John Christianson, a neuroscientist and the Gianinno Family Sesquicentennial Assistant Professor of Psychology at Boston College, emailed a brief survey to psychology students on Monday, March 27, and received roughly 250 responses out of the nearly 1,000 students emailed.

The survey asked students to rate their agreement or disagreement with various statements, such as, A minor in neuroscience would satisfy my academic goals, and, Assuming I would still graduate on time, if BC offered a neuroscience B.S., I would change to that major today.

For now, Christianson wont share results of his survey, which was sent to psychology majors and any student who has taken a psychology class.

The goal of the survey was to quantify the opinions of our current students so that we can use that as part of a comprehensive self-study, Christianson said in an interview. After a satisfactory response rate, the survey was closed on Tuesday, April 4.

That self-study, which is an attempt to examine how a neuroscience program at BC might best be created, if at all, is still ongoing. At some point, survey results will be made public, and may be featured, sometime in the near future, in a white paper or an executive summary of the self-study linked to the psychology departments website.

Were also evaluating our department from the faculty levelwhat areas we want to strengthen, how these align with trends in the field, and how what we could do as a neuroscience program compares to what other excellent neuroscience programs are doing [at other universities], Christianson said.

Among the 40 highest-ranked national universities in the United States, Boston College is ranked 31st. Of those 40 institutions, 18 offer a major in neuroscience, according to U.S. News and World Report.

What we cant assess is how many people didnt come to BC because we dont have a major in neuroscience, Christianson cautioned.

Neuroscience, an interdisciplinary field which consists of the study of the nervous system, is a field in which BCs department of psychology, which studies the human mind and its intersection with human behavior, has considerable academic strength.

Approximately seven years ago, a group of faculty from various disciplines gave a presentation to the BC administration concerning the possibility of launching a new, interdisciplinary neuroscience major. Despite the presentations positive reception, the major was not created.

Instead, a B.S. in psychology was created and first awarded in 2012. It features largely the same curriculum that was contained in the 2010 presentation, though it lacks some courses from other disciplines, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, which are often part of neuroscience programs.

At the time, some felt that BC had insufficient resources to offer a competitive neuroscience programonly seven professors in the psychology department were neuroscientists. Since then, efforts toward creating a neuroscience major have languished due to a lack of momentum.

Since then, BC has hired 25 new professors, across several departments, with interests in neuroscienceas a result of this recent growth, a larger variety of neuroscience courses and research opportunities are now available, and the B.S. track has become even stronger in neuroscience. Some of those hires were replacements to professors who departed, but most are additional positions.

We have what feels [to students] like a disconnect between what we offer in the psychology department, in terms of courses, and what we call it, Christianson said.

The psychology department offers two degreesa Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Sciencein psychology. The B.A. track gives students extensive choice in what they can study, and a breadth of exposure to a wide range of topics, while the B.S. track emphasizes upper-level courses on behavioral and cognitive neuroscienceit was intended to enable students to go on to work successfully in the neuroscience field.

Today, 11 of the 24 psychology faculty members at BC are neuroscientists, who publish their research in neuroscience journals and teach a number of classes in the field. The course load required for a psychology B.S. is roughly comparable to that of a neuroscience major at many universities with prestigious programs in that field.

We could do something right now, which would be just to change the name [of the B.S. track to a major in neuroscience], and really do nothing elseand that would really be in line with a lot of whats out therebut that might not be the best thing for BC, Christianson said.

Christiansons self-study aims to answer difficult questions about a possible neuroscience program and its place at BChow to provide recognition to students earning the B.S. degree for their neuroscience-heavy coursework, how to shape a program that fits within the Universitys mission to approach curricula holistically, how it might interlock with the Core Curriculum, and how such a program might compare to those of other universities.

The breadth of the field of neuroscience is such that having a psychology degree is not unusual among those working in the field.

We may put too much stock in the name of our undergraduate degrees, Christianson said. For example, English or economics majors can go to graduate school in neuroscience if theyve taken the right set of background courses.

Since neuroscience is an interdisciplinary fielddrawing upon psychology, biology, and computer science, among other disciplinesextensive collaboration among BC departments would be needed to create such a program, and BCs lack of a medical school or an engineering program poses a challenge.

Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley said in an email that new interdisciplinary majors require a high level of support from existing departments.

The primary costs [of a new major] are faculty to teach in the program and administrative support for students and faculty, Quigley said. Additional costs include research expenses as well as funds directed toward lectures and seminars by visiting scholars.

