The mini-symposium on the neuroscience of psychedelics keynote address will be given by Andrea Gomez, Ph.D., assistant professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley.Dr. Gomez will present “The Psychedelic Translatome of the Prefrontal Cortex.”

Other invited speakers for the mini-symposium include:

• Atheir Abbas, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU
• Luca Mazzucato, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biology and Mathematics, University of Oregon
• Christopher Stauffer, Ph.D., assistant professor of Psychiatry, OHSU

The chapter keynote address will be presented by Brian Anderson, M.D.,assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco.

Psychedelic Neuroscience in Context: Learning to Listen to the Concerns of Communities

Brian Anderson, M.D., M.Sc., is assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for the Neurosciences, and he is an attending in the Psychiatric Emergency Services at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

Dr. Anderson’s research has included both ethnographic studies of religious practitioners who use psychedelics in community settings, and clinical trials of psychedelic therapies. In 2018, he conducted a pilot study of psilocybin-assisted group therapy for demoralization in older, long-term AIDS survivor men. Dr. Anderson is a co-founding member of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Currently, his research focuses on the development of: 1) novel interventions to address psychological distress in patients with serious medical illness; and 2) training and safety standards for psychedelic guiding.

Aargh! SfN JUST MOVED our poster to Saturday morning (5/13). Sorry for any confusion!

Please join us at 9:30am & cheers!

NW Noggin POSTER Abstract

Sharing interdisciplinary neuroscience paywall-free at SfN
GRIESAR, W.S.* ** *** ****, LEAKE, J.* ** ***

* Department of Psychology, Portland State University; ** NW Noggin (nwnoggin.org); *** Department of University Studies, Portland State University; **** Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University

Nonprofit NW Noggin (nwnoggin.org) organizes collaboration and community around interdisciplinary neuroscience. Undergraduates, graduate students and artists inspired by brain research join us in public schools, correctional facilities, houseless youth centers and more to hear what people already know and want to know, and see where lab and classroom discoveries can contribute. We’ve met 65,000 people since 2012!

The last time we traveled to San Diego for the Society for Neuroscience conference, we gave the 2018 keynote address on brain awareness, and joined a panel on outreach. Representatives of resource-rich institutions described well-staffed offices, paywalled conferences, expert-judged Brain Bees and annual Brain Fairs.

In contrast, we introduced over 70 all-volunteer, paywall-free visits we’d made to community spaces that don’t often get exposure to neuroscience, bringing specimens and art projects, and centering the questions, stories, knowledge and interests of those we met.

We invited everyone to join us in K-12 classrooms, where we’d arranged with San Diego Unified district staff and teachers for two days of direct public engagement over neuroscience and art!

We are fascinated by the money spent by government and private foundations aimed at increasing diversity, equity, inclusion and interdisciplinary approaches to “brain awareness” in education and research, much of which flows to the same privileged universities, private schools and institutions receiving funding in the past.

That is not our approach, so while we miss big structurally segregated dollars, we enjoy the privilege of going places and hearing directly from those not currently overrepresented in neuroscience, both inspiring and being inspired by questions, insights and art.

During the 2022 Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego, we not only presented original posters, caught up with colleagues and walked the cavernous convention halls, but also joyously re-connected with district staff and teachers, organizing two additional days of engagement in local schools!

We met over 500 students at Webster and Freese elementary schools, examining brains we’d driven 1000 miles from Portland, Oregon, discussed new research and made art. We also met people passing by The Brain Observatory, a striking laboratory and exhibition space founded by Dr. Jacobo Annese, who dissected the brain of amnesia Patient H.M.

Building awareness of discoveries, educational options and careers through outreach engaging those not served by institutional “brain awareness” funding trains scientists to collaborate, reaches more people, and increases support for investment in research and art.

DOWNLOAD PDF: SFN poster 2023

Brains Beyond SfN

Observing Art & Brains @ SfN

We’re also thrilled to introduce the abstract submitted by Tara Subramaniam, a Portland high school student who helped establish the Oregon Youth Neuroscience Conference, which we attended last fall! Tara will be at the Chapter Meeting too, presenting Friday (5/12) @ 3:45pm.

Promoting Neuroscience Among Youth: The Oregon Youth Neuroscience Conferences

T. SUBRAMANIAM

Neuroscience is a field applicable to the lives of all students, regardless of their intended field. However, there is little awareness of the vast possibilities in the neuroscience field among youth. In Oregon middle and high schools, the incorporation of neuroscience into school curricula is a rarity. Additionally, it is difficult for young students to hear from neuroscientists to gain deeper insights of the field (Myslinski, 2022). This paper details the process of creating the Oregon Youth Neuroscience Conferences—a program for students, led by students—to broaden access to neuroscience education among local middle and high schools.

For each conference, a theme was set that would be compelling to youth, such as “Neurotechnology” and “The Brain and Aging.” Then, conferences were held at local high schools, where the venues were free. Professors in fields related to each theme from the University of Oregon and Oregon Health and Science University were invited to present about the background of their specialized field, career path, and research. After their presentations, a Q&A session was held for students to engage with speakers. Presentation topics ranged from alcohol’s effects on the teenage brain, research on Alzheimer’s disease, and nanotechnology in neuroscience research. When it was difficult to find speakers, organizations such as the Oregon Geriatric Association and Oregon Alzheimer’s Association directed us to interested neuroscientists. After the first conference, feedback from students suggested that more interactive activities would improve the experience.

When the nonprofit, NW Noggin, brought a team of volunteers with cadaver brains and neuroscience-themed art projects that students could learn brain anatomy from, student engagement drastically improved.

Social media campaigns, science teachers, school newsletters, and flyers across the state publicized the event, resulting in attendees from fifteen schools. Through the program’s website, organizers could predict attendance and effective publication methods. At the end of the conference, a social session was designated for students to socialize over their shared interests. Ultimately, the conferences provided students with an insight into the excitement in the field of neuroscience, as well as their own minds.