![a headshot picture of Kalina in a blue top](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x420_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/dsc_0488_0.jpg?itok=plEYpsyT×tamp=1722772208)
Behind the Scenes of PSYC 36: Neuroscience Systems
I'm the only freshman in my neuroscience class, PSYC 36, because Neuroscience Systems is a core major course. It covers different systems in the nervous system–from different parts of the brain to the division of the autonomic nervous system. Freshmen are usually busy exploring introductory courses, and that's probably the reason only upperclassmen take PSYC 36. However, the freshman whose blog post you're reading has some crazy ambitions for double majors, and she wanted to get started on her first major early on. So, I'm taking PSYC 36 my freshman spring.
Initially, I was afraid that it might be too difficult for me, but PSYC 6, Introduction to Neuroscience, one of the requirements for the Neuroscience Major, actually covered around seventy percent of what we're studying in PSYC 36. The remaining thirty percent easily complements the knowledge I already have from the intro course.
There's one aspect of PSYC 36 that's more exciting than anything else: the lab component. Every Tuesday, for two hours, my classmates and I dissect a sheep's brain. We each have a jar full of formaldehyde where we keep our sheep brain. During lab sessions, we have a manual that we read, and with whose help we identify all the structures in the sheep brain. According to the syllabus, we'll soon be looking at a human brain, too, and by the end of the term, we'll also work with lab rats. More on this once we actually get there.