In April 2010, senior neuroscience student, Alexandra Alfieri, presented her honors research at the Northeast Undergraduate Research on Neuroscience conference (NEURON) at Hunter College in New York.  Alex had an abiding interest in the topic of autism and opted to use an animal model of the disorder in order to investigate the potential role of the hormone oxytocin as a therapeutic agent. Oxytocin has some pretty intriguing effects on behavior- in human subjects a nasal spray of oxytocin enhances positive social interactions with people including a tendency to find others more trustworthy.  Alex knocked out social behavior in a rat model by damaging the amygdala of a newborn animal. The amygdala is a major emotional center of the brain and both humans and animals that have damage to this area are unable to understand the social cues that signal emotional intent. Alex made the dramatic observation that an injection of oxytocin completely reverses the social impairment of a young rat for a few hours after the injection. By the next day, however,  the social impairment returns. Alex’s initial inspiration for the project came when she attended the NEURON conference as a 1st year student. The keynote speaker at the conference, Sue Carter (Univ. Illinois-Chicago), discussed her highly influential work on how the class of hormones that include oxytocin alter social interest in humans and animals. Alex immediately started to speculate about the potential of oxytocin for the treatment of autism. Alex is currently in medical school, training at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Senior Biology student, Brielle Kelly collaborated with Professor of Psychology, Dr. Alan Gittis, to coordinate this year's Brain Awareness even in April. Attended by >80 school students from Mohawk, Hermitage, Wilmington and Newcastle School districts, the Brain Awareness event provided information and learning activities about a variety of topics including Human Senses, Memory and Learning, an Eye for Detail and the Effects of Drugs on the Brain. The information and activities were presented from seven stations, manned by Neuroscience, Biology and Psychology students from Dr. Gittis's Behavioral Neuroscience class. Brain Awarenes events are coordinated nationally by the Society for Neuroscience and the Dana Foundation. Westminster College Brain Awareness Week was sponsored by the Departments of Biology and Psychology, The Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, LARK Enterpises and PIzza Joe's.

Photo's L - R: Westminster College pre-school children touching a Jello brain and learning about the texture and fragility of the human brain. Dr Alan Gittis helps Biology students Nikita Madhyani and Jasmine Grady to set up the Brain Board Game, in which school students learn about the effects of drugs on the brain. Team Hypothalamus Hippies from Newcastle taking first prize in the Brain Bee competition.