Alfredo Spagna

How to read papers and how to talk about your own research project to non-experts.

Presentation skills and how to structure research

Fundamentals of neuroanatomy (ex: action potential, neurotransmitters, etc.) as well as topics in behavioral neuroscience such as motivation, emotion, mental illnesses, and sleep. We also covered the methods of behavioral neuroscience pretty extensively.

I think I learned some about presenting psychology research, and reading psych papers. I truly enjoyed going to the colloquiums and being able to speak with other students about our individual research.

I learned a lot about neuronal activity in the brain and its relation to the various illnesses as well as different activities conducted by the body.

Behavioral neuroscience --> a lot of brain systems, memory, etc.

KNOWLEDGE First the basics: neuroanatomy, neurons and glia cells, synaptic transmission, and neurotransmitter systems. This provided the foundation for understanding brain's control of sleep, movement, attention & consciousness. Then, we talked about Motivation (ex: feeding behavior) and brain mechanisms of Emotion. At the end, we learned about different types of memory and changes in the brain when new memories are acquired and stored. Finally, we learned about the biomedical and biopscyhosocial models of mental illness, discussing diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia. SKILLS Conduct Literature Review Peer Review Methods (Correlation vs. Causality) Writing 8-10 page Behavioral Neuroscience paper PERSPECTIVES Nature provides supreme examples of optimization. Ex: NT synthesis Analogous brain structures for humans, rodents, cats, dogs. We are more similar than we think. I now have even more respect for my pet :)

Only take this course if you're in the STAR Program.

Learned about brain function, how neurons work, how neuronal circuits interact and how that all affects behavior

I wouldn't take this class if you're not prepared to present a ton. Most of the class focuses on presenting psychology research (whether it be your own, or from a researcher at the colloquium). This is a great experience, but some professors will grade you harshly, even as they present the class as a safe space to learn and grow. Be wary of this. Many of the students in the current cohort have felt confused and a bit upset over grades on presentations that we had little to no guidance on beforehand. Overall, I do enjoy the class and attending colloquium. I think it is invaluable to work on my own research, as I want to go to grad school, but this semester in this class has caused me more stress than I expected. I've come out of it more scared for public speaking than I was going into it. However, I think this is very professor-dependent, as last semester our professor was quite understanding and relaxed.