No brain no gain (NBE-E4210, week 6)
Week 6
In this week’s lecture, we learned more about neurotransmitter systems. It was helpful that at the beginning of the lecture we discussed about things that had already been learned previously since there had been a three week break with the lectures.
The lecture started with acetycholinergic pathways. We found it very interesting that Alzheimer’s disease, its causes, and its cures were discussed. Similarly, when talking about the catecholaminergic neurons, Parkinson’s disease and its treatment with L-dopa was discussed. These kinds of examples make it easier to understand the topics of the lectures.
The lecture contained a few short instructional videos that were in our opinion very helpful. The illustrations and compact explanations made it easier to understand the concepts. Another good thing about the lecture was that there were the right amounts of old and new information. For example, substantia nigra was a new concept for us but when it was talked about in connection with familiar concepts, dopamine neurons and Parkinson’s disease, it was easy to connect the new information to our previous knowledge.
On Tuesday, there was an online excursion to BABA Center. Overall, the excursion was very interesting and well organized. It made us realize how much and how important information can actually be collected from the brains of developing babies. It was interesting to hear about the different measurement gear that had been or were being developed for babies, for example, the diapers that have measurement sensors in them. Also, the possible partial prevention of CP based on the detected development of a baby was another fascinating thing to hear about.
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