Courses

This course will explore both the history and science of the brain as told through tales of trauma, mental illness, and remarkable healing. We will begin our tour of the brain as storytellers, diving into some of history’s most intriguing neural case studies and seeking to understand the context and scientific perspectives of the time. We will then delve deeper into the science of the brain, learning how the underlying biology and chemistry of the nervous system offer explanations for such peculiar occurrences of the nervous system. This pursuit will take us through stops in the French court of Henry II where a jousting accident brought the convergence of the greatest brain experts of the era and forever changed views of traumatic brain injuries. We will meet Patient H.M., who not only revolutionized our understanding of memory and surgical interventions as treatments for mental illness, but whose brain also spurred debate regarding the ownership of post-mortem tissue and data collection. We will even discover how neuroscience can cast light onto the mystery of the so-called “witches” of Salem and the “zombies” of Haiti.

In many ways, this class will be a guided tour of the brain, weaving together the historical and scientific perspectives of the brain leading up to the present day. Each class will begin with a case study of sorts—a story of catastrophic brain injury, illness, and/or uncanny giftedness that will serve as the segue to studying how the unique chemical messengers and signaling of the brain contribute to the human experience. We will evaluate the scientific evidence of such case studies and interpret these findings both within the broader historical context of the time as well as against the rigorous scientific standards of today. In this process of viewing the scientific evidence through the lens of historical figures and then testing these perspectives against our modern scientific understanding, students will hone their abilities thinking critically and interpreting data in different contexts. 

This course is eligible for honors credit through Hutton Honors College. 

Catalog Information: COLL-S 105  FRESHMAN SEMINAR IN N&M

Instructor:

Kristi DeBoeuf

Email:

kdeboeuf@indiana.edu

Department:

Psychological & Brain Sciences

Professor DeBoeuf teaches Neuroscience courses within the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. While completing her doctoral research here at IU, she fell in love introducing students to the wonders of the brain and has had the pleasure continuing to do so as faculty since the fall of 2019. She is particularly interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying learning and memory as well as when things go “wrong” in the nervous system (i.e., neurodegenerative diseases). Professor DeBoeuf also has a fascination with the intersection of history and science and is ecstatic at the opportunity to both integrate and share these passions through IFS.

GenEd Information: Approved for the Natural & Mathematical Sciences - Natural Sciences requirