With the semester officially over, I am left to consider what gains have been made in the past few months. Usually it’s a little challenging to identify how my knowledge has changed and grown, and what new information or skills will be immediately useful to me in the future. However, this year it’s easy. Neurochemistry has been extremely helpful in taking my knowledge of neuroscience further and integrating my understanding of the nervous systems with areas of science I am not as familiar with. This includes upper level chemistry, biology, and genetics–classes that are difficult for me to access as a psychology major unless I tack on a few extra majors or minors. Neurochemistry, however, demonstrated that this isn’t necessary, and that careful analysis of the literature and extra readings and research in areas I’m not familiar in can provide a great foundational understanding of neurochemistry.
The interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience is what drew me to the discipline in the first place. As a psychology major and neuroscience minor, I am interested in how the brain creates thought and behavior at the cellular, molecular, and systems levels. Generally, I hover somewhere in between the areas of psychology, biology, and chemistry–farther enough on the physiological end of psychology to dread the familiar, “Oh so you’re a psychology major? What are you going to be, a shrink or something?” No. No, actually, I’m not. Yet I’m not a chemist or biologist either. Neuroscience is the perfect place to blend all of these interests. Not only does it allow a multidisciplinary approach to studying the science of the brain, but I think it also fosters cooperation between scientists and fields that may contribute to better research and progress. As the scientific field becomes progressively more and more specialized and reductionistic, neuroscience remains a bastion of cooperation and integration between multiple fields. Where else can computer scientists, mathematicians, cognitive scientists, linguists, psychologists, doctors, chemists, biologists, and even philosophers meet at a common interest? Exactly.
How did neurochemistry impact my learning this semester? I feel that it has enabled me to more fully appreciate and join the multidisciplinary area of neuroscience. Before, I leaned heavily on the psychology end of things and had limited knowledge of chemistry and molecular biology. Throughout the course, however, I learned through personal research and additional reading that these concepts greatly augment my understanding of brain function. Through in class lectures and discussions of papers, I became more and more familiar with chemistry and biology concepts. There were many “aha!” moments when I realized a signalling pathway, gene, or chemical responsible for a phenomenon in psychology. I truly came to understand much more about the biochemical signalling in the brain, and to integrate that with what I already knew about behavior and the mind. I was also able to share with others my knowledge and experience with psychology and mental illness. Coming away from this class, I feel that I have much more mature understanding of brain function as well as an appreciation for the diverse perspectives that converge in the field of neuroscience.
It was also enormously effective to include a writing and communicating focus in this class. I’ve observed that many science majors, including myself, can be deficient when it comes to communicating about science to the public. This can be disastrous, as the public frequently and severely misunderstands scientific research and issues. Good communication skills will be vitally important among scientists as research progresses. I feel that this class pushed us to be better communicators–not just in reporting scientific knowledge to others in the field (i.e. us) but also to the general public. These are two quite different skills. Learning how to write in a blog format about big issues in neuroscience research was a challenge but also a lot of fun. I feel that I grew just as much as our intended audience may have as well.
As I consider a career in neuroscience myself, I’m excited about all the different directions, perspectives, and areas of expertise included in this field. Neurochemistry has taken me one step closer to joining this diverse community.
Final thoughts
