While not what I intended to major in initially, Neurobiology (or now Neuroscience) has been incredibly rewarding, frustrating, and stressful all at the same time. Central to this praise and complaint is the laboratory classes: 301 and 302. These class provide unique experiences and push students both as bench scientists and as technical writers. Over the course of a quarter, students are expected to design, conduct, and analyze an experiment, with the goal of presenting their findings to the class via a PowerPoint presentation.
In the second lab class, 302, my partner and I decided to analyze how dismembered cockroach legs respond to audio signals, specifically music. We were inspired to conduct such an experiment when listening to the 2011 hit, Party Rock Anthem. So partly out of genuine interest and partly out of a joke, we decided to play different genres of music to the cockroach leg and record it's response.
For an experiment born out of a random idea, it was surprisingly easy to execute. However, it proved much more difficult to analyze. To do so, we had to learn how to independently implement Fast Fourier Transforms and use other frequency analysis tools to generate insight from noisy data. However, being able to dive deeper into the mechanistic properties of sound and how the auditory system is modeled was very rewarding.
Overall, despite the stress associated with the final project component for Neuroscience, I was forced to grow as a scientist and a student. It taught me how to collaborate, be flexible in learning new analysis software, design experiments, and conduct statistical analyses. While I am still unsure about my career path, being taught how to conduct wet-lab research and the associated analysis helps keep many potential pathways open.
In the second lab class, 302, my partner and I decided to analyze how dismembered cockroach legs respond to audio signals, specifically music. We were inspired to conduct such an experiment when listening to the 2011 hit, Party Rock Anthem. So partly out of genuine interest and partly out of a joke, we decided to play different genres of music to the cockroach leg and record it's response.
For an experiment born out of a random idea, it was surprisingly easy to execute. However, it proved much more difficult to analyze. To do so, we had to learn how to independently implement Fast Fourier Transforms and use other frequency analysis tools to generate insight from noisy data. However, being able to dive deeper into the mechanistic properties of sound and how the auditory system is modeled was very rewarding.
Overall, despite the stress associated with the final project component for Neuroscience, I was forced to grow as a scientist and a student. It taught me how to collaborate, be flexible in learning new analysis software, design experiments, and conduct statistical analyses. While I am still unsure about my career path, being taught how to conduct wet-lab research and the associated analysis helps keep many potential pathways open.
2019_11_21_oral_presentation_ek_sc.pptx | |
File Size: | 4480 kb |
File Type: | pptx |