Dr Robert Sapolsky’s lectures available on Archive.org
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
- Biology and Behavior-An Introduction
- The Basic Cells of the Nervous System
- How Two Neurons Communicate
- Learning and Synaptic Plasticity
- The Dynamics of Interacting Neurons
- The Limbic System
- The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
- The Regulation of Hormones by the Brain
- The Regulation of the Brain by Hormones
- The Evolution of Behavior
- The Evolution of Behavior-Some Examples
- Cooperation, Competition, and Neuroeconomics
- What Do Genes Do – Microevolution of Genes
- What Do Genes Do – Macroevolution of Genes
- Behavior Genetics
- Behavior Genetics and Prenatal Environment
- An Introduction to Ethology
- Neuroethology
- The Neurobiology of Aggression I
- The Neurobiology of Aggression II
- Hormones and Aggression
- Early Experience and Aggression
- Evolution, Aggression, and Cooperation
- 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
No comments yet.