Blackfish Reflective Essay

It was the recent documentary Blackfish that helped spark my interest in neuroscience. A neuroscientist (Dr. Lori Marino) and her team had, upon taking an MRI scan of an orca's brain, discovered an unusual extra lobe sat adjacent to the Limbic system. They were uncertain as to the function of the lobe but it was thought that it could have been used to process emotion or even aid the process of thought. It was then revealed that other mammals (even humans) had failed to develop this part of the brain. I was intrigued by the parallels that could be drawn between us as a species and our fellow mammals (neurologically speaking) and so began to dig deeper into the area of study. I was surprised at how varied the specialisms of neuroscientists were

The ward concentrated on treating elderly patients, a lot of whom were suffering from some form of mental ailment and seemed distressed and unsure of their surroundings. I witnessed first-hand what I feel is the reality of care of our growing population of elderly people if developments in neuroscience aren't made quickly. The work experience itself involved shadowing a Physiotherapist. I was surprised by the extent of the Neurological physiotherapy available to those suffering from disorders of the central nervous system and how this therapy can create new neuron pathways through repetitive exercises. I thought this was an excellent application of Neuroscience to help people regain mobility and their autonomy as much as possible. Watching the medical team working together I feel sincerely helped me to understand the necessity of teamwork in order to help individual patients effectively, which I feel would be useful working in a laboratory environment. Alongside my academic work, I am also volunteering at a local school for children with special educational needs to observe and hopefully help children with other kinds of non-degenerative neurological disorder. I have a part time job which I feel taught me the importance