The Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) has been a hub of research over the summer as students have studied questions about jet lag, paternal preconception alcohol exposure, the effects of chronic exposure to THC in adolescence and the effects of disrupted circadian rhythms.
Sixteen of the summer students presented their research at the annual CCBN Summer Student Symposium on Thursday, Aug. 18. A panel of judges chose the three top presentations and one honourable mention.
First place went to Elani Bykowski for her presentation titled Grow with the flow: visual fixations and saccades in dynamic sports environments. A saccade is a rapid eye movement in which both eyes move together in the same direction. The purpose of these movements is to quickly and accurately shift from one visual target to another.
Janet Poplawski placed second with her presentation on how early postnatal stress accelerates the functional development of the visual system. This accelerated development of the visual system was associated with maladaptive behaviours throughout life.
Capturing third place, Jessica Kuntz presented her research into the dissociation of the reach and grasp in mice.
Clarissa Beke received an honourable mention for her presentation on the brain’s left hemisphere and its grasp-to-eat advantage.
“While other students are taking summer vacation, our undergraduate and high school summer students are working hard on research projects. These students are passionate about their work and the symposium gives them the opportunity to share their enthusiasm with the CCBN community,” says Dr. David Euston, a neuroscience professor and the faculty organizer for the symposium.
The event is sponsored by the Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group (LPIRG), the Lethbridge Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience and the CCBN.