On May 5, Grey Matters hosted their 10th annual An Evening with Neuroscience event, which featured numerous panelists sharing their expertise on neuroscience to the general public.

The event started with a series of interactive neuroscience activities, followed by a brain dissection, and ended with an open forum for questions. The annual event serves as a space where the UW community can not only interact with researchers, psychologists, and clinicians, but also learn about the brain. This years evening began with a dissection of a human brain and spinal cord.

Grey Matters is a student-run organization at UW focused on making science accessible to everyone. The group strives to produce scientific literature digestible to the general public.

Assistant professor Sam Golden and associate professor Ajay Dhaka from the department of biological structure presented the different parts of the brain, their functions, and the ways in which they interact with the body. This was an educational demonstration, meant to be understood by the general public.

Moving toward the forum section of the event, panelists held a Q&A for audience members covering the neuroscience field.

Some of the more prominent topics that came up were issues regarding funding and resource allocation, particularly with international research. Ananya Chowdhury, a research scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, described her experience as an international researcher, and how limiting borders can be for the exploration of the neuroscience field. Dr. Thabele Leslie-Mazwi, chair of the department of neurology, noted that this was a significant problem he noticed as well.

Theres no geography of talent, Leslie-Mazwi said. Theres no geography of motivation, though theres definitely a geography of opportunity.

One guest asked how caution should be applied to newer neuroscience research.

To answer this, Oliver Rollins, assistant professor of American ethnic studies, discussed the intersections between predicting predisposed violence in people based on brain chemistry and the systemic inequalities that affect individuals growing up.

Rollins described how often neuroscientists analyze at-risk behaviors of individuals without looking at factors in the environment around them that have an equal, if not greater, impact on their brains.

If we cant think about embedded inequalities like sexism, or racism, or any of these things which absolutely affect social behaviors, it raises the question of what this model is actually predicting, Rollins said.

Reach contributing writer Sophia Moran at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @sophiasmoran

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Grey Matters celebrates the 10th anniversary of 'An Evening with ... - Dailyuw