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Nervous System Evolution, Simulation, Cognition, Consciousness

Module name (EN):
Name of module in study programme. It should be precise and clear.
Nervous System Evolution, Simulation, Cognition, Consciousness
Degree programme:
Study Programme with validity of corresponding study regulations containing this module.
Neural Engineering, Master, regulation 01.04.2020
Module code: NE2221.NSE
SAP-Submodule-No.:
The exam administration creates a SAP-Submodule-No for every exam type in every module. The SAP-Submodule-No is equal for the same module in different study programs.
P213-0211
Hours per semester week / Teaching method:
The count of hours per week is a combination of lecture (V for German Vorlesung), exercise (U for Übung), practice (P) oder project (PA). For example a course of the form 2V+2U has 2 hours of lecture and 2 hours of exercise per week.
3V+1PA (4 hours per week)
ECTS credits:
European Credit Transfer System. Points for successful completion of a course. Each ECTS point represents a workload of 30 hours.
5
Semester: 1 or 2
Mandatory course: no
Language of instruction:
German
Assessment:
Written exam

[updated 17.06.2026]
Applicability / Curricular relevance:
All study programs (with year of the version of study regulations) containing the course.

NE2221.NSE (P213-0211) Neural Engineering, Master, regulation 01.04.2020 , optional course
NE2221.NSE (P213-0211) Neural Engineering, Master, regulation 01.10.2025 , semester 2, optional course
Workload:
Workload of student for successfully completing the course. Each ECTS credit represents 30 working hours. These are the combined effort of face-to-face time, post-processing the subject of the lecture, exercises and preparation for the exam.

The total workload is distributed on the semester (01.04.-30.09. during the summer term, 01.10.-31.03. during the winter term).
60 class hours (= 45 clock hours) over a 15-week period.
The total student study time is 150 hours (equivalent to 5 ECTS credits).
There are therefore 105 hours available for class preparation and follow-up work and exam preparation.
Recommended prerequisites (modules):
None.
Recommended as prerequisite for:
Module coordinator:
Dr. Sebastian Markert
Lecturer: Dr. Sebastian Markert

[updated 27.11.2024]
Learning outcomes:
The students are able to describe how nervous systems emerged and changed through evolution. They can compare nervous systems of animals, including humans, and discuss different forms of intelligence. They can discuss the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for holistic nervous system research. They can define a connectome and discuss the efficacy of connectomics as a means of understanding nervous systems as a whole. They can discuss the possibilities and limits of nervous system simulation. They can describe the state of research on cognition and consciousness. They can discuss hypotheses on consciousness and free will.

[updated 13.10.2025]
Module content:
 
 
 
Nervous System Evolution, Simulation, Cognition, Consciousness – the biggest questions explored in the smallest worm
 
 
1.  Evolution of the nervous system
        1.1  How and when nervous systems emerged
        1.2  Universal principles of nervous system function
        1.3  Protostome versus deuterostome nervous systems
        1.4  Human versus non-human intelligence
 
2.  The roundworm model Caenorhabditis elegans
        2.1  The biology of the worm
        2.2  The nervous system of the worm
        2.3  The connectome of the worm
        2.4  Why we should study worms
        2.5  Why we should not study worms
 
3.  Connectomics
        3.1  Why we obtain connectomes
        3.2  How we obtain connectomes
        3.3  Which connectomes we have obtained
        3.4  What we have learned from connectomes
        3.5  Why connectomes disappoint
 
4.  Simulation of nervous systems
        4.1  The worm that woke up in a robot
        4.2  Uploading a mind into a machine
        4.3  Artificial neuronal networks
        4.4  Large Language Models versus nervous systems
 
5.  Consciousness
        5.1  Why consciousness evolved
        5.2  The twofold substrate independence of consciousness
        5.3  Consciousness is nowhere and everywhere
        5.4  Qualia, Emergence, and Free Will
        5.5  Where is grandma’s apple pie in the brain?


[updated 13.10.2025]
Teaching methods/Media:
Lectures, discussions, project work, student presentations.

[updated 17.06.2026]
Additional information:
Course work entails project work in groups. Projects are presented to the class. The grade is determined by a written exam.

[updated 17.06.2026]
Recommended or required reading:
Recommended book:
Tegmark, Max (2017). Life 3.0 : being human in the age of artificial intelligence (First ed.). New York: Knopf. ISBN 9781101946596.
 
Recommended YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UebSfjmQNvs
 
Recommended Paper:
Corsi AK, Wightman B, Chalfie M. A Transparent window into biology: A primer on Caenorhabditis elegans. WormBook. 2015 Jun 18:1-31. doi: 10.1895/wormbook.1.177.1. PMID: 26087236; PMCID: PMC4781331.

[updated 17.06.2026]
 
[Mon Jun 22 08:39:22 CEST 2026, CKEY=nnsescc, BKEY=nem, CID=NE2221.NSE, LANGUAGE=en, DATE=22.06.2026]