Zeitgeist Movement related posts

Whilst playing with the RSS feed listing page I found out via the Arizona state chapter that the amazing lectures by Dr Robert Sapolsky are available for free on Archive.org

Check out : http://www.archive.org/details/RobertSapolsky-BiologyAndHumanBehavior

For those not aware, the lectures are about the Neurobiology of Human behaviour and explain how the environment, genes, brain and hormones work to affect peoples environment. It explains everything from how individual neurons work through to how the brain creates small amounts of hormones which can have dramatic effects on people. How genes give people a propensity for a certain trait but most are only triggered under environmental conditions. It has a very important focus on aggression and explains how people can reduce violence by thinking of all of humanity as their family.

If you aren’t sure about human behaviour then these lectures are probably the best scientific explanation you’ll come across, and will be the best 24x30min lectures you’ll see in quite some time.

Dr Robert Sapolsky – Biology and Human Behaviour

‘;?>

Chapters

1. Biology and Behavior-An Introduction
2. The Basic Cells of the Nervous System
3. How Two Neurons Communicate
4. Learning and Synaptic Plasticity
5. The Dynamics of Interacting Neurons
6. The Limbic System
7. The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
8. The Regulation of Hormones by the Brain
9. The Regulation of the Brain by Hormones
10. The Evolution of Behavior
11. The Evolution of Behavior-Some Examples
12. Cooperation, Competition, and Neuroeconomics
13. What Do Genes Do – Microevolution of Genes
14. What Do Genes Do – Macroevolution of Genes
15. Behavior Genetics
16. Behavior Genetics and Prenatal Environment
17. An Introduction to Ethology
18. Neuroethology
19. The Neurobiology of Aggression I
20. The Neurobiology of Aggression II
21. Hormones and Aggression
22. Early Experience and Aggression
23. Evolution, Aggression, and Cooperation
24. Summary

The lectures were initially created for The Teaching Company, and are still available on their website.
For those not familiar, The Teaching Company contains some of the most amazing, in-depth university lectures available for purchase online or via DVD or audio book.

If you enjoyed the lectures, check out some of Dr Robert Sapolsky’s other online videos including :

• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8036281975251919592 [30mins] — A talk about about various parasites affect brain function, especially Toxoplasmosis‘s ability to change seemingly hardwired fears and turn them into rewards.
• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1877467554618436978 [1hr20mins] — Stress, Neurodegeneration and Individual Differences