So, what's the take-home message from our Neurochemistry class?

Have you ever wondered? ——–Why do we become forgetful as we get older? How do pain killers magically alleviate our physical pain and why are some of us addicted to them? Why is eating fruits and vegetables that are rich in Vitamin C, E, Flavonoids and Carotenoids good for reducing the chances of having Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases? What are the anti-oxidants and what role do they play in the body? How do athletes know they are safe to get back to play after having a concussion? Why do bipolar patients have episodes of severe mood swings?  Why are a lot of us obese and how can we fight obesity from a young age? What is ‘good’ about alcohol and why is alcoholism and alcohol-related incidents causing a big concern for our society? How can we understand autism and help the autistic people?

Those are some of the basic questions and topics that we discussed in our neurochemistry class. We discussed about biochemical, physiological and social aspects of these neurological and behavioral disorders which are the leading medical issues that we are facing today. These issues cost billions of dollars on our health care system in the United States and more or less in other parts of the world. In addition to learning about the neural mechanisms behind these disorders, we discussed about possible therapeutic targets, behavioral therapy, importance of diet, etc. and impact of each disorder on our society today. Hence, we were not only learning according to the book but we were also engaging the information we learned from the research papers into the real world applications. Most of us in class would know someone who is suffering from one of the disorders that we covered and we would relate the information of this real person with what we have learned from the literature.
From this Neurochemistry class, I not only learned about the fascinating neural mechanisms behind some of the most important neurological and psychological disorders, but I also learned about the prevalence of each disorder, the magnitude of impact it has on the lives of the patients and the society as a whole. Critically thinking and discussing about possible therapeutic targets also leads to better understanding of the symptoms and paves the way for continued studies on a certain topic of interest at the graduate level.  One of the significant parts about this class is having the opportunity to share what we have learned in class with the rest of the community via these blogs on the internet. We have the opportunity to communicate with the people outside of our class or even outside of our college or town as these blogs spread the awareness of the some of the common disorders. As a neuroscience student and as a cobber, I feel rewarded and engaged after learning some of the most interesting topics and sharing what I have learned in this Neurochemistry class. I feel that this class serves its purpose of a core class at Concordia College by engaging the students into becoming responsibly engaged in the affairs of the world.