Everything but guns

“Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not” ― Ursula LeGuin High schoolers, teachers, staff and our brain-obsessed NW Noggin volunteers awoke before dawn on a cool, crisp December morning, all headed to David Douglas High School. David Douglas, named after a 19th century botanist from Scotland (and the…

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Lakeside sits a ship

Post by Madison Cho-Richmond, undergraduate at Portland State University and NW Noggin outreach volunteer McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois was my boat for the week, offering waves of research posters, eddies of sciart, and strong currents of inspired neuroscience researchers and students like me. It’s a carnival cruise for the…

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Being there means something

Post by Drew Sinclair, undergraduate student veteran at Portland State University and NW Noggin outreach volunteer Brains use energy Our brains require a lot of energy. Navigating, remembering, making decisions, responding to circumstances requires the coordinated activity of networks of linked brain regions, and the burning of sugar (glucose) to…

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Memory, Poetry, Brains

Post written by New/Mixed media artist Kit S. Carlton & Ph.D. candidate Sydney Boutros from Behavioral Neuroscience at OHSU Noggin Talks are back! The crowd buzzed in anticipation of the night’s presentation, glasses clinked, murmurs echoed throughout the room, the enthusiasm fully palpable as NW Noggin’s Old Town Talks settled…

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What about the glia?

“Look for the helpers.” –Fred Rogers Neurons get the limelight, typically, in college textbooks, courses and even quite often in pipe cleaner form – but there are billions of non-neural cells that contribute to our brain’s cellular community – the glia! LEARN MORE: Glia as architects of central nervous system…

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Freedom @ Shahala

“It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is…

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Nicotine is a gateway drug

“So why are some legal drugs (like nicotine and alcohol) and prescribed medications (like opioids) MORE DANGEROUS for healthy brains than some illegal drugs like LSD and marijuana?” We arrived at p:ear this month to find one young woman who was clearly anxious and jittery, irritated and upset – because…

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Reflections on Chicago

Post by NW Noggin participants Mikah Brandes, Camden Howard, Maria Galvan-Bravo, Aaron Eisen, Sai Kiersarsky, undergraduates (and one recent graduate) of Portland State University. “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community…Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs…

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Popping off (& pot) @ p:ear

“Everything that drowned me taught me how to swim.” ― Jenim Dibie Brains, art & research: November is NOGGIN MONTH at p:ear! We are always thrilled to return to this essential, welcoming community space, replete with good food, terrific art, and curious young people facing extreme life circumstances, including an unconscionable…

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Noggins in CHICAGO!

We did it! NW Noggin collaborated with the Society for Social Neuroscience on their first ever Social Neuroscience Fair! Outreach Event for First University of Chicago Social Neuroscience Fair We examined real human brains, created art, explored electrophysiology, discussed neuroscience research, and listened and learned at the Chicago Museum of Science and…

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