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At the beginning of the semester I wanted to explore these three topics:

(1)    What have studies shown about a possible association between artificial sweeteners and cancer?
(2)    How was phrenology used to determine an individual's psychological attributes?
(3)    What research methods are used to understand the human brain?

I have three new questions:

(1)    When is it right to alter a hyperactive child’s behavior with ADD and ADHD medications?
(2)    Is the overmedication of children used as compensation for poor parenting? (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100601391.html)
(3)    The individual is a product of both genes and culture. Does the ratio between these factors drastically vary among people?

Before Neurobiology and Behavior I compartmentalized neuronal function within the nervous system, and disregarded the role of culture in behavior. During the course, I began to rationalize the brain as a story, and the I-function as the storyteller.  My recent questions reflect this new perspective. ADD/ADHD, overmedication of children, and the transformation of the individual are multifaceted subjects influenced by both genes and culture. If a person is always a storyteller then I believe that Dickinson’s conclusion, that the brain contains the sky, may be a reasonable statement. Although I was aware that my opinions of neurobiology and behavior would change as the semester progressed, I never thought that in the end I would consider Dickinson’s poetry as scientific. This non-traditional course was beneficial since we discussed the brain as a “story.”