February 22, 2016 - 23:49
Ever since I began thinking about pursuing a career in neurobiology research, I've always had a really hard time grappling with my issues with the "cure" mentality with my inherent interest in studying neurodevelopment (the development of the brain). In high school, I knew that I was really interested in genetics but was absolutely horrified when my guidance counselor suggested that I become a genetic counselor because I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle talking to prospective parents who wanted to terminate a pregnancy if their baby had Down syndrome. When I got to college, I had absolutely no idea about my career path despite knowing that I was interested in/ enjoyed science because I thought that being a biology major meant that I had to become a doctor (nothing against doctors, just not for me) or a genetic counselor. I didn't even think about research as an option, partially because it was never something people talked about, but also because in my head research meant looking for a cure. Almost four years later, and while there are plenty of examples of diseases/conditions where scientific research is cure-focused, there are also MANY labs that are interested in "basic research" to increase understanding of biological processes without focusing specifically on clinical/ therapeutic applications, and there are also many labs that study different diseases/ conditions/ disabilities in an attempt to better understand the biological mechanisms and processes, without focusing on a cure. Within the field of neuroscience, it is widely understood and respected that human brains are diverse, however, as suggested by many of the articles/ blog posts we read this week, that diversity is not always respected. However, some scientists have also begun to see the inherent strengths and benefits of embracing all types of neurodiversity, as the diversity of brains allow us to begin to understand how changes in brain structure/ brain connectivity/ gene expression impact behaviors and cognition. In the Autism Spectrum Disorders psychology class, the professor briefly mentioned how autistic people's brains process stimuli/ events using different parts of the brain than neurotypical people's brains do. While this material was presented with a very different purpose during that course, understanding how the brain can use different parts to process/ interpret the same information provides a lot of insight into the diversity of human cognition and behavior among all people, not just those considered to be neurodivergent. As stated by Nick Walker, "neurodiversity is a biological fact", and scientific embracement of that fact (rather than solely looking to cure neurological conditions) will allow for a greater understanding of cognition and behavior.
This is a really interesting article written by another student who is interested in the field of neuroscience and specifically studies the genetics of autism:
The author brings up a lot of really relevant and interesting points (to both the fields of disability studies and neuroscience), especially the idea that currently the diagnosis of "autism" is incredibly vague and that there are likely many different conditions that lead to the behavioral symptoms we characterize as being "autistic". One of my biggest concerns, however, is the language still utilized in much scientific research related to autism, and the implications of this language. We've talked a lot in class about language and how representations of people with disability impact society's treatment of people with disabilities, and I struggle to accept that researchers studying neurodevelopmental disabilities are really interested in brain development when they write about how the condition they study is "devastating". Perhaps I am simply someone who places a lot of weight in the language/ words that people use to describe disability, however, I think it also speaks to the fact that there are still many research labs/ programs (especially labs studying particular conditions/ diseases) focused on curing rather than developing a better understanding of the diversity inherent in the biology of brain functioning.