Neuroscience

NEUROSCIENCE - Mindfulness is a theme of one of the most popular elective courses at the UO, taught by David McCormick, director of the Institute of Neuroscience. Discover how a mindfulness routine can help you—and how you can get started—in the November/December issue of the CAS Connection newsletter.

BIOCHEMISTRY AND CHEMISTRY, NEUROSCIENCE - University of Oregon senior Nayantara Arora has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for graduate study at the University of Oxford, making her the first Duck to earn the prized award in more than 15 years. Arora is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in global health and chemistry. At Oxford, Arora plans to pursue two master’s degrees, one in modeling for global health and the other in international health and tropical medicine.

GEOGRAPHY, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - Three current UO students have been selected as finalists for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship, the oldest international fellowship award in the world.

NEUROSCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGY - David McCormick is now at the heart of a booming happiness enterprise at the UO, aiming to restore those connections and inspire students to examine how their minds mold reality. His science-based course, Happiness: A Neuroscience and Psychology Perspective, is one of the most popular electives on campus.

NEUROSCIENCE - For the first time, University of Oregon neuroscientists have recorded neural activity from the visual system of an octopus. Cristopher Niell and his team in the College of Arts and Sciences report their findings in a paper recently published in Current Biology.

BIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - New research biology professor Adam Miller’s lab — published in Current Biology — illuminates the importance of neuron-to-neuron communication via direct electrical signaling, instead of the usual chemical messengers sent between cells.

NEUROSCIENCE, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - Exposure to opioids in the womb affects the development of important circuits in the brain and spinal cord that control breathing, according to new research by University of Oregon Associate Professor Adrianne Huxtable. The findings could lead to better treatments and interventions for at-risk infants.

NEUROSCIENCE, CHEMISTRY - Third-year Clark Honors College undergraduate student Nayantara Arora was recently awarded a $5,000 Public Service Scholarship from Phi Beta Kappa Key.

BIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - Research led by neuroscientist Shawn Lockery shows worms exposed to a cannabinoid become even more interested in food they'd already prefer, similar to craving potato chips after a few puffs of marijuana — known scientifically as “hedonic feeding” but colloquially called “the munchies.”

MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS - The University of Oregon will host two STEM-forward events Feb. 25: the Eugene Youth Math Festival and the Central Western Oregon Science Expo, both spearheaded by College of Arts and Sciences faculty members.