I really didn’t know what to expect out of this semester. I needed a class that counted both as a capstone, as well as an elective for my major, and I settled on CHEM 475. Neurochemistry seemed like an interesting subject, and I knew I would be with a great professor, so I said, “perfect, it fits in my schedule and everything!”
I knew going in that the class structure was a little unconventional. It was discussion based, and no one, even the professor, had all of the answers. It was up to us to apply what we had learned thus far in our college careers and make an effort to understand the material. That is the purpose of the capstone course at Concordia; make us realize how much we have already learned.
Little did I know how much I would actually get out of the semester.
Coming into the class on the first day, Dr. Mach told us that we would get out of the class what we put in, but we weren’t really going to be tested on the information. All of us turned to one another and said, “Great! Just what I wanted, a class that was only participation based!” But that didn’t mean it was going to be easy…
The literature articles we were responsible for reading were dense, and the material in them was complicated. Everyone one was a puzzle we had to put together in order to understand it. I think it is obvious that it wasn’t our favorite part of the week, but it was necessary. A lot of the information we have learned in previous classes was applied to this part of the class; the reading. The first article of the semester was most definitely a struggle. On a scale from 1 to 10 of understanding, the class rated it a 3 or 4. There were so many acronyms, and biochemical pathways, we didn’t know where it started or ended. This is where the class really came together.
It was up to us to help each other understand it. We each took on a sub topic of the paper, and tried to become an expert. Tried, being the key word. By the end of the week, theoretically, we understood the article and the implications it had for a number of diseases and conditions. Then came the fun part, the discussion.
Although it was a slow start to the discussions at the beginning of the semester, we eventually warmed up to each other and had tremendous meaningful discussion. Reading our other blogs barely touches the surface.
We talked about obesity a lot, especially in relation to diet and healthy lifestyle choices. To be honest that is my biggest take away from the information we learned this semester. Everything is good in moderation, from neurotransmitters, to narcotics, to food, the list goes on, and if any of these things are out of balance there is a pretty good chance that our brains can be affected.
I learned a lot about other things too… like pathways, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, glutamate, nitric oxide, RTKs, endocannabinoids, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Type II diabetes, ALS, Autism, Bipolar disorder, concussions, GSK-3, G-protein coupled receptors, NMDA receptors, GABA, sushi domains! and so much more.
One of my favorite professors always told us that we shouldn’t commit academic bulimia. We should never memorize information and purge it for the exam. We should retain what we learn, and I really feel like this class was really conducive to actually learning the information.
I will continue to build on the skills and information I am taking away from this class, and that is something I am very excited about.
Of course I’m not going to remember the exact pathway affects by GSK-3, but I will remember that it is related to lithium, or its role in neurotransmission.
However, one thing I wish I would have had coming into the class was a stronger base in neurochemistry. The people that had taken the intro to neurochemistry class were able to participate much more in the beginning of the semester than I was. At first I felt like I was missing this huge chunk of information, and that everyone was so much farther ahead of me. Then I realized half the class was in the same boat.
On a not so education note, I thought the class was super fun. We had a great time together as a class, and that only added to the interest in the material. We had a lot of good laughs, and of course we bonded over complaints of the reading material, but we all got through it together, and that is what matters in the end. Now, onto graduation!
