Learner Reviews & Feedback for Medical Neuroscience by Duke University

the best course that i has been

thanks Dr Write

Depending on how long one has been out of school quite hard work. Needs a number of hours every week to keep up, especially for those not having "The Book" (Neuroscience) or not having the use of all the online material provided. (Logins didn't work). However, I'd recommend it to people in health professions like me, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Nurses in Neurology, or anyone wanting to revise the work with a clinical bias. It allowed me to study from home. which is great! It's the clinical stuff that was really interesting in the final exams although quite difficult!

I took the Medical Neuroscience course as a way of getting a broad overview of the subject, and was not disappointed. The course starts with a solid basis in neuroanatomy, and builds in concepts and topics in a well structured way. The course seems to pursue two goals - on the one hand, to provide the basic neuroanatomy, physiology and functional background, and on the other to apply the knowledge to understand, identify and localize some medical conditions such as stroke, motor neuron disease, or Parkinson's Disease. The lab sessions and tutorials are entertaining and informative, thanks to Dr. White's friendly and engaging presentation style. The tutorials are accompanied by useful notes, and the frequent quizzes support the learning of the very extensive material. His recommendations for learning the material (follow the path, visualize your knowledge, learn spatially and socially) are useful in many other contexts. The materials are supported by a reference texbook, Neuroscience 5th edition from 2012, and a new edition is expected in 2017. Also, the text transcriptions of the video presentations appear to have been generated by machine, and need to be proofread and corrected. In spite of this, they are very useful to review specific points in the videos. Although the course presents a huge amount of material and the discussion forums allow both clarification of issues and questions as well as deepening and extending the knowledge provided by the basic materials in the course. I strongly recommend this course to anyone interested in gaining a basic overview of human neuroscience.

The journey throughout the Nervous System is even more intense and eye-opening than what you can imagine at the beginning. I loved the way Prof. White goes over every topic, sharing part of his personal thoughts and experience, which results in a very welcoming way of conveying information. The optional tools provided are also highly valuable, and the tips that are given all along are very useful when it comes to self-organization and techniques of study. The course is thick: there is much to say, and many times there is no space for everything, but it's a fine start if you do not know very much about Neuroscience. I particulary learnt a lot about anatomy, which is a big deal when understanding the Nervous System. The assessments are "fun": you don't just answer plain questions, but need to use all you've learnt, integrate it, and think to get to an answer. As a little flaw, I would say that in order to answer these questions, there are several things that are not thoroughly developped in the course and yet you must know about (the "pathological" part: diseases, circulatory system - which is quite complex and only approached switftly- etc.).

From a more personal point of view, I've learnt more and better in this course that in some larger in-person courses I had in my career about the topic. Hence, I thank professor White and his crew for the experience. It's worth it!

One of the excellent courses I have ever attended. Prof.Dr.Leonard White made every lecture very interesting and simple. Although the subject is very difficult i enjoyed every bit of it. Many a time i failed the exam which made me read again and again. Each video lecture is designed very thoughtfully. This course not only made me more knowledgeable in neuroscience which attracted me right from my child wood, it improved many other aspects too. I have developed more interest in learning different things. It showed a way to me .our age or economic condition is not a hurdle if we wish or determined to do something strongly .i have completed this course only because of the encouragement form the Coursera team time and again. I am thankful to the entire team for their support and encouragement throughout the course.

sir only one request to provide me the certificate of completing this course successfully .definitely this will help me and others to encourage for this course.I hope you will provide me the certificate, please. finally, I want to say I want to do some more advanced courses in neurology provided under the guidance of Prod.L.White. I want to thank the entire team especially Prof.Dr.L White from my core of heart

very interesting but difficult course and very thorough. All the info anyone who is not a medical doctor will ever need. The teacher is committed, patient, kind and overall excellent.

This is a very good course but i personally feel that the lectures should be spread over at least 20 weeks instead of 13. As it is currently taught, the course is placing a lot of stress and pressure on the student to keep up with the pace if the student also has other home or work commitments so it makes it difficult for such an interested student to go into all the depths the course asks for if time is constrained by the pace of the course. I feel that if the course had been taught over 20 weeks at least then i would have had more time each week to go into it in more details.

But overall i really enjoyed the lectures, and i know i have learnt all that i will ever want to know about the neurology of the human body

Thank you Dr White and team for all your time and efforts in putting out such a wonderful course. Students like me really do appreciate it all

It is a wonderful course for serious learners wanting to learn about the human nervous system and how it works. I myself am a medical doctor (I graduated over two years ago) and I can attest that (in my university at least) I didn't have neuroscience lectures with this depth and detail.

Due to my medical background I found it comfortable to go through the course without much effort or lots of extra studying. But I figure that if you do not have some such foundation it might be a bit more challenging to go smoothly with the course, and you might needs more extra studying and more time put into the course.

