Neuroplasticity Ultimate Course

Name: Neuroplasticity Ultimate Course
Rating: 4.4 (49 reviews)

Learn more about Neuroplasticity and how you could change your life through discovering knowledge, certification

Created byicourse Academy

Last updated 6/2025

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

strength of the connections between neurons (or synapses) changes.
neuroplasticity and neurogenesis
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to adapt
When we learn something new, we create new connections between our neurons.

Course content

4 sections • 47 lectures • 3h 15m total length

the anatomy of anxiety 13:32
Explore how the cerebral cortex processes input from the eyes, ears, nose, and skin through loops and hemispheres to shape perception, memory, language, and anxiety responses.
Frontal Lobe5:18
Explore how the frontal lobe's frontal loops integrate information to anticipate outcomes, learn actions, and regulate behavior, while addressing cortex-based anxiety and obsessive thoughts.
Rewire Brain2:18
Discover how neuroplasticity rewires the brain by two anxiety pathways—the cortex and the amygdala—through thought patterns and environmental cues.
Understanding Anxiety 14:13
Understand how anxiety and fear share brain mechanisms, involving the cortex and amygdala, and how psychotherapy and changing thoughts help control anxiety and regain life.
The Cortex and the Amygdala3:24
Explore how the cortex drives reasoning, language, and complex thought while the amygdala attaches emotional significance and forms anxiety-related memories, showing why addressing both regions helps reduce anxiety.
The Promise of Neuroplasticity2:53
Understanding How Anxiety Limits you in Your life3:50
Explore how anxiety heightens alertness yet can limit life, recognize that ridding yourself of all anxiety isn't realistic, identify areas of interference, and set goals to live as you wish.
Revisiting the Two Pathways to Anxiety7:35
Explore two neural pathways of anxiety—the cortex, shaping thoughts, and the amygdala, triggering rapid bodily arousal—and why treatments target cortex but not long-term amygdala circuitry.
The Amygdala Pathway5:13
Discover how the amygdala triggers immediate anxiety responses through rapid sensory input. It forms and recalls emotional memories, guiding fear before cortical processing.
The Root of Anxiety Understanding The Amygdala2:49
Uncover how the amygdala drives fear and anxiety, its ancient role, and how the language of the amygdala and daily experiences shape its responses.
The Root of Anxiety consider Fran4:32
Explore how the amygdala drives public-speaking anxiety, how cortex-based explanations can amplify fear, and how neuroplasticity-informed deep breathing strategies calm the amygdala.
How the Amygdala Decides what is Dangerous 13:34
Examine how the amygdala weighs threats and forms fear through experiences and genetics, and how it can be trained to respond differently.
Emotional Memories2:43
Form emotional memories from experiences, as the amygdala creates associations. Encode memories in the lateral nucleus, guiding avoidance when riding as a passenger in a car accident.

The Fight Flight or Freeze Response5:45
Explore how the amygdala's central nucleus triggers the fight, flight, or freeze response, activating the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens to energize the body with adrenaline and cortisol.
Emotional Learning in The Lateral Nucleus of the Amygdala6:35
Explore how the lateral nucleus of the amygdala forms fear-based memories through association. Learn how this rewires neural circuits to trigger anxiety and protect you.
How the Cortex Creates Anxiety3:22
Learn how the cortex creates anxiety via two general ways: misinterpreting sensory information as threats, and generating distressing thoughts that activate the amygdala, even without danger.
vThe Stress Response6:05
Explore how the amygdala triggers the stress response, activating fight, flight, or freeze and preparing the body via the sympathetic nervous system with heart rate, pupil dilation, and cortisol release.
The Fight Flight or Freeze Response,5:45
Explore how the amygdala triggers fight, flight, or freeze by activating brainstem arousal systems and releasing adrenaline and cortisol, and learn strategies like deep breathing and physical activity.

