Login
Home › Online Course Categories › Neurology › The Science of Happiness
Neurology 238 — at a Glance
| Course: | Neurology 238: The Science of Happiness |
| Faculty: | Michael Hall, DC, FIACN · Neurology Faculty, CCEDseminars |
| Format: | On-demand online video with case walk-throughs and assessment · downloadable handouts · instant certificate |
| Pricing: | $20/hr · automatic 10% off at 6–9 hrs, 20% off at 10+ hrs in one order · no promo codes |
| Approval: | PACE Provider #34015544 · co-sponsored by Texas Chiropractic College · acceptance varies by state |
Board-approved · PACE Provider #34015544 · CE Broker auto-reporting for states served · Instant certificate
Joy has a physiology, and physiology is something a clinician can talk about without embarrassment. Defined properly it is not a mood to be wished for but a state with catalysts, measurable health consequences, and a small number of things that reliably move it.
This two-hour course starts by defining happiness at a physiological level — the neuroscience behind pleasure and reward circuits — then covers what actually catalyses it and how to foster an environment that supports it. It closes on the states of happiness, differentiating between them, and the role of gratitude. Written for practitioners, patients and staff alike.
Choose Your Neurology Path — Three Lanes, One Curriculum
The Neurology series runs from what you can measure at the bedside, through the brain systems that explain the findings, to the structures a chiropractor treats, the developing nervous system, and the risks worth screening for. Courses 201–230 are built out here, within a larger clinical-neurology curriculum; each is two hours.
1 · Examination, Testing and Clinical Reasoning
What you measure and what it means — oximetry, vital signs, reflexes, sensory testing, outcome measures and the differential behind a collapse.
203: Pulse Oximetry in Chiropractic
208: Vital Signs for Chiropractors
210: Chiropractic Clinical Case Studies
211: Reflex Assessment in Chiropractic
213: Neurology Tests for Chiropractors
222: Somatosensory Examination Review
224: Outcome Assessments: Neurologic Perspective
235: Syncope
236: Accurate Sensory Testing & the Clinical Examination
2 · Brain Systems, Cognition and Mood
The cortical, cerebellar and limbic files — pain and the CNS, the pyramidal system, frontal lobes and cerebellum, memory, mood, smell and what the brain is popularly believed to do. You are here: Neurology 238.
202: Pain & the Central Nervous System
204: Clinical Aspects of the Pyramidal Man
205: Functional Neurology & Frontal Lobes
206: Functional Neurology & the Cerebellum
223: Myths of the Brain
228: The Neurophysiology of Happiness
229: Clinical Perspectives Surrounding Memory
233: Anxiety in America
237: The Nose Knows
238: The Science of Happiness
3 · Spine, Posture and Craniocervical
Where neurology meets the structures a chiropractor treats — the cord, the vestibular system, the craniocervical junction, the cervical curve, sleep posture and the mechanics of the ribcage.
201: Chiropractic Myelopathy Management
207: Exploring the Vestibular System
209: Guzay’s Theorem & Craniocervical Neurology
225: Current Perspectives of Sleep Posture
231: Ribs and Breathing
234: The Cervical Lordosis
4 · Pediatric and Developmental Neurology
The developing nervous system from birth through adolescence — early plasticity, developmental milestones, and concussion in children and teens.
212: Pediatric Concussion Management
217: The Concussed Teen and Return to Learn
221: Brain Rules for Babies
226: Pediatric Pearls (Ages 0–3)
227: The Vital Child (Ages 5–12)
5 · Motor Control, Tone and Peripheral Nerve
The motor system from cortex to muscle — upper motor neuron anatomy and signs, tone and spasticity, movement disorders and peripheral nerve involvement.
215: Dopamine, Parkinson’s & Chiropractic
218: Chiropractic Perspectives on Tone
240: The Upper Motor Neuron
6 · Autonomic, Vascular and Brain-Health Risk
The autonomic and vascular side of practice — sympathetic and vagal regulation, blood pressure, digestion, stroke risk, and the lifestyle factors that move long-term brain health.
214: Depression and Exercise
216: Is Fitness Important to Health?