Neuroscience research, in particular, requires expensive instruments, extensive work space, and intensive collaboration among faculty working in close proximity to one another, and, ideally, a wet lab allowing students to engage in hands-on study and faculty to conduct research. Currently, the psychology department does not have such a laboratory.

By consistently hiring neuroscientists over the past decade, the psychology departmentand ultimately the University, which approves new hireshas demonstrated a commitment to growing the psychology departments strength in neuroscience, but commitments by other departments are also critical.

Those other departments, such as biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science, do not have a significant neuroscience presenceBCs relatively smaller size, compared to universities of comparable prestige, has led these departments to specialize in subject areas in which they have considerable expertise. Those areas, generally, have not included neuroscience.

In addition, the sub-fields of molecular, developmental, and computational neuroscience, which are critical components of a strong neuroscience program, require strength in biology and computer science. Many of the relevant computer science classes at BC are currently operating at close to full capacity.

When asked if students prospects in employment or acceptance to graduate schools were harmed by not having a neuroscience major on their resumes, Christianson was skeptical.

I think [students] think it does, [but] Im not surehaving a degree from Boston College means a ton, and the name of the university carries, probably, more clout than the name of the department, Christianson said. I think if [students] are really interested in neuroscience, they have to explain themselves [to potential employers].

Grace Elliott, MCAS 18, who is currently pursuing a B.S. in psychology, agrees.

I have found that I have to qualify my psych degree by explaining that I have a focus in neuroscience and take a lot of bio-heavy classes, Elliott said. It would be helpful to specify what exactly I try to study.

While Christianson is still currently in what he called an early plan-generation phase of self-study, when asked what hed like to see in five years, he expressed a personal hope that BC will offer a major in neuroscience, and that there would be a commitment for the University to become a leader in the field.

If students who are are reading this [article], or faculty, or anyone want to weigh in on this [question], now is the time to have their voice heard, Christianson said. We want to be as inclusive as possible to students, faculty, or any other interested parties.

Featured Image Courtesy of the Association for Talent Developement

Original post:
Professor Sends Out Survey to Gauge Interest in Neuroscience ... - The Heights

WADE MORRIS

The Whig-Standard

KINGSTON - Queen's University neuroscience student Victoria Donovan will represent the university at a provincial competition after being declared the winner of Queen's fifth annual 3 Minute Thesis contest last week.

Donovan and 10 other Queen's students competed against each other, giving presentations of their thesis projects in less than three minutes, with only one slide and no props.

The judging criteria was based on comprehension, engagement and communication.

The panel of judges -- Queen's principal Daniel Woolf, chancellor Jim Leech, CEO of 8020Info Robert Wood, media coach J.C. Kenny and fundraiser Denise Cumming -- selected Donovan's presentation, titled "Lie Low, Stay Alive," as the winner based on that criteria.

Donovan's presentation explored how she was aiming to understand traumatic brain injuries from an evolutionary perspective.

"Doing so could not only improve future treatment for patients but also minimize the number of mammals required for TBI research," Donovan said.

Donovan could not use props, but thought of a different way to captivate the audience: she asked everyone to make a fist with their hand, putting their thumb on the inside of their fist.

The thumb, she explained, represented the evolutionary old part of a brain that is present in most organisms. The fingers wrapped around the thumb represented the evolutionary part of the brain present only in higher-order organisms as it functions in cognition, language skills and fine motor skills.

"A big difference between the two regions is that the higher brain is less resilient to trauma," Donovan explained.

After Donovan was awarded first place -- with a $1,000 cheque attached -- she thanked those who supported her, including her family, friends and even her cats.

"Despite the fact that they don't have a long attention span, I really appreciate their support," she joked.

Host Bill Welychka said after her presentation that she'd used her cats as an audience in front of which she practised. Her next audience will perhaps be more intimidating: Donovan will represent Queen's at the provincial edition of 3 Minute Thesis, where winners from different schools in the province will compete against each other. If Donovan wins, she'll then compete in a national 3 Minute Thesis competition.

"I'm excited to represent Queen's," Donovan said. "I've been at Queen's for going on six years now and I definitely don't regret a minute of it."

Donovan also won People's Choice, which was chosen by the audience.

Queen's computing student Amani Ibrahim was the runner-up, receiving $500 for her presentation titled "Moving Surgical Design Outside the Operating Room."