Two Pathways to Anxiety2:01
Explore two pathways to anxiety, from the thalamus to the amygdala for rapid reactions, and the cortex for slower, informed responses, illustrated by Melinda's experience.
The Central Nucleus3:02
The central nucleus of the amygdala activates the sympathetic nervous system to trigger fight-or-flight by releasing cortisol and adrenaline, increasing heart rate, respiration, and energy.
A Matter of Timing5:47
Explore how the amygdala and cortex operate on different time tables, triggering fight or flight and freezing in emergencies, and how recognizing these roots helps manage anxiety and panic.
Brain Circuitry3:32
Explore how brain circuitry drives anxiety, from cortex-driven worries to amygdala body responses, and learn how neuroplasticity enables rewiring neurons, dendrites, and neurotransmitters to change anxious patterns.
Synapse3:37
Understand how neurotransmitters cross the synapse from the axon terminal to the next neuron, exciting or inhibiting firing and shaping memories, thoughts, and actions. Medications boost neurotransmitters to influence circuits.
Circuitry Connections Between Neurons3:26
Learn how brain circuits form as neurons fire together to strengthen connections, enabling rewiring through experience, shaping memory, anxiety responses, and overall learning.
Emotional Memories Formed By the Amygdala3:30
Discover how the amygdala forms emotional memories independent of the cortex, driving anxiety and fear even when cortex-based memories are absent.
Discovering the Source of Amygdala Based Memories4:02
Explore how the amygdala stores emotional memories and triggers anxiety, sometimes without cortical recall, and discover how two pathways (cortex-to-amygdala and thalamus-to-amygdala) rewire the brain to reduce anxiety.
Panic Attacks4:38
Explore how panic attacks arise from amygdala and central nucleus activation, triggering fight, flight, or freeze. Learn symptoms, typical triggers, and strategies to reframe and regulate this brain circuitry.
Teaching Your Amygdala Through Experience4:17
Explore how neuroplasticity rewires the amygdala by exposing it to situations that contradict prior fear associations, forming new neural connections that reduce anxiety.
Exposure Based Treatment5:25
Exposure-based treatment confronts fear through gradual desensitization or intense exposure, rewiring the amygdala by safe, repeated encounters with feared situations in anxiety, panic, phobia, and OCD.
The Basics of Rewiring Activate to Generate4:06
Activate the amygdala to generate new neural connections by exposing yourself to anxiety, rewiring fear responses through deliberate exposure rather than avoidance.
Understanding Exposure Through Practice in Diagramming 12:28
Explore how exposure through practice rewires the amygdala, supporting neuroplasticity, by pairing friendly cat interactions with positive experiences and strengthening neutral or positive neural connections to reduce fear.
Association Trigger Cat1:41
Expose yourself to fear situations to retrain your response, as amygdala learning strengthens with practice; work with an experienced therapist to avoid strengthening anxiety and apply exposure only when necessary.
Exercise and Sleep Tips for Calming Amygdala Based Anxiety3:53
Engage in aerobic exercise to calm amygdala-based anxiety and lower adrenaline released by stress. Pair regular activity with adequate sleep to support amygdala functioning and resilience.
Exercise and Anxiety 14:09
Aerobic exercise reduces anxiety after 20 minutes, with relief lasting 4–6 hours. It calms the amygdala by altering neurotransmitters and enabling exposure to anxiety sensations, supporting neuroplasticity.
What Type of Exercise is Best for You4:17
Choose one or two enjoyable, moderately intense exercises approved by your doctor, at least three times a week for 30 minutes to boost mood and brain health, while prioritizing sleep.
Helping Your Amygdala Get Past Panic3:26
Calm your amygdala during panic with deep breathing, muscle relaxation, and exercise, and resist fleeing to help your amygdala learn that the situation is safe.
Lack of Sleep and the Amygdala3:47
Sleep deprivation heightens amygdala reactivity, boosting anxiety and irritability, while sufficient REM sleep calms the amygdala and supports memory consolidation.
Coping with Sleep Difficulties3:34
Establish relaxing prebed rituals, consistent bed and wake times, and a sleep-friendly environment to improve sleep; avoid caffeine late and use breathing or exercise to boost neuroplasticity and calm amygdala.
Helping your Cortex Get Past Panic7:30
Train your cortex to move from panic to action by reframing symptoms, embracing active coping, and distracting attention from panic cues through social engagement.
The Benefits of Relaxation5:51
Explore how relaxation techniques reduce anxiety by calming the amygdala and activating the parasympathetic nervous system through breathing, meditation, and yoga.
Breathing Focused Strategies4:55
Practice slow, deep breathing to trigger relaxation and lower heart rate, countering sympathetic arousal and stress. Explore breathing techniques that help during exams or anxiety, including steps to prevent hyperventilation.
Diaphragmatic Breathing8:03
Learn diaphragmatic (abdominal) breathing to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce amygdala activation. Practice abdominal inhale with minimal chest movement and try progressive muscle relaxation to ease sympathetic tension.
Imagery4:32
Incorporate imagery to achieve relaxation with visualized scenes and deep breathing, relaxing head muscles to reduce amygdala activation. Meditation and mindfulness further calm the amygdala and ease anxiety.
The Language of the Amygdala4:09
Explore how the lateral nucleus of the amygdala forms emotional memories and mediates fear, anxiety, and triggers, and learn how repetition rewires these associations to influence responses.
Association Trigger3:00
Explore how a negative event links to a trigger in the amygdala, shaping fear and anxiety, and learn how exposure therapy and self-knowledge of triggers retrain the brain.
The Role of the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala2:42
Explain how the central nucleus of the amygdala acts as an ignition switch, triggering the stress response via the hypothalamus and activating sympathetic nervous system to release adrenaline and cortisol.