219: Cervicogenic Hypertension
220: Chiropractic Stroke Risk Assessment
230: Low Stomach Acid & the Burp Test
232: The IML — Structure, Function & Relevance
239: Dysautonomia
Every course in the series is 2 PACE-approved CE hours at $40, and the automatic bundle discounts apply across the whole lane.
What You'll Learn in Neurology 238
Identify and employ five strategies to foster joy in daily life
Explain the health benefits that follow from joy, at the level of physiology rather than sentiment
Apply gratitude deliberately, and differentiate between the distinct states of happiness
Interpret the geographical variations in how happiness is perceived and what they imply clinically
Your Neurology Faculty
Michael Hall, DC, FIACN,instructor of this course and of the entire Neurology curriculum. A chiropractic neurology specialist, founder of BrainDC.org and Neurology Faculty at CCEDseminars, with more than 30 years of clinical and academic experience. He teaches functional neurology, neurological assessment and clinical neuroscience with an emphasis on case-based, evidence-informed application — translating complex neurological concepts into clinical reasoning a general practice can use.
Monte Horne, DC,reviewer of this course. Founder and CE Program Director of CCEDseminars, a Designated Doctor for the Texas Department of Insurance and a peer reviewer and expert witness.
Full bios and the complete instructor roster: CCEDseminars faculty page.
Where Neurology CE Hours Count — State Rules Worth Knowing
Clinical neurology coursework is clinical subject matter — assessment, diagnosis and case management — which is exactly what several state boards ask for. In Iowa, these hours serve the 36-hour clinical case-management minimum; in Rhode Island, they address the 50-of-60 clinical requirement; and in Vermont — where practice-building coursework earns nothing — patient-care education like this counts fully under the clinical-focus rule.
Online-format allowances still vary by state — some accept every hour online, others cap distance learning or require in-person blocks. Check your state's guide in the full state directory before building your renewal plan.
Build Your Neurology Block
Every course in the Neurology series runs 2 hours at $40, so the automatic discounts do the bundling for you: 6–9 hours in one order earns 10% off, and 10 or more earns 20% off — courses 201–210 together are 20 hours, well past the 20% tier at roughly $320 instead of $400. The full Chiropractic Clinical Neurology (CCN) 201–224 bundle runs 48 hours if you are working toward the certification. 2 CE hours,$40 Browse Neurology Courses
Neurology 238 — Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from Neurology 228, The Neurophysiology of Happiness?
They are a mechanism course and an application course. 228 covers the machinery — dopamine, reward circuitry, hemispheric activity, emotional regulation and the overlap with addiction behaviours. 238 starts from the physiology and moves to what is actually done with it: the states of happiness, the role of gratitude, five strategies to foster joy, and how to build an environment that supports it. Take 228 for the wiring, 238 for the practice.
Is happiness really a clinical topic?
It is a physiological one, which makes it clinical. The course defines joy at a physiological level rather than a sentimental one, covers the health benefits that follow from it, and treats it as a modifiable factor. It is also explicitly written for practitioners, patients and staff — the room a patient walks into affects their visit.
What does gratitude have to do with neurology?
It is one of the more reliably studied interventions in the field, and the course covers its role in the section on the states of happiness. The claim made is a measured one: gratitude practice is associated with shifts in reported wellbeing, which is a different and more defensible statement than saying it rewires the brain.
What are the states of happiness?
The course differentiates between them rather than treating happiness as one thing — a momentary pleasure, a sustained contentment and a sense of meaning are physiologically and practically distinct. Confusing them is why advice that works for one leaves people flat in another.
What are the geographical variations the course mentions?
How happiness is perceived and reported differs by place, and the course covers what that variation implies. It is a useful corrective: much of what gets presented as universal about wellbeing is culturally specific, and knowing that changes how you talk to a patient about it.
State Approval and Licensing Reminder
Continuing education requirements — including online-hour caps and clinical-hour minimums — vary by jurisdiction. Review the online chiropractic CE guidelines page and contact CCEDseminars with questions about your specific licensing requirements before registering.
Ready to Enroll in Neurology 238?
Joy has catalysts, states and measurable consequences. This course covers all three, for your patients and for your practice.
CCEDseminars · PACE Provider #34015544 · Reviewed by Monte Horne, DC · Last updated September 3, 2026 (CT)