Health

Why We Can’t Stop Eating?

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There’s no denying that Americans’ collective waistband is growing tighter. According to the CDC, around 36% of adults and 17% of children are now considered obese – the highest it’s ever been. And not only did this epidemic cost US taxpayers a paltry $147 billion in 2008, but it also contributes to a plethora of other diseases including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes (1). Despite what many daytime TV ads try to tell us, dietitians and doctors say that the best way to combat obesity is through healthy diet and exercise.
Which bring up the question: what’s going on in our brains that make it so hard to eat healthy?
The answer that neuroscientists point to is our endocannabinoid system. While there are several other functions of the endocannabinoid system the main role it plays in our body is regulating our appetite. Namely, when endocannabinoid receptors like CB1 are activated by neurotransmitters such as AEA to produce feelings of hunger. However this obviously isn’t the whole story. Here are some ways that the endocannabinoid system influence our eating habits on a larger scale:
Endocannabinoids increase our sensitivity to sweetness and high-calorie foods
It’s no secret that we as humans love foods that are sweet and high in calories, and there is science behind the reason why. Generally, foods that are sweet are also high in calories and our endocannabinoid system rewards us when we continually eat sweet food. CB1 receptors found on the tongue were also found to react more strongly to high-fat foods. One experiment even found that ingestion of high-fat foods caused dopamine outflow in the ventral striatum, an important mechanism for reward (2).
Looking at food increases endocannabinoid levels
For most of us, even the sight of food elicits an emotional response. This is no accident. Endocannabinoid receptors are even localized on the retina and are important in mediating palatable memory by activating the endocannabinoid system found in the brain. Thus, our food preferences are strengthen by these implicit food memories (3).
Food and substance addiction work the same way
Food and illegal substances (meth, cocaine, marijuana etc.) all use a similar pathway to promote addiction. More specifically, food and substance addiction both activate the brain reward dopaminergic and opioid systems. When it comes to food addiction, some studies have found that there is compromised dopaminergic signaling and downregulated dopamine receptors in obese patients. Another study found that subjects that were considered obese had increased dopamine release in respond to food cues (4).
Sources:

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22561130
  3. Bouchard, J.-F., Casanova, C., Cécyre, B., & Redmond, W. J. (2016). Expression and Function of the Endocannabinoid System in the Retina and the Visual Brain. Neural Plasticity, 2016, 9247057. http://doi.org/10.1155/2016/9247057 ▲
  4. . DʼAddario C, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Pucci M, Romano A, Gaetani S, Ciccocioppo R, et al. (2014): Endocannabinoid signaling and food addiction. Neuroscience Biobehavior Reviews 47:203–224.
Health

Is Cannabis a Possible Cure for Obesity?

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In recent years the epidemic of obesity has become a hot topic in the United States.  It has become a huge problem because this has a significant impact on the health of our citizens.  According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “35.7% of adults are considered to be obese.  More than 6.3% have extreme obesity.”  However, recent studies show that it may not fully be the fault of the individuals.  The body may be working against itself.  This would occur through the reward response of the endocannabinoid system.  When this response is dysfunctional, food addiction can be the result.
The Endocannabinoid System and the Reward Response
The two major endocannabinoids that have been extensively studied are N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG).  These are both derivatives of arachidonic acid, which is a lipid transmitter.  These endocannabinoids can be made on demand by multiple synthetic pathways.  Once they are released they can bind to either the CB1 or CB2 receptors in the body.  The CB1 receptors are found in neurons and organs such as the heart and liver.  The CB2 receptorsare not as prevalent and are found in the immune system.
One of the main functions of the endocannabinoid system and the CB1 receptor is to maintain energy balance.  When the CB1 receptor is activated it causes a person to eat and if it is over stimulated it can lead to over eating.  Over activation of the CB1 receptor causes increased food intake and can lead to obesity.  This is because it is closely related to the reward system in the mesolimbic system. Basically, the more a person eats the more the reward system is activated leading to wanting to eat more.  One important thing to note is that endocannabinoids are at their highest levels in the brain when a person is hungry and at the lowest after a person has eaten.
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is one of 113 different active cannabinoids in Cannabis (marijuana).  It can comprise up to 40% of the plant’s total extract and has a different action than THC.  CBD is different from THC in that it lacks the psychoactivity (alterations in perception and mood) component and can even combat the psychoactive effects of THC.  Also, it does not interfere with psychomotor learning and other physiological functions.
CBD is already being used to treat a severe form of epilepsy.  It is taken orally and has shown some efficacy in helping with seizures.
CBD effects on Endocannabinoid System
As I have stated earlier over activation of the CB1 receptor can cause a person to over eat and prolonged activation of the CB1 receptor can lead to obesity.  CBD acts as an antagonist of CB1 receptor agonists.  Basically, what this means is that CBD prevents binding of things that activate the CB1 receptor.  This results in a reduced activation of the CB1 receptor and can lead to less food intake.  CBD can also directly bind to the CB1 receptor and stop it from being activated, but this is very rare.  CBD also acts as an inverse agonist on the CB1 receptor.  All this means is CBD can cause the opposite action of the CB1 receptor (tell a person not to eat).  Cannabidiol can decrease the food intake of a person by the inactivation of the CB1 receptor.
Is CBD the answer?
Cannabidiol has been shown to have promising effects on the body and a decrease in weight gain.  However, it has not been significantly studied in this capacity and further research needs to be done to determine if this is a possible cure.  In the coming years make sure to keep your eyes open for CBD as a treatment for obesity.