But if you are interested about neuroscience and want to learn the essentials of how the human brain works (as per our current knowledge) then I recommend that you put in the effort and go with the course even if you don't have a strong background in the life sciences or in medicine.

Many thanks to Dr White and everybody else who have participated in creating and maintaining this course.

I think it is a very good course in Neurosciences, because gave me an good update and now I felt me with total confidence if I wish to take more advanced course in Neurosciences. I am Physician(Professor of Internal Medicine/Nephrology)and I don´t belong to specialties like Neurology, but working for many years in Intensive Care Units;I had to handle many and differents cases of difficults Neurological Problems, with support of neurologists Teams, but I was aware that I needed and Update and more than that, an Integrative view of Nervous system Function.As Collateral effect, this course wake up on me an deep interest in Neurosciences, as very good serious medical hobby.

Thank you and congratulations for this course and I hope to see another course given by DUKE UNIVERSITY, headed by Dr Leonard White and his Team

Ivan vuc ina MD-FACP

Professor of Internal Medicine /Nephrology

University of Chile/Clínica las Condes

Santiago de Chile

Admittedly, some topics (especially neural signaling) could be explained so much more simply. Professor White sometimes picks the most random starting points to explain a new topic rather than explaining the subject matter in a Point A-Point B manner. Other times, there are other topics where information is omitted in an attempt to not overcomplicate the subject, although sometimes that omitted information could have easily helped to explain what the professor was talking about.

That said, this is an incredibly thorough, clear, yet manageable course. This course has the hands-down best resources (lecture notes, clinical case studies, interactive anatomy program, and a separate website) of any Coursera class I've taken. I've learned more from this class than any single class I've taken on Coursera or in college. Hats off and big thanks to Professor White, Ellen Vos, and everyone involved in this course.

I thank Duke University as an Institution, and particularly anyone who directly contributes to organize so competently this highly instructional course, "Medical Neuroscience", Prof Leonard E. White, and Coursera Team. It is huge appreciable and measurable effort.

I am celebrating my completion of Medical Neuroscience, I am glad and proud of what I have learned during the course, My knowledge regarding the field has been considerably enhanced. It is valid course for health care practitioners of all levels.

I am willing to keep learning specialized course of Medical Neuroscience, (Perception, Action and Brain).

I purchased text book, Neuroscience 6 edition. that has been helpful throughout the course with its Sylvius 4 online.

Congratulations and best wishes to Medical Neuroscience team for the skillful preparation and delivery of this instructional endeavor.

Dr Abdinasir Abukar

The best course I have ever taken. It was really challenging. The content is incredible. There are so many resources to enhance your learning. Most of all, WHITE'S EFFORT IS SOMETHING I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. He delivered every topic in a really interesting, enjoyable, and exciting manner. You can see his compromise and passion for the subject in every video, resource, tutorial notes, or examples he uses. Even in the way in which he designed the exams; they really test your knowledge. Even after completing this course, I will definitely go back to all the resources he provided. I am sure I will make good use of all the information I learned here in my future career as a health practitioner. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMPROMISE! TO YOU AND EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF THIS COURSE

I feel extremely thankful to the whole team of Medical Neuroscience course, specially Dr White and I've learnt a lot. Coming from a medical background I thought this was going to be no much learning, and this course has opened in me the appetite for more knowledge and to study neuroscience in deeper. I have improved my understanding of the conditions of the patients I treat with chronic pain and chronic diseases and I want to go in a deeper journey towards the learning of the brain and its functions and interactions with health and diseases. Thanks doctor White for your passion and generosity sharing your knowledge, time and skills in the brain education to make that other people around the world improve and grow in abilities to help many patients.

Dr White is outstanding in his delivery of this course material. His tone, composure and endurance is admirable. The course content is challenging but Dr. White seamlessly and very humbly at times expresses and reinforces its values in a highly encouraging and inspiring manner.

I was especially impressed with Dr. White's humble introduction to self organization and dynamical systems with how he expressed how initially challenged he was with the concept of these forces and the challenging shift he chose to make away from what he had upheld to embrace these intrinsic values.

Thank you Dr. White and team for making this a highly stimulating and educational experience.

With gratitude,

Ken Ware

This course is, without a doubt, the best! And the instructor is a real master. You see many people teaching out there, but few with the enthusiasm and pedagogic skills of Ph.Dr. Leonard E. White (sorry if I used it wrong). He explains everything into detail and very clear. He know how to approach the subjects without overwhelming his expectators. The only bad thing about all this, is that there no other courses on coursera with Leonard E. White! I don't know if you will actually read the reviews, but if you do: please keep teaching like this, with so much care and love. You're the best! If you ever have the opportunity, please teach again on coursera.

Greetings,

Gabrielle A.

