Neurotechnology in Action
MIT's Center for Neurobiological Engineering offers this survey of tools used to study the brain, covering electrophysiology, light microscopy, cellular engineering, optogenetics, electron microscopy, MRI and fMRI, and MEG and EEG. Lectures lay out the background, context, and theoretical basis of each technology, while labs provide firsthand demonstrations and in situ tours of working equipment. The course treats neurotechnology as a moving target, discussing not just established methods but new paradigms still being tested. Materials are available through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license, including readings and lecture content, free to access with no certificate offered. It suits students already grounded in neuroscience or bioengineering who want to understand how the instruments behind modern brain research actually work, from imaging hardware to genetic tools for controlling neurons with light.