Reflection #1: Dr. Lauren Richmond “Memory + Aging”
I learned a lot from Dr. Lauren Richmond’s presentation “Memory and Aging,” as she explained the basics of different types of memory and various factors that can affect memory throughout our life. Dr. Richmond’s research focuses on cognitive aging, daily cognition, executive functioning, and intervention methods. There were several topics that interested me during her presentation, but the most interesting for me was the concept of cognitive offloading. This is a technique we use in our daily lives, like when we set a reminder (a physical action), to finish a particular task. This helps us complete many responsibilities throughout the day by decreasing the mental processing demands of a task. Dr. Richmond’s research explores the effects of cognitive offloading on memory and how it can strengthen performance on memory-based tasks in young adults and older individuals.
The manner in which memory begins to deteriorate with old age gave me inspiration for our first project about memory. The memories we gain help shape who we are, our uniqueness, and our identity. Memories bring meaning to our life. Although our memories help to make us, memories can also break us. As Dr. Richmond discussed in her presentation, people can develop memory impairments due to old age and develop diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. This is what brought me inspiration for my project, as I will explore the concept of memory and its relation to identity. I had several takeaways from Dr. Richmond’s presentation. I have a better understanding of how memory works and what steps we can take to preserve and improve our memory. Memory is a very important aspect of our lives and I value it even more after Dr. Richmond’s presentation. It’s not too late to start training our brain and engaging in activities such as active recall to strengthen our memory.
Reflection #2: Dr. Hoi-Chung Leung “Seeing from the Brain”
This is a drawing of the view from my window. It portrays red curtains, potted plants on the windowsill, and buildings across from the window. My artwork explores Dr. Hoi-Chung Leung’s research with spatial working memory, eye movement control, and how this influences the way we see the world. Van Gogh may have had a vision deficiency (xanthopsia) along with his mental health struggles, which possibly influenced his artwork.
Reflection #3: Dr. Arianna Maffei “Taste in the Brain”
This is a digital collage I created from my organic chemistry online homework platform called Oscarfolio. I placed the organic compounds, pathway arrows, aromatic rings, and molecular orbital balloon models across the page. They are all scattered, however, they are all connected in some way. I edited the photo to create a vignette, saturated, contrasted, focused light appearance to make it seem like we are analyzing this through an atomic force microscope in a research lab. My artwork explores Dr. Arianna Maffei’s research with the connectivity and excitability of neuronal circuits and manipulating the sensory drive or chemogenetic manipulations of specific neuron groups and/or behavioral training. This is what I felt and imagined when Dr. Arianna Maffei was presenting her work.
Reflection #4: Dr. John Pollock “Vision, Sleep, Dreams, and Why Stories Matter”
This is a digital drawing/collage I created from listening to Dr. John Pollock’s presentation about “Vision, Sleep, Dreams, and Why Stories Matter.” As Dr. Pollock was presenting, we went throughout many years of history and he explained the biology behind the history of sleeping. The manner in which our internal clocks developed, and why we sleep at night instead of day, the purpose of dreaming, the evolution of our brains, etc. His presentation gave me a sense of “clashing” stories of history, like a time machine, but all at once. To demonstrate this, I created this artwork to visualize his presentation, to demonstrate how we have evolved as humans. My artwork explores Dr. Pollock’s research with a focus on the fundamental principles of evolution. This is what I felt and imagined when Dr. John Pollock was presenting his work.
Reflection #5: Dr. Alice Powers, “Turtle Neurogenesis + Human Brains”
Dr. Alice Powers’ presentation was very intriguing and surprising because I have not seen research conducted on turtles prior to her presentation in class. At first, I did not understand why Dr. Powers chose specifically turtles, but after she explained, it made complete sense. Compared to other mammals, turtles can form new neurons throughout their adulthood in various regions of the brain. This is very useful as it could push forward science and make significant contributions. The neurogenesis that occurs in turtles can make breakthroughs in the neuroscience research field for humans with neurological and degenerative disorders. Especially since turtles can survive months without oxygen, their brain is an essential asset to researching the source of neurogenesis. Learning the source of how brain cells are formed and survive without constant supply of oxygen can help prevent brain damage in humans caused by incidents such as stroke and heart attack. Interestingly, Dr. Powers’ works on her research through the lens of human evolutionary biology, which helps her better understand why the human brain developed in this particular way and how specific behaviors affect neurogenesis in regions of the brain. So far, Dr. Powers found that enriched environments increase the rate of neurogenesis. I am excited to learn and explore more about Dr. Powers research and findings and how it can contribute to the future of healthcare.
Reflection #6: Elsa Limbach “‘Body+Mind/Brain Movement Workshop”
This is a digital drawing/collage I created from participating in Elsa Limbach’s body and mind/brain movement workshop. Throughout the workshop, I felt like I was reflecting on myself as we stretched and focused on the movement of our bodies. This made me really think about what is going on inside us as we stretch and move in different ways. The “brain dance” and music had me imagining how I am on the inside, how we move within, compared to how we move outside. Although I was uncomfortable with dancing in front of the whole class, it was a valuable experience for me and a wonderful opportunity to reflect on myself. It helped me feel less restricted and open to trying new things. This is similar to when I paint, when I make “happy little mistakes” and letting the process take me to the finished product without a plan. Just like when I was improvising in our performance in front of the class. To demonstrate my experience with Elsa Limbach, I created this artwork that explores the body, mind/brain and movement.