While I found the course extremely challenging because of the tight schedule, the content was absorbing and exquisite. When I began nursing, we were told the brain was largely an uncharted mystery---and it was. But science has since discovered and uncovered so many facts and nuances about brain functions! Dr. White was careful to introduce basic concepts and then build on them to bring students to great depths about the different systems that comprise the brain and CNS. He made the course interesting and comprehendible, as well as a pleasant experience. Thank you, sir, for giving much of yourself as you organized and produced the videos, tutorials and other resources.

I found the material well-organized and explained throughout the course. Lots of learning options (video, textbook, on-line labs, and Sylvius) made it possible for me to adapt my learning style as needed to complete each of the 13 weeks. I really appreciate Dr. Len's enthusiasm for his subject, and the great support of his teaching assistants. It is a challenging course, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you will be amazed at what you have learned by the time you take your finals. I found the Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases textbook valuable for learning how medical observations are integrated to make a diagnosis and form a treatment plan.

Truly an amazing course. It meant for motivated people, as it isn’t for the lazy. I must admit to its difficult. At times it feels like the amount of information is comparable to drinking water out of a water hydrant. Especially if you haven’t studied at a university level previously (like me). Anyways, don’t let my description fool you. This course WILL make you question not only the biological basis to you existence, it will also make you question the highly subjective aspect of the experience of your consciousness. You will need to apply yourself and be very hardworking. I believe you will make it (like I did) and evolve in almost all aspects as a person.

This is a beautiful course.It seems long and daunting at first sight,but each step of learning is made enjoyable by Dr White.The course supplementary materials and resources are beautifully designed too.I especially like his passion for teaching which is evident in the way he talks and does acts like wearing shirt on one side to give us a perspective into the life of patients suffering from Neurological problems.While i was sad to hear of this accident,I wish him the speediest of recoveries.I absolutely loved the videos inside his house too(in one episode he mentions that a deer may have passed by-lovely to have a house as this in the midst of nature)!

This advanced-level course was designed carefully and clearly, so i think it's the best choice for those who's interested in medical neuroscience. However, learning through 13 weeks could dampen anyone who's just a beginner in this field, especially who is not native english speaker like me. Because there are many terms and knowledge to remember, then to coordinate and to express them again so that everybody could get the points. Even sometimes i found myself unable to extract my ideas in spite of understanding what's going on in discussions. At last, I wish prof. White and his partners a healthy and happy life :). It's really a nice work!

This course wasn't easy but I was so happy to be challenged intellectually. I majored in psychological science for my undergrad degree and I found this course exceedingly helpful as I'm in a public health field combatting addiction through a SAMHSA grant program. The other topics reinforced what I learned so much about my major for undergrad and why I love studying the brain. I found the lessons around neuronal development and transmission to be more helpful than what I learned in school. This is a great course for those who like to be challenged and are very curious in brain science.

Great course that helped me to gain more in-depth knowledge on brain structures and made me review a lot of what I had already read about this subject. I especially enjoyed the parts about neuroanatomy and would have appreciated even more detailed presentation and more revision.

The Purves 6th edition is very helpful (actually, it's a must), and the Sinauer website (which I had no access to) is also to be recommended.

Len White explains things very well and makes the course come alive. I was looking forward to listening to him every morning. I might 'revisit' to enhance my LTP :-)

The content was very interesting and I would like to thank Professor Leonard E. White for his valuable time and clear explaining of the functional organisation and neurophysiology of the human central nervous system. In the early stages I wasn't so passionated about some topics (because I did not know about them), but overall it is a very complete course which will definitely help you for your professional career but also personal development and help your relatives on all sorts of topics ranging from neurological diseases to prevention and drug use/addiction. Thank you again.

Thank you very much Mr. White and team. The course is a really jewel. Mr White broadly shows different pathways and amplitudes about our brain and it composition in many aspects: biologic, anatomic, physiologic, cognitive. Indeed it is a complete and unique class. Also Mr White teach all this complex stuff with extraordinary quality in different scenarios: lab, room, his house, in a forest, unfolding new approaches. However the quizzes are very very hard and detailed but they inspire our study. Best regards from Brasil, and thank you again, Mr White, his team and Coursera.

Doctor White and his team are a bunch of heroes, giving people like me a chance to learn they would never have in their lifetime. I want to send all of them my thanks and ensure them of my heartfelt gratitude. I for one will not allow such a magestic effort go to waste and I am certain that the knowledge that doctor White has imparted me will aid me in diagnosing and alleviating the pain of future patients I will have (lest some tragic incident might find me, God forbid). I swear to remember the kindness of my teacher so I might repay the world in kind one day. Thank You.

It is very very important and wonderful course.when study I think what know? Nothing.but it's very Verse. This type of course need 1-2 years minimum,and I think need reverse option, because medical science unlimited and particularly neuroscience is big ship. It's unbelievable Prof White explain this (every chapter) like drinking water.he isa best Captain of this Ship,in individual I salute and respect him.i salute to Coursera for giving us a easy chance to learn ABCD about Medical Neuroscience.before this I know something.

With thanks and regards. Bapi Nath.