Disease/Health

Why It’s Important to Treat Your Body With Love

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Most of us have likely experienced at least some feelings of insecurity about our bodies at some point in our lives – that self-conscious voice that tells us our waists are not small enough, our legs are too thick, our arms are too flabby, our chests are too flat. Negative body-image thoughts can take many different forms and have serious effects on mental stability, but in recent years a number of “Love Your Body” campaigns have developed to show support for all body types and shapes. While I fully admire the message behind these movements, I feel there is something missing..

Yes, it is SO important to love your body and to be comfortable in your own skin, but this is not always the same thing as actually treating your body with love.
 
It can be easy to use this positive message as an excuse to ignore the effects some foods can have on our bodies physically, mentally, and psychologically. Common knowledge tells us we probably shouldn’t eat an entire box of donuts if we don’t want to gain any extra weight or feel sick afterwards, but what many are unaware of is how “junk food” affects signaling pathways in our brains.

 

One of these pathways is called the endocannabinoid (eCB) system. Basically, high levels of eCBs in the brain contribute to feelings of hunger, telling us when to eat. Increased levels of eCBs also increase dopamine levels, the “feel-good” neurotransmitter involved in the reward pathway. After we finish eating, other hormones are supposed to turn off these effects and tell us we are no longer hungry. However, researchers have found that some foods can seriously throw this pathway off balance. Foods that are high in sugar or fat significantly increase eCB levels which also leads to more dopamine in our brains, making us crave more sugar and more fat. In other words, consuming junk food can lead to an overactive reward system, resulting in a massive increase in cravings for these foods and contribute to weight gain and obesity, a growing issue in the United States. There are many uncontrollable factors that can contribute to obesity in an individual such as genetics, socio-economic status, mental health, etc. However, there are some cases mainly induced by poor diets – likely the “easiest” factor to control. With the severe costs obesity has on both an individual and our nation’s economy, it is imperative that steps are taken to combat the growth of the disease.
 
As a competitive athlete all the way through college, I learned the importance of treating my body right and doing my best to keep a clean diet for the sake of competing at the highest possible level. I did not know until recently that foods high in sugar and fat can LITERALLY change how my brain is functioning, negatively impacting everything else going on throughout my body. This information is what I think these “Love Your Body” campaigns are missing. They are encouraging that no one should be ashamed of their body which, again, I fully agree with. However, this idea can be interpreted in many different ways, and I think their message should be a bit more nuanced to include the importance of striving to be healthy overall along with having a positive body image.

Health

How the Reward System Contributes to Obesity

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Obesity is a growing problem for our country here in America. But eating may actually have the ability to trigger our reward system and make us more likely to want to eat more and become less likely to stop when we feel full. The foods that we consume in our diet can also have a great effect on the systems and biochemical pathways in our bodies. Foods high in fat in sugar can actually cause food addiction in some people. One of the pathways in our bodies that can be affected by our diet is our endocannabinoid system.
 
