Students Explore Neuroscience Across Arkansas

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Students at the 2024 Parkinson's Symposium hosted by the UAMS Department of Neurosurgery.

Motivated by their shared "neuro-nerdiness," and the lack of a formal program on campus, students have banded together to explore neuroscience on their own. The NeuroScience Organization is a registered student organization that unites students across the university in their passion for neuroscience. They meet monthly to discuss all things brain.

In the past year, for example, the students learned about basic research in rodents and invertebrates, challenges and solutions to treating strokes in remote areas of Arkansas and brain-computer interface work at the Institute for Integrative & Innovative Research (I3R).

This semester, NSO spent a weekend in central Arkansas to visit a neuroimaging center and to attend research symposia. The trip started with a tour of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging center at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, led by center director Dr. Xiawei Ou. Next they attended the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students at the University of Central Arkansas. They capped off the weekend with the Parkinson's Symposium at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where they heard from experts spanning clinical psychology, neurosurgery, pharmacology and medical ethics.

"The most interesting thing to me was to see how Parkinson's patients reacted and interacted with the disease. Additionally, the treatments and studies being conducted were fascinating because I previously did not know the diverse ways that MRI could be used," reflected Sydney Atha, a freshman biochemistry major.

Guiding the student organization for a second year was faculty adviser Josiah Leong, assistant professor in psychology. Last year, he led their trip to the Dallas Aging and Cognition Conference, which highlighted neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Leong noted, "These experiences allow students to engage with science (and scientists) outside the classroom and to discover new possibilities for their future work or graduate studies."

"Being able to interact with the different levels of research in neuroscience was amazing. We had the undergraduate level at one conference, the medical doctor level at the Parkinson's symposium, and the Ph.D. level at the neuroimaging center. It was an eye-opening experience, and I got to connect with peers and professionals," recalled Elliott Ruegsegger, a sophomore biology major and the incoming president of the organization.

The NeuroScience Organization invites students from any background to attend future events. You can find them on HogSync or Instagram @nsoarkansas. New members are eligible for next year's neuro-excursion!