Neuroscientist Q&A
Ever wondered what a Neuroscientist does? In this brain tingling blog, we speak with our friend Rebecca all about her research, dragons and why some people can’t ‘see’ images in their mind …
Hi! Tell us a little bit about yourself!
Hi, my name is Rebecca (but my friends call me Bec!) and I am a scientist who studies how we think and how the brain works (a cognitive neuroscientist). Outside of the lab I like to play basketball, read fantasy books (anything with dragons) and collect shoes! I also love all animals but especially birds!
Coooooool- tell us more about your research!
I study our ability to imagine and remember pictures. Some of us are better at imagining and remembering pictures than others and I look at how we can measure these differences and how differences in our brain might explain why some of us are better at doing this than others.
What inspired you to pursue Neuroscience?
I have always loved science and am curious about how things work as well as why we have different likes and personalities. For example I’ve always wondered why some of us like chocolate ice cream the best while others like strawberry better, or why some of us might think a dress is blue but other people might see it as being gold! Neuroscience combines my interests perfectly, as it involves figuring out how the brain works and how this leads to us all being different interesting people.
What do most people get wrong about STEM industries?
I think the thing people get wrong the most is that it's boring and repetitive! Science can be incredibly exciting when you discover something new and you often have to be very creative to come up with solutions to problems!
Did you have a favourite picture book/movie/character growing up?
My favourite book (and also movie) character growing up was Pippi Longstocking - I loved that she was fun, quirky, strong, independant and always having adventures! She was also best friends with a horse which I thought was pretty cool!