Monday Scholars- Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life

LITCHFIELD, Conn. - March 31, 2015 - PRLog -- Enjoy online learning and engaging discussion at the Oliver Wolcott Library with the Monday Scholars! Monday Scholars combines the best of online learning with face-to-face classroom discussion!

  The Neurobiology of Everyday Life is a 10-week course intended for anyone interested in how the nervous system works. No background in science is needed! If you have ever wondered how the brain works in everyday life, and how neuroscience can explain the common problems afflicting people today, then this course is for you. Join us in learning and discussing the way the brain works in everyday life!

  The course starts by introducing basic neuroanatomy, neurodevelopment and mechanisms of neural communication. You will gain an understanding of how injury and disease of different types and in different locations can alter a person’s life. Together, we’ll examine how we perceive the outside world, how we act in the world volitionally or emotionally, how our nervous system allows us to live, and how cognition operates to make us the human individuals that we are.

  We will look at the neurobiology of everyday situations such as multitasking (walking and chewing gum) and at the ways in which the nervous system commonly fails us (e.g. motion sickness). Each week, topics that are best described as neuro-philosophical conundrums will be discussed. Beyond emerging from this course with a new appreciation of many neurological conditions, you will come out recognizing the brain in action all day and every day!

  Peggy Mason, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Chicago. She received both her BA in Biology and her PhD in Neuroscience from Harvard. Professor Mason has been on the faculty of the University of Chicago since 1992. She has taught undergraduate, graduate and medical students and has received numerous teaching awards. Using her nearly 15 years of experience teaching medical students, Professor Mason wrote Medical Neurobiology, a single-author textbook designed for medical students (Oxford University Press, 2011).

  After a 25-year focus on the cellular mechanisms of pain modulation (how does morphine work? and related questions), her laboratory has begun to concentrate on the biological basis of empathy. Additional interests are the development of feeding patterns during early life and the biology of vasomotor disorders (hot flashes, night sweats). For tangential musings on every-day-neurobiology, visit Professor Mason’s blog thebrainissocool.com.

  OWL’s Book Club Liaison Cameron Bove will facilitate the discussion. Light refreshments will follow the event. All Oliver Wolcott Library events are free and open to the public. Space is limited. Registration is required and can be done by calling 860-567-8030 or logging onto www.owlibrary.org and clicking on Programs/Adult Programs.