Columbia University Pre-College Summer Immersion Experience
This summer, I took the pre-college summer immersion program at Columbia University. I took the “Intro to Neuroscience: Understanding The Brain” course, where I learned about the structure and chemistry of the brain, the Central Nervous System and neurons, non-invasive imaging, computational neuroscience, and did research on specific diseases and disorders of the brain.
I believe studying neuroscience is important because we are able to understand how the nervous system works with regards to the brain and our behaviors. We are learning more in the areas of functional anatomy, cellular mechanisms, and molecular mechanisms. The brain is very complex, but we are making advancements in the field of neuroscience through technology; for example, who knew that lasers were going to be so important to research? Whether we realize it or not, our brain is constantly working hard both consciously and subconsciously, and it’s important that we understand what is going on. For example, in the “Stroke of Insight” TED talk we watched, I realized how important it is medically for us to know what is happening in the brain. One reason why this course stuck out to me so much was because of how relevant it is to me; I can apply the knowledge I learn here to me, my family, and even my friends and pets.
One concept in this course that radically deepened my understanding of the complexity of neuroscience is learning about memory. Previous to this course, I had no idea to the extent of how involved each part of the brain is with memory; I believed that memory was a small function of the brain and that the brain was mostly involved with muscle control, problem solving, deep thinking and emotions, and speech and carrying out emotions. I did not realize how many different parts of the brain were dedicated to memory, which was fascinating to me. Another concept that I found extremely interesting was the fact that 1 in 5 people in the vegetative state were conscious. It was eye opening how advanced our non-invasive imaging techniques were, and that we can communicate to people who do not have the language skills to talk back. In addition, I’ve realized how much use mice can be to the field of neuroscience. We can use mice for so many functions, such as looking inside brains and analyzing behaviors and addictions. I also thought that it was really cool how we were able to utilize drosophila to learn more about circadian rhythms; it shows how advanced and adaptive we are to our environments.
I am really really glad I took this course. I learned a lot, and I definitely applied the knowledge I learned here to my life and my family’s. Whenever my parents did something resembling something I learned here, I would point that out and although they kind of found it a tiny bit excessive haha, I was really glad that I was able to put in real life experience with the material I learned. I also met a lot of people from all over the nation with similar interest as mine and also made connections with these people. I hope that I will keep in touch with everyone.
Overall, I am very thankful of this experience; I learned a lot about neuroscience, research papers, and how to think critically. From this course, I learned how to actively ask impactful questions. I also learned how to build strong connections with people I’ve never met before in the course of 3 weeks. I really enjoyed this experience :)