The endocannabinoid system and the reward system
Endocannabinoids are produced from arachidonic acid as a precursor. The two endocannabinoids that are most extensively studied are N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide, AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG).
The binding of these eCBs to cannabinoid receptor CB1 (yes, the same one that THC from the cannabis plant binds to) can affect the release of several neurotransmitters in the body, but especially glutamate, GABA, and dopamine. Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter, meaning that it will cause cells to become activated, release hormones, and carry out functions, along with other things. GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter, so it keeps these processes from happening. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter involved in the reward system that gives you that “feel good” feeling when it is released.
In normal resting state, GABA is inhibiting dopaminergic neurons from releasing dopamine. When THC and eCBs bind to the CB1 receptor, it inhibits GABA neurons, so this stops the inhibitory effect GABA is having on the dopaminergic neurons. This results in the release of dopamine as those neurons are not being inhibited any longer, leading to satisfaction and the reward sensation.
 
Food and the endocannabinoid system
It has been found that some foods can activate this system as well, which may be contributing to this problem of obesity. When high fat diets are consumed, it is putting more fatty acids in the body, which leads to the precursors for the production of some of these eCBs. Thus, eating fatty foods can trigger this reward system, making you feel good when you eat it, and you want to eat more. Because food is so available everywhere in our country for most people, it become so much easier to fall into this pattern of eating too much, especially of unhealthy foods.
It has also been found that there can be some differences in the expression of these CB1 receptors in people who suffer from obesity. An example of this is that they may under-express these receptors, and thus they need to eat more food in order to feel the same amount of satisfaction, because they are not getting the same amount of dopamine released eating a normal amount of food. In obese people, it has also been found that they may have lower levels of some of the enzymes that break down fats, which keeps more eCBs around to trigger the reward system. This leads to consuming more food than is necessary as continuing to eat can make them feel good.
 
The future of obesity
This leads to the question of things that we can try to do to help control the growing number of cases of obesity. As it has been seen that there is an upregulation of the eCB system or the overproduction of eCBs in people struggling with obesity, one option that is currently being researched would be using CB1 antagonists to try to quiet the system down and not cause the urge to eat as much. This may also be key in preventing some other prevalent diseases in our society such as cardiovascular and heart disease and diabetes type II.
 
 

Health

5 Ways Biochemistry Makes You Want Another Donut

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5 Ways Biochemistry Makes You Want Another Donut
The endocannabinoid system in your body regulates the need “to eat or not to eat.” When the level of endocannabinoids (eCBs) is high, your body will want to consume food. If the eCB levels are low, your body recognizes that it is full. However, it’s not such a simple process. There are eCBs not only in your brain, but all over your body that can make eating seem necessary. Here are 5 ways that the eCB system makes you hungry.
1. The eCBs in your retina make you want food when you see it.
When you see a picture, commercial, or food in a grocery store, the eCB system in your retinas become activated and send signals to your brain. Once your brain receives the signal, you recall the enjoyable memory of eating the food you saw. Because seeing the food brings enjoyable memories, you want to feel the joy again, making you hungry for that food.
2. The more fat you eat, the more fat you will want in the future.
Your diet actually has more effect on what you crave than you would expect. If you have a high fat diet, more eCBs will be produced and the more fatty foods you will want in the future. Because of this, obesity by diet can be seen as something that can be controlled by will power. If you have the will power to wean yourself off fatty and unhealthy foods of a diet that can cause obesity, your body will not crave unhealthy foods as much. High sugar diets also have a similar effect.
3. Dopamine is linked to eCBs when you use food as a reward.
Since a lot of people tend to eat food as a reward, dopamine (happy neurotransmitter) levels increase when you eat. Just like any addiction, food can become addicting if used as a reward. More dopamine receptors are produced making you want more dopamine which you produce when you eat food.
4. Your gut talks to your brain.
Just like how there are eCBs in your retinas to signal to your brain that you see something delicious, there are also eCBs in your stomach. The eCBs in your stomach tell your vagus nerve that it’s full which then relays the information to other eCBs in your brain.
5. Obese patients have higher levels of eCBs.
Obesity is largely due to eating behavior. It’s not only considered a metabolic disease. Sure, some people may have genetic problems, but with today’s society, who has the time to eat healthy and exercise? This unhealthy habit of eating fast and easy food is ultimately leading people to an obese future. In obese patients, the levels of eCBs are generally higher – causing the feeling of hunger to be persistent – while the activity of proteins that break down eCBs is considerably lower.
 