Requirements

NO requirements or prerequisites

Description

Neuroplasticity can be defined as brain’s ability to change, remodel and reorganize for purpose of better ability to adapt to new situations. Despite the fact that the concept of neuroplasticity is quite new, it is one of the most important discoveries in neuroscience. The fact is that neural networks are not fixed, but occurring and disappearing dynamically throughout our whole life, depending on experiences. While we repeatedly practice one activity such as a sequence of movements or a mathematical problem, neuronal circuits are being formed, leading to better ability to perform the practiced task with less waste of energy. Once we stop practicing a certain activity, the brain will redirect these neuronal circuits by a much known 'use it or lose it’ principle. Neuroplasticity leads to many different occurrences, such as habituation, sensitization to a certain position, medication tolerance, even recovery following brain injury

Our brains are truly extraordinary; unlike computers, which are built to certain specifications and receive software updates periodically, our brains can actually receive hardware updates in addition to software updates. Different pathways form and fall dormant, are created and are discarded, according to our experiences.

When we learn something new, we create new connections between our neurons. We rewire our brains to adapt to new circumstances. This happens on a daily basis, but it’s also something that we can encourage and stimulate.

it was discovered that neurons could reorganize after a traumatic event. Further research found that stress can change not only the functions but also the structure of the brain itself

Although related, neuroplasticity and neurogenesis are two different concepts.

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to form new connections and pathways and change how its circuits are wired; neurogenesis is the even more amazing ability of the brain to grow new neurons

Neuroplasticity is one fundamental process that describes any change in final neural activity or behavioral response, or;
Neuroplasticity is an umbrella term for a vast collection of different brain change and adaptation phenomena.

Who this course is for:

Anyone who is interested in learning about neuroplasticity
Anyone who is interested in learning how to rewire brain

Neuroplasticity Ultimate Course

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

the anatomy of anxiety 113 lectures • 52min

The Fight Flight or Freeze Response5 lectures • 28min

Two Pathways to Anxiety28 lectures • 1hr 55min

BONUS SECTION - THANK YOU1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: