way, you'll discover how scientific understanding can help build healthier communities and a more sustainable future.

 

Course Goals:

1. Understand the bidirectional relationship that humans have with the natural world

2. Describe how different environmental factors specifically influence the brain

3. Review mitigation strategies that could reduce or prevent the impact of environmental triggers

4. Analyze how environmental health issues are communicated in both the scientific and public contexts