In primal times, the eCB system was necessary to survival. Now that we have full access to food pretty much all the time, the survival necessity of the eCB system has become unnecessary. We can almost immediately respond to any feelings of hunger and with any food we want, thus causing our eCBs to be thrown out of whack. So the next time you reach for that donut, be thinking about your endocannabinoids. Are you really that hungry, or are your eCBs telling you that your body wants more of what you’ve given it in the past?
 
For a more in depth, scientific visual of the endocannabinoid system, check out this video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsRAxCzxQm0

Health

What Is the Cause of Obesity?

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Obesity is a very prevalent problem in the US. Over one third of Americans are obese. Obesity can lead to many health complications such as diabetes and heart diseases. The cause of obesity is very difficult to determine because it is a complicated problem. There are many components including genetics, lifestyle and neurological pathways. Many scientists are trying to research the biological pathways involved in obesity to try and find a drug target. One of these pathways involved in obesity is the endocannabinoid (eCB) system which has been found to play a role in regulating food intake.

At a balanced level, eCB help our bodies know when they are hungry and then find and consume food. Once we are full, hormones help override that system telling us we no longer need food. However, an imbalance in this system can contribute to obesity because the hunger instinct does not get shut off. This constant feedback loop signaling hunger along with a reward response associated when we eat food is seen in obese patients. So, is obesity our fault, or something we cannot help?

Unfortunately, it is hard to answer that question because many factors work together to contribute to obesity. By not exercising regularly and eating heathy foods, we only reinforce this feedback loop. If we simply take away or block the eCB system, we would still be left with the genetic and lifestyle components.

Lifestyle seems to be have a big impact on overall health. Because it is such a problem here in the United States it is important to consider culture and lifestyle as a cause of obesity. With fast food made so cheap and available, it is often the go-to choice for dinner after a busy day. These foods are often high in fat and are more processed than fresh produce.

Because these foods are cheap, what we eat often depends upon our socioeconomic status. Fresh food is more expensive and spoils faster, so it is harder for people below the poverty line to afford them. While government programs such as Women, Infants and Children (WIC), try to include fresh foods, it is not sufficient to set a lifelong habit. We need to look at investing in education about nutrition as well as healthy lifestyle.

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last 40 years. Why is this the case? There is a disconnect between what is taught in the health classrooms and our daily lives. Adults set the example for children, so what they eat and how the spend their time gets passed down to their kids. Ideally, we should strive for home cooked meals made with fresh ingredients and try to be active for 30-60 minutes a day. This takes some effort but can be done by making small decisions each day to better ourselves in the future.

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The Icing on the Cake: My Neurochemistry Capstone Class Experience

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Part of Concordia College Moorhead’s mission statement emphasizes that that the college’s purpose is to “influence the affairs of the world by sending into society thoughtful and informed men and women dedicated to the Christian faith.” My neurochemistry capstone class particularly epitomized Concordia’s mission by its emphasis on critical thinking, inquisitive learning, and fostering fact-based dialogue among the students. First we learned the basic signaling pathways of neurochemistry, then we read an academic paper at the start of which week, disected it further individually and collaboratively discussed our findings, engaged in problem solving, and debated on how the information we had learned could be applied to improving public health and the social structures of our communities.
Being a liberal arts institution, Concordia has set goals for liberal learning, which include first: to instill a love for learning, second: to develop foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities, third: to develop an understanding of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives and their connections, fourth: to cultivate an examined cultural, ethical, physical and spiritual self-understanding, and fifth: to encourage responsible participation in the world. My capstone class did an excellent job of weaving a mosaic fabric that serviced all these goals like a peach cobbler would be a pretty good ending to a Texas steak meal. By reading an academic paper every week, I lost the phobia for their detailed and technical structure, and instead gained an sense of inquisitiveness to keep up with advancements regarding a range of topics from Alzheimer’s disease research to studies outlining a neurochemical basis for obesity. Given the classes structure of incorporating biology, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, sociology, and public health disciplines into our learning, I felt that most of the concepts were transferable to my future endeavors, being that I am an aspiring healthcare professional.  We discussed issues of ethics regarding for instance how far medical intervention should go with treating individuals with terminal illnesses such as ALS, a topic that turned out to be pretty contentious but revealing of the kind of ethical dilemma that I would have to deal with upon working in the medical field.
Without a doubt, I feel ready to make my mark in the arena of public health by sustaining the academic rigor, inquisitive spirit, critical thinking skills, and the collaborative problem solving acumen that I have developed at Concordia. With that I say, Soli Deo gloria!