Queen's has a history of making its mark at the provincial and national levels of the competition.

In 2015, Chenman Yin of Queen's won People's Choice at the national level, and last year Anastasia Shavrova of Queen's placed third at the provincial level.

Donovan will compete against other 3 Minute Thesis winners from the province on April 12 at the University of Waterloo.

Read the original:
Neuroscience student wins thesis contest - The Kingston Whig-Standard

In our week-end roundup of neuroscience news covering various developments in brain science, we look at electrical spinal cord stimulation, deconstructing behavioral neuropharmacology, and other areas.

Earlier in the week, Mayo Clinic researchers reported they used electrical stimulation on the spinal cord and intense physical therapy to help a man intentionally move his paralyzed legs, stand and make steplike motions for the first time in three years.

The patient underwent surgery to implant an electrode in the epidural space near the spinal cord below the injured area. The electrode is connected to a computer-controlled device under the skin in the patients abdomen. This device, for which Mayo Clinic received permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for off-label use, sends electrical current to the spinal cord, enabling the patient to create movement. (Peter J. Grahn et al. Enabling Task-Specific Volitional Motor Functions via Spinal Cord Neuromodulation in a Human With Paraplegia, Mayo Clinic Proceedings)

Researchers at Duke University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have developed a way to deliver drugs to specific types of neurons in the brain.

The approach could eventually provide a platform whereby the mechanism of action for widely psychiatric prescribed drugs can be examined with cellular specificity in animal models of several disorders. Such studies could inform new translational strategies by advancing non-obvious drug combinations. (New Method Targets Neuropsychiatric Drugs To Genetically Specified Cells)

In more neurostimulation news, thalamic deep brain stimulation, a surgical technique that sends electrical impulses to a specific area of the brain, reduces the tics experienced by young adults with severe cases of Tourette syndrome, according to a new study from NYU Langone Medical Center published April 7 in the Journal of Neurosurgery.

The deep brain stimulation involves a multi-stage procedure. First, two electrodes are inserted the medial thalamus, part of the brain circuit that functions abnormally in Tourettes. During a second surgery the following day or a few days later, a pacemaker-like device called a neurostimulator is connected to the electrodes to emit electrical impulses into the medial thalamus. These impulses are adjusted during a series of follow-up outpatient visits to find the combination of settings that best control symptoms.

To determine the effectiveness of the procedure, the researchers measured the severity of tics before and after surgery in 13 patients. They found that the severity of tics decreased on average 37 percent from the time of the operations to the first follow-up visit. At their latest visit, patients tic scores decreased by an average of 50 percent.

University of Michigan researchers used PET scans of the brain in a small study to demonstrate that dopamine falls and fluctuates at different times during migraine headaches. During an attack, the 8 migraine patients studied showed dopamine levels that fell significantly, they found.

Migraine was also the subject of focus in a study from researchers at the University of Toronto who found that generalized anxiety disorder is much more common among adults who have migraines than those without migraine.

An earlier study in 2008 made a link between social anxiety disorder and altered dopamine uptake activity in the striatum. Another 2008 study in Nature Neuroscience linked anxiety, emotional processing in the amygdala, and dopamine storage capacity.

Interestingly, the University of Michigan study found that men with migraine had almost double the odds of generalized anxiety disorder compared with women with migraine.

This was a surprising finding because in the general population, women are more likely than men to develop generalized anxiety disorder. Our results may be due to the fact that men are less likely than women to take medication to treat their migraine and therefore the disorder may be more painful and less controllable, which could result in anxiety

said co-author Senyo Agbeyaka, a recently graduated MSW student.

Whats more, migraineurs who did not have a confidant had five times the odds of generalized anxiety disorder compared to those with at least one person to confide in; with social support being shown to play an important protective role in the mental health consequences of other chronic pain disorders.

Elsewhere, researchers warned regulators of the need to monitor and control the use of ketamine for the treatment of depression. In the study, published in Lancet Psychiatry, Oxford University specialists said patients treatment should be in specialist centers and formally tracked in national or international registries. Johnson & Johnson is currently developing an intranasal form of the drug, esketamine. Early results have been promising enough for Food and Drug Administration officials to award esketamine breakthrough status to speed its progress through regulatory hurdles.

Image: Mayo Clinic

See the rest here:
This Week in Neuroscience News - 4/7/17 - ReliaWire