Have you ever wondered why the brain is characterized as a mysterious and complex organ? This is the question we will consider in this five-week course. What is a brain? One definition is that a brain is a central collection of nervous tissue which regulates all metabolic and physiologic functions of the animal . However, what is interesting is that some animals which lack such a central brain can still learn new behaviours i.e. show evidence of cognition.  Another question to be considered is what are the features that make the human brain so special among animal brains. There must be something about the human brain that’s different from the brains of other animals — something that enables humans to plan, imagine the future, solve crossword puzzles and do the many other things that together make our species unique. In the past few years, new methods for studying the human brain — and those of other species — have started to reveal key differences in greater detail then ever before. To answer these and other questions, we will look at the cells in the brain and how they are interconnected by communication highways. The brain is also able to heal itself by either growing new cells or by modifying the connections between cells; a process known as neuroplasticity.  Finally we will look at Alzheimer’s disease, which is specific to the brain, and some of the newer drugs used to treat this disease.  The format will be PowerPoint presentations followed by a question and answer period.  There is no weekly preparation time.