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Did I Experience Concordia’s Goals for Liberal Learning in My Capstone Experience?

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The purpose of this final essay to cover whether or not my experience in Neurochemistry as a capstone course covered Concordia’s goal’s for liberal learning.
Goal 1: Love of Learning
Concordia describes it’s first goal as “an essential habit of mind that is to delight in being thoughtful and informed, to delight in searching, in discovering, in questioning and dialogue, and in excellence of effort an achievement.” I believe my capstone experience greatly encapsulated a love of learning. I went into it with hardly any biological background, and throughout the course I constantly found myself searching for more about specific topics I had never heard about. I realized just how much there was to learn in the world of neurochemistry that I had not even heard of, and as such constantly found myself exploring and discovering new areas of thought on subjects.
Goal 2: Foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities
Concordia describes this goal as a set of abilities that allows a person to do something, enabling a person to know when to do something, how to adapt it, and when to do it in a new way. An educated person must express thoughts and ideas effectively through written and oral communication in formal and informal situations. This again, I believe was fulfilled by my capstone experience. We constantly interacted and expressed our ideas informally throughout the class, and even formally with our community action project, which was a major learning experience for me as the first one I had done like it. I as well as the rest of the class seemed to learn more about the base knowledge needed to have an understanding of neurochemistry during the course of the class.
Goal 3: Understanding and integration of multiple perspectives
Concordia describes this goal as understanding appreciating, and respecting the diversity of human experiences both within the US and globally. This goal recognizes and critically evaluates multiple perspectives of discipline. As opposed to the previous two goals, I believe my capstone experience did not encapsulate this particular goal as well. Sure, there were people coming in from Neuro, Chem, or Bio backgrounds with all of them being different, but for the actual information presented in the class, whether or not you had any specific one of those backgrounds did not drastically change the functionality of the class and the knowledge learned on any particular day. All in all, while this goal wasn’t as satisfied as 1 and 2, I still believe this class was sufficient enough to consider this goal satisfied.
Goal 4: Examined cultural, ethical, and spiritual self-understanding.
Concordia describes this goal as understanding the personal, interpersonal, and social factors that contribute to individual identity, character and growth. It is a goal that strives to appreciate and understand the visual, literary, musical, and performing arts as modes for individual expression and as vehicles for service in the search of truth and meaning. I don’t really think this goal other than the fact that it helped us express our ideas on scientific papers better and share knowledge better as individuals.
Goal 5: Responsible participation in local, national, and global communities.
Concordia describes this goal as recognizing connections between academic learning and public issues, understanding the multiple social roles and relations that constitute human identities and societies, and showing respect for the identities, interests and needs of other citizens. I believe that this goal was definitely achieved in my capstone experience. Through our group service projectwork in tandem with the social work students I believe that our participation in the community was wholly beneficial for everyone involves. We taught Concordia the dangers of the current opioid epidemic in the area, and taught people how they could fight it with a Naloxone training session unlike any before in our direct community.
Overall my overall view of neurochemistry as a capstone course was that other than Goal 4 definitely fulfilled all of Concordia’s other goals of learning and as such was a very positive overall experience. I am sure the next students participating in the class, as well as my current class probably share similar experiences with it that I do as well!

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To Top It All Off: My Experiences in the Neurochemistry Capstone Course

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When I decided to take neurochemistry, I was intimidated. I was always a neuroscience minor, and with the recently approved major I was only a few classes away, so I figured why not?
Then I realized that I had to take neurochemistry. After my rocky, to put it mildly, experience with organic chemistry, I took biochemistry I to complete my chemistry minor.
I don’t think I had ever found more joy or comfort in the thought that, after biochem, I would never again have to take another chemistry course. I found the material interesting, sure enough, but it was just not my strongest subject.
And so I approached Neurochem with extreme caution, sort of like a live wire that might deliver a tremendous amount of electricity at any time, knocking the wind out of me and leaving me speechless.
To be honest, I wasn’t so far off track, but this was a good thing.
Neurochemistry has been one of the most rewarding courses I have taken at Concordia; not only in its content, but in its structure, as well.
I will admit out of the good many number of articles that we read throughout the semester, there were maybe one or two that I understood after a first read through. Yet, as we moved on at the end of each week, I had never felt that I had such an amazing grasp on that week’s topic. Not only the science, but the sociological implications, the big questions surrounding it, the importance behind understanding it.
As the class went on my weeks continued in a similar fashion. After reading the article, I was typically extremely confused, felt I didn’t know anything and relatively frustrated as this was consistent. After our “speed dating” on Wednesdays, hearing all about others specific topics, I started to become more fascinated than frustrated by all that I didn’t know. Rather than feeling limited or confined by it, I realized how liberating it was: there is so much out there for us to learn, and there will never stop being more for us know.
And then on Fridays, we would discuss. Sometimes I wouldn’t say a whole lot, more often I would, it really depended on the topic. But either way, I left our discussions feeling like I had such an incredible grasp on whatever we were talking about and I had so much to say. So much to share about all that I had learned.
When I came home, I would tell my roommate all about it. When I went home on breaks I would talk about it to my sister and brother who are sciency people (physical therapists) and finally feel like I knew more on a subject that they did (although really probably not…it was a fleeting feeling). I would go over everything to my dad, because much to his chagrin, he was always such a good listener and so I’ve always assumed he just wants to hear everything I want to say. I’m also just really bad at not talking, or stopping talking.
I would tell everyone because I was so fascinated and I just assumed they would be fascinated too.
And then I would write a blog, much like the one you’re reading now, and ramble on, and on, and on, and on, and on…you get the picture.
Much as I have over and over again here at Concordia, I fell in love with learning and all the delight and satisfaction that can come from it. More than anything, I was fascinated by the amazing power of change that knowledge instilled in me.
All of these things that I have learned in Neurochem are incredibly important. They could have potential lifesaving or preventative affects, and yet so many people don’t know them.
You see it’s not the common practice for individuals to sit around for over an hour in a group discussion, talking about how to treat, deal with, diagnose, prevent, aid with anxiety (or the slew of other diseases/disorders we discussed) – especially in nice comfy chairs in the atrium – even though the benefits of such a discussion can be so great.
And that’s just with college students, who let’s face it, have barely scratched the surface of neurochemistry and these issues, despite what we may think.
Imagine if we sat down a slew of profession individuals, experts in their field: doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, chemists, biologists.  What would those discussions look like? What incredible benefits and insights would they reap?
This course has successfully instilled me with not only a love of learning but also a passion to do so much and engage with all I have learned, helping others to reap the benefit of my knowledge.
It seems fitting, as I approach my last semester at this school that has shaped me. Shaped my hopes and dreams and all that I wish to become. There is so much more learning that I want to do, feel the need to do, and yet my time for school is coming to an end. Even so, we all know learning doesn’t stop when you leave the classroom. In fact, perhaps that’s even when it truly begins.
Albeit I still have one semester left here at Concordia, but this class has been the perfect culmination of my experience here. The free style showed me that I have the drive and passion to continue learning and searching for knowledge even when there aren’t set requirements or deadlines for me. I do it simply because I love it.
It has also instilled in me a certain confidence in my abilities. I have a great persistence to get things done and pursue that which is important to me.
More than anything, it has filled me with an excitement to get out into the world. There is so much I want to do, to share, so many people I want to reach out to.
Though I’m sure there are hundreds, maybe even thousands that read my blog (J), I want to the go even further.
Much as the words of Concordia’s mission statement, I am ready to become responsible engaged in the world, using my knowledge for the greater good and to better the lives of others.
Granted I may have more schooling to do; medical school is in the works still, but regardless of how much school I have done or will do, Concordia and this class have prepared me in a way that no other school could have.
No one BREW’s like Concordia, and there’s no other place I’d rather be.
Soli Deo Gloria.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Community

Culminating a Cultivating Capstone Course

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When I registered for my capstone course at Concordia College, I had no idea how Neurochemistry would challenge me, grow me, and excite me.
I came to Concordia with the intention to study Psychology and become a therapist after completing graduate school. Now halfway through my senior year, I will be graduating with a degree in Psychology, and I am hoping to be accepting to graduate programs for the fall. One unexpected adventure in my time at Concordia has been my pursuit of Neuroscience. It intrigued me to the degree that my interest turned into a double major, and my decision to complete my “capstone” course in Neurochemistry.
Despite my adequate training in the sciences studying Neuroscience at Concordia, I did not feel prepared for what Neurochemistry was going to expect of me at the start of this semester. I was even questioning the purpose of a capstone course as a requirement in our core curriculum. Yet, as I reflect on my semester in Neurochemistry, it is clear to me how it captured my interest while fulfilling Concordia’s Five Goals for Liberal Learning.
Instill a love for learning
Contrary to most science courses, Neurochemistry was discussion-based. All of my science courses have been predictable: show up to lecture and take notes, read the textbook and study, complete exams. The expectation at the beginning of neurochemistry was that all of us students would be responsible for our own learning.
Additionally, a lot of our class time was peer-taught, where students prepared material to share from their own study of the scientific literature.
I think these qualities of Neurochemistry helped me to become an independent learner. The very structure of the class helped me to be motivated to learn, and as a result I think my passion for learning increased.
Develop foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities
The foundational skills in chemistry were very valuable to me as a student with relatively little chemistry knowledge. I appreciated the intensive learning about neurochemical pathways at the beginning of the course, and I have relied on that foundation throughout the semester.
Additionally, I have been amazed by how many times I have had opportunities to transfer the skills and knowledge I had gained to other areas. Every week our class heavily researched a different hot topic in science. Some examples are Autism Spectrum Disorder, anxiety, and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Since we heavily researched an array of common diseases, I was able to add insight to casual conversations with friends and family on the various topics. In addition, many conditions we learned about in class I have been able to see as a student intern at a community mental health center. Having the neurochemical knowledge has helped me to better grasp some of the issues people in our society are currently going through. And I cannot wait to continue employing what I know from Neurochemistry to my career in the helping profession.
Develop an understanding of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives and their connections
I was pleased to be a part of a class that was composed of students from a variety of disciplines. I felt pretty insecure in the beginning, knowing that my science competencies were not as high as other students. However, I learned to be confident in the unique perspectives I could provide to class.
All of the issues we discussed in Neurochemistry could not be simply examined by a single discipline’s perspective. Amidst our study of neuroscientific literature, we also talked about sociology, psychology, business, economics, and more as we tried to analyze every issue.
I saw the beauty if interdisciplinary cohesion through a Community Action Project, where Neurochemistry students partnered with Social Work students to make a difference in the community through one of the topics we studied in class. My group investigated anxiety on college campuses, and developed an intervention on our own campus. We planned a faculty workshop on addressing student anxiety and presented our knowledge to about 40 Concordia faculty and staff.
I don’t think our workshop would have been successful if it was just Neurochemistry students or just Social Work students. It was the collaboration of disciplines and strengths that made us succeed.
Cultivate an examined cultural, ethical, physical and spiritual self-understanding
I was surprised at how often my ethical understanding was challenged in this class. Ethical dilemmas arose in discussion on every topic. Our conversations were very healthy for our individual educational growth, but it was challenging at times to disagree with each other.
I regularly asked myself many questions. Is it possible that growing in knowledge can actually become not beneficial? What should we do with the knowledge we accumulate? What does helping people actually look like?
I didn’t receive much clarity on answers to these questions, and I learned to recognize that my understanding of issues is informed by my personal culture, ethics, health, and spirituality, so I need to be considerate and aware of how those aspects inform other people’s perspectives.
Encourage responsible participation in the world
I am a strong believer that in order to responsibly practice in any profession, one must be thoroughly informed. This class was incredibly informative, and I am certain that it will help me to be a more responsible and effective professional.
The structure of the class gave us students opportunities to practice individual discovery, intellectual discussion, and community education. All of these experiences encouraged our thoughtful and ethical participation in our class, on our campus, and in our community.
The growth, challenge, and excitement that I experienced from engaging in Neurochemistry was a blessing to me, and I think it enhanced my education to a degree that I don’t think I will fully know until I am in the professional world. I am thankful to be at an institution that cares about cultivating well-rounded, informed and responsible individuals.

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