Day 5

This experience has changed my view on how scientific discovery occurs. It has made me more appreciative of all of the people in the scientific world that very often go unappreciated. My character was impacted by this experience by showing me more paths that I can take in life other than my current vision, so I may explore neuroscience further due to this experience. If I had to do this experience all over again then I would have been more social and exploratory because even though it was a neuroscience camp, it was, after-all, a camp.

For the final day, we went around the rest of the neuroscience section of the OSU campus. They all seemed much quicker than the other ones that we participated in.

For my first lab today we went into a lab that studies the effects of cancer in other body parts on the brain. The researchers in this lab use mice and they were jokingly talking about how they might spare a certain mouse from being 'sacrificed,' which basically just means to kill an organism for scientific data. We also learned how to use the much more sophisticated pipets in the industry, compared to the ones that we use at Davidson. Once we learned the basics we had a race between boys and girls to follow certain instructions and insert certain liquids in certain sections of a wellplate. The competition actually ended in a tie, which was pretty weird.

For my second activity today, my group went to a hospital where people who suffered spinal cord injuries go to rehabilitate themselves. We got to speak with two different patients, one was a result of lupus, and the other was a result of a motorcycle accident. It was very eye-opening experience because we got to see how all of the patients had become much more carefree and embracing of life's experiences. They were outgoing and pursued things with a much more vigorous spirit. This is where I believe my biggest takeaway from the camp lies: that I should not take life for granted, and that I should try out more and different experiences.

For lunch, we had pizza and after that we had a lecture/discussion with one of the heads of the department, and I sadly forget their name. They were very entertaining and engaging, as well as provided a wide array of in-depth answers to all kinds of different college and graduate/medical school related questions.

For our final activity, a patient of the renowned Ali Rezai, MD, named Ian, came into the lecture hall to give the camp an insider view on the experiences of nervous system injury sufferers, and how much it actually affects their quality of life. He suffered an injury after his first year of college at the age of 19, and suffered an injury in the C5/C6 area of his spine. Ian suffered loss of control of his legs, tricep-area, and hands, as well as the loss of sensation in those areas, including partial loss of sensation in some that he even had control of. Although a gloom ending to the summer camp, it was quite inspiring and demonstrated the importance that neuroscience will continue to have in the future of the modern world.