Neuroscience discussion to look at alcoholism, aging and memory

Those with an interest in the workings of the brain will get an opportunity to learn about “the Squishies and Crunchies of Neuroscience” Monday, June 1, at the year’s last “Neuroscience on Tap: BYOB Bring Your Own Brain.”

Anyone can take part in the round table discussion about neural processes and functions and their impact on a person’s everyday life.

The topic of the upcoming discussion, “What Can Flies, Worms and Slugs Tell Us About You?  The Squishies and Crunchies of Neuroscience,” will be led by Jackie Rose, professor of Behavioral Neuroscience. According to Rose, the discussion will introduce insights into alcoholism, aging and memory, and address the question, “Why should we care about research in fruit flies and other organisms?”

“When people think of neuroscience, and medical research in general, typically experiments involving monkeys or rodents come to mind,” Rose said in an email. “However, many significant findings that impact human health were originally discovered using less well-known organisms like fruit flies, worms and slugs.”

The event will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Club Glow in Bellingham.

The “Neuroscience on Tap” discussions have been taking place once a quarter since October 2008, said Coco Besson, Behavioral Neuroscience Program coordinator, as an opportunity for faculty of the Behavioral Neuroscience Program to reach out and inform the community about topics such as addiction and mental illness.