Caveat Academy course · Grades 7 to 12

Neuroscience

A semester of brain science: how neurons fire and talk across synapses, what each part of the brain does and how scientists know, how the senses and movement work, how you learn, remember and sleep, and how the brain develops, gets hurt and recovers. Six modules at your own pace, with a check in every lesson and a certificate at the end.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 12 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: The nervous system

    Describe the parts and kinds of neurons, the divisions of the nervous system and the reflex arc, and choose a research method suited to a question.

    • Neurons, the cells that signal
    • How the nervous system is organized
    • How we know: methods in neuroscience
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Signals in the brain

    Explain how an action potential and synaptic transmission work, compute signal timing and summed inputs, and predict how drugs change a synapse.

    • The action potential
    • Synapses and neurotransmitters
    • How drugs act on synapses
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Mapping the brain

    Relate the brainstem, cerebellum, limbic structures, cortical lobes and hemispheres to their functions and analyze injury cases.

    • Brainstem, cerebellum and the deep brain
    • The cerebral cortex and its lobes
    • Two hemispheres
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Senses and movement

    Explain how vision, hearing and touch transduce energy into signals and how the brain plans and corrects movement.

    • Vision
    • Hearing, touch and pain
    • How you move
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: Learning, memory and sleep

    Explain plasticity, the stages and types of memory and the sleep cycle, and apply them to study and sleep habits.

    • A brain that rewires itself
    • How memory works
    • Sleep and the brain
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: The brain across a lifetime

    Evaluate claims about the teen brain, brain injury, brain disorders and neurotechnology using evidence.

    • The developing teen brain
    • Protecting the brain
    • Brain disorders and brain ethics
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 2 · Synapses and neurotransmitters

Worked example: adding up inputs

  1. A neuron receives 6 excitatory inputs, each nudging its voltage up by 3 mV, and 2 inhibitory inputs, each pulling it down by 4 mV, all at about the same time.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High SchoolAlso for Academics · Middle School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished semester of neuroscience: you can trace a signal through a neuron and across a synapse, compute signal timing and summed inputs, explain how caffeine and other drugs act at synapses, match brain regions to their functions and reason through injury cases, explain how the senses and movement work, apply what is known about memory and sleep to how you study, and weigh claims about the teen brain and brain technology. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 7 to 12 who are curious about how the brain works, are preparing for a biology, psychology or anatomy class, or are thinking about careers in medicine, psychology or research; homeschool families who want a complete semester unit. The one hands-on activity, finding your blind spot, needs only a card and a pen.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 12 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics; also listed for the Middle School space in Caveat Academics (the same course serves the Neurology: Exploring the Brain title for middle school).
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Brain Basics: ninds.nih.gov
  2. Society for Neuroscience, BrainFacts.org: brainfacts.org
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HEADS UP concussion guidance and stroke signs: cdc.gov/heads-up and cdc.gov/stroke
  4. American Academy of Sleep Medicine, recommended sleep for teens: aasm.org
  5. Azevedo and others, Equal numbers of neuronal and nonneuronal cells make the human brain an isometrically scaled-up primate brain, Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2009: doi.org/10.1002/cne.21974
  6. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, noise and hearing loss: cdc.gov/niosh/noise

Neuroscience is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. It follows the sequence of a typical one-semester neuroscience elective but does not replace a school course and awards no credit. Lessons on drugs, concussion, stroke and mental health are general science education, not medical advice; questions about a person's own health belong with a doctor or school nurse, and for any crisis call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the U.S. Voltages and other figures in worked examples are typical, rounded values. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.