Exploring neuroscience while exploring Paris
Earlier on in the program, we visited the Musee d’Histoire de la Medicine, which is the Museum of the History of Medicine. We got to see many different tools that were previously used in medicine. We saw an electrostatic machine that was used to treat neuralgia in the past. Neuralgia is when patients experience pain along their nerves, especially in their face. It was interesting to see how different medical tools are now compared to what they looked like previously.
Last week, we visited the Musee des Moulages, or the Museum of Dermatology. We explored the museum at our own pace and got to see how many different dermatological diseases would look like. I was definitely surprised by how the same condition could manifest itself in so many different ways. Neurosyphillis was displayed at the museum and sometimes can have dermatologic signs. We read a paper that tested the effectiveness of PCR in detecting neurosyphillis. Investigators found that it was more effective in detection than the VDRL test which is currently used. Even though PCR was found to be more effective, further research needs to be conducted to find even more accurate methods.
In the last week of the program, we took a trip to the Musee de Fumeur, a museum that displayed smoking devices. We discussed in class how society in France views smoking differently than we do in the United States. I was curious about what contributes to addiction and how it can be overcome. In previous neuroscience classes, we learned that environmental cues associated with smoking contribute to dependency on cigarettes. I found that more research is going into how addiction can be treated effectively. I found a study conducted by Modino et al. (2018) that tested the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on smoking. Investigators found no difference between active tDCS and a placebo on cigarette consumption, but there was a significant effect of tDCS on craving for cigarettes. Further research would be beneficial to be able to help more people who are addicted to smoking.
References:
Mondino, M., Luck, D., Grot, S., Januel, D., Suaud-Chagny, M., Poulet, E., & Brunelin, J. (2018). Effects of repeated transcranial direct current stimulation on smoking, craving and brain reactivity to smoking cues. Scientific Reports., 8(1), 8724.
Early on in the program, we took a class day trip to the Palace of Versailles. We took a guided tour of the palace itself and then got to spend time later on in the gardens. During the French Revolution, Versailles was an extension of the Hotel des Invalides due to high demand of care. About 6,000 people asked to be treated there, but the Hotel had a maximum capacity of 6,000. PTSD was not officially named yet during the French Revolution, but psychiatrists starting noticing it in soldiers. A French psychiatrist, Philippe Pinel, had a lot of patients who exhibited symptoms of PTSD and called it cardiorespiratory neurosis. He documented the first accurate description of war neuroses in his treatise called Nosographie Philosophique (Crocq & Crocq, 2000).
References:
Crocq, M.-A., & Crocq, L. (2000). From shell shock and war neurosis to posttraumatic stress disorder: a history of psychotraumatology. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 2(1), 47–55.
Last week, we took a day trip to the Loire Valley as a class. It was my first time outside of Paris in France, and it was refreshing to see open fields and the countryside on the way there. We got to visit two chateaus: Chateau de Chenonceau and Chateau de Chambord. Even though it was foggy and rainy, the view from Chateau de Chenonceau was amazing! The Chateau de Chambord had so much to explore. When we first got off the bus, there were goats and other animals around a barn area. Continuing down the path to the chateau, there was a river and a vast garden. The whole area was so pretty, it was hard to leave!
Figure 1. Me and my roommates at Chateau de Chambord. Continue reading “A Visit to the Loire Valley”
Our second weekend in the program, we went to a rugby match between Upstarts Castres and Montpellier at the Stade de France. This was a new experience for me, because I rarely go to many sporting events and it was my first time ever watching rugby. There were enthusiastic fans everywhere starting from the metro station all the way to the stadium. Our assignment was to choose a player and count how many times they potentially had a head impact. When the game started, I realized that this was much harder to count than I thought. When the players were hit, there would be so many players in that area at once, making it hard to actually see who was actually hit and who was not. It was also hard to keep track of the same player throughout the course of the game. In the end, everyone made their best guesses and we calculated a class average of around 12 hits throughout the game.
Figure 1. Janet, Coco, and I at the rugby match.
On Monday, we went to a chocolate museum, which went well with the paper we were writing at the time about the effects of cocoa flavanols on attention. At this museum, we started out learning about the history of chocolate and got to taste samples periodically throughout the museum. Milk chocolate is usually my favorite, but the white chocolate samples were equally good here. At the end, we even got to learn how to make our own! The process was extremely messy but a lot of fun at the same time. We had to make chocolate shells, add in some filling, and cover the end with more chocolate. My first tray was ruined because we waited too long to pour the chocolate, so it was extremely hard to pour. Luckily, we were allowed to try again with another tray.
Figure 1. Me and my roommates with the chocolate we made!
Early last week, we visited a fromagerie as a class. Cheese shops can be seen all around Paris, but I had never been in one until this class visit. I had always thought of myself as a big fan of cheese for most of my life. Whenever I need a snack, I always eat swiss cheese and crackers or slices of cheddar. However, I had never tried any other types of cheese besides american, feta, cheddar, and swiss. I mistakenly assumed that this meant I would like most other types of cheese as well. When we got to the fromagerie, we went under the store into an area where they had different cheese samples ready for us to try.
On Thursday, we visited the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, the largest cemetery in Paris. This was my first time visiting one, and I was surprised to see how different it was to see a cemetery in person in comparison to how they look in movies. Each of the tombs and mausoleums was extremely intricate and unique.
When we reached the cemetery, we received maps that had names of famous people who were buried there. I saw a few names I recognized, but Frédéric Chopin stood out to me instantly. When I was younger, I learned a lot about Chopin’s work as a pianist and composer through music class in school as well as outside piano lessons. At first, I resented going to piano lessons, but slowly started liking them over time. I realized that if I spent enough time trying to learn a piece that fit with my level of skill, I could do it. But whenever I was asked by piano teachers to try to write a few stanzas of my own music, I always struggled.
Figure 1. Me next to Chopin’s grave. Continue reading “Neuromaestro: Music Composition in the Brain”