"What course do you study..?"
“We’re Neuroscientists…”
“Is that to do with
Rockets..?”
“…”
Chris: Believe it or not, this
conversation actually happened to Tom and I. One thing you have to accept when
you become a student of Neuroscience is the fact that you will always be
explaining what it is you study. My Grandad still to this day has told his
friends 1000 different courses beginning with ‘N’ in reply to what does your
grandson study?. At one point I think I have even been studying something to do
with Nuclear Science.
Tom: It’s true and be
prepared for a wide variety of interpretations. I have even had someone
mishear me and spend the night assuming that I was studying ‘Euroscience’ and
that I was intensely interested in Europe and its many workings. I can assure
you this is not the case!
Chris: The first thoughts I had
about Neuroscience were those of dissecting brains in labs. I viewed myself
conducting open brain surgery in labs for three years, learning how to control
people’s minds with tricks similar to that of Derren Brown. However, it’s safe
to say that I was slightly off.
Tom: For me the prospect of
studying neuroscience was actually slightly daunting. I asked myself ‘How
could we even come close to scratching the surface in studying the very thing
that make us who we are?’ I was, to say the least, a little
apprehensive of what lay ahead.
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Possibly our favorite lab of all time - Sheep brain dissection
|
Chris: My first lecture was
just after the fresher’s fair, I forgot the time and got there a couple of
minutes late so missed the quick introduction (Hopefully I can’t get punished 3
years later). All I remember was walking into a speech about Reiki and
thinking, ‘yes, here come the mind control tips’. The lecture carried on to
tell us about what else we would be learning this year, this is where I
realised I would not become Derren Brown, but instead a ‘real scientist’. The
course was evenly weighted between psychology and biochemistry, something which
to be honest I was not expecting a first. Now however I am thankful for this as
it has given me a much larger knowledge base, and psychology has always been
something I have wanted to study since college.
Tom: That Reiki lecture was
also my first lecture and having met Chris just before that (A friendship that
still lasts to this day!) I was wondering where he was… I was sitting in
a lecture hall with a bloke teaching me the apparent ins and outs of healing
with my hands and not a clue what to do… It was happening; here was all the
complexity I had feared! However through all of this, with Chris showing up a
little later and joining me, the fear I had built up simply melted away. What
had appeared to be mysterious and a bit of mental trickery was in fact just a
lecture with simple logic and reasoning explaining apparent theories behind
this strange belief in front of me. I could relax….
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| Tom in the Neuroendocrinology Lab |
Chris: Since becoming a
Neuroscientist I have paid a lot more attention to the scientific world. From
this I have started to realise how wide spread Neuroscience is, and how it is
shaping the world. One of my interests before I came to Uni was sport which I
thought was far from the lab based course I signed up for. I’ve realised now
however that many of our advancements in sport come from Neuroscientists, a
glance at any issue of Mens Health will have quotes and papers from leading
Neuroscientists about advancing sporting performance. This is the kind of real
world science I love to see, and hope to one day be a part of. Something I was
doubtful about when I applied for university.
Tom: It’s true that
Neuroscience has provided me with a broader perspective of the world and
throughout my time here at the University of Central Lancashire I have
developed a great appreciation for its many applications in science. I feel
that here a great balance is created between lab work and lectures, making the
content a lot more interesting and enjoyable. Great support is also a defining
feature of the course with lecturers always on hand to provide great input and
advice when asked. I have even been able to tailor my course to my own
interests and conduct my dissertation on a topic of my choosing. This resulted
in me partaking in a trip to the Everest Base Camp in the Himalayan region of
Nepal (But that is a post for another time!). I feel that my studies in Neuroscience
have had a great impact on me, developing me into the person I am today and
providing me with a great number of skills applicable in a professional
environment.
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| Brain Research Trust Fundraiser - David, Tom and Chris (left to right) |
The idea behind this post was to explain a little about how our
own interpretations of Neuroscience, after 3 years of study, have changed. From
the beginning where we thought of the brain as something of intense complexity,
almost too difficult to even begin to study to now where we realise that with
enough effort and enthusiasm, anything is possible!
To those reading it will hopefully give a little feedback to how
we have developed over our time here at UCLan and how we now see Neuroscience
in the modern world.
Thanks for reading!
Chris Neil & Tom Barrett
3rd Year Neuroscience Students
NeuroSoc Blog Editors
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