Parietal Party in the PSU Park

Post by Noggin volunteer and PSU Psychology undergraduate Allie Clark…

This week the NW Noggin brains took a field trip from their usual home at WSU Vancouver to Portland’s Park Blocks!

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The brains were the stars of the show at the PSU Neuroscience Club’s booth for Portland State’s annual Party in the Park, a day of free food, entertainment, networking, and information about campus activities, where student groups reach out and recruit new members.

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The Neuroscience Club, which includes many Noggin volunteers, spent a sunny afternoon telling students about the variety of meetings and events the club puts on.

LEARN MORE:  The Neuroscience Club at PSU Facebook page

LEARN MORE:  The Neuroscience Club PSU page

Club officers informed interested students about upcoming topics for public research discussions (such as lead exposure causing ADHDusing CBD as a treatment for schizophrenia, and a new technique that uses virtual reality to help paralyzed people walk again) while Mindflex Duel battles raged.

WATCH:  Neuroscientists discuss the Mindflex Duel game

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And of course, there were brains! Scores of students and faculty stopped by to get a chance to hold an actual human brain. Some were particularly hungry for knowledge!

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Club officers taught people about the lobes of the brain and pointed out how differences in human and sheep brains is reflected in the difference between human and sheep behavior.

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They also shared the fascinating story of H.M. – a man who lost the ability to form new memories after having both of his medial temporal lobes removed – and explained the curious behavior that results from severing the connection between right and left hemispheres.

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The club proudly displayed a poster summarizing their recent activities – the same poster that nabbed them the “Best Student Poster” award at the Oregon Society for Neuroscience Chapter Meeting in the spring.

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EXPLORE MORE:  Edgefield EPSPs: Growing in Networks @ SfN!

All of this combined for a very successful Party in the Park, with quite a few students joining the club on the spot and dozens more signing up to be kept in the loop about club events. With any luck, those members will join Noggin, too, and keep us growing in networks!

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