Neuroscience and (Your) Behavior – What is neuroscience, and why are relationships so important?

The first virtual event of the Neuroscience and (your) Behavior series featured a discussion on how scientific understanding of one’s own and others’ brains can foster development, solidarity, and the principles of Catholic social teaching in communities. The event was led by Nancy Michael, Neuroscience and Behavior Associate Teaching Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, with special guests Connie Snyder Mick, Center for Social Concerns Senior Associate Director and Director of Academic Affairs, and Arafat Aliyi, Notre Dame Class of 2023. The speakers shared how their own experiences with interdisciplinary collaboration and service enhanced both their intellectual and spiritual pursuits.

After introducing the work done by the Department of Neuroscience and Behavior and Center for Social Concerns (CSC), Michael and Mick showed how collaboration between their areas of expertise can help them better engage with disadvantaged communities. Mick explained that as the CSC partners with a number of different organizations on campus, neuroscientists give them more precise language to discuss the vulnerabilities that people face and how to heal these problems. In turn, Michael conveyed how the community-based learning strategies employed by the CSC enhance both neuroscience students’ and professors’ sense of mission in their discipline. Aliyi then described how the summer and winter session service learning projects she completed last year have helped her put the neuroscience knowledge she gained in the classroom into practice, as she helped children cope with the adverse developmental and social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just as interdisciplinary collaboration promotes better understanding of both science and service, Aliyi’s experiences illustrated how interpersonal interactions are neurologically necessary for one’s sense of self. These relationships form an especially essential part of children’s development, as the people around them shape their expectations. Michael explained how young people’s brains are particularly neuroplastic, meaning that they create associations and connections more easily. Thus, they are vulnerable to adverse childhood experiences and must rely on the people around them to develop buffering strategies and mitigate these psychological injuries’ negative effects. However, this importance of relationships does not disappear as one ages. Michael and Aliyi argued that society must think of growing older not as increasing independence but rather a transition from dependence to interdependence, with a continued focus on learning from and growing with each other.

Interpersonal relationships do not just help humans develop individually, but they also foster solidarity, giving people the knowledge and empathy to assist each other in times of need. While the pandemic has further highlighted the disparities in society and the human need for connection, Michael, Mick, and Aliyi have come together virtually with ThinkND to show how neuroscience and service can together create positive change.

Visit the event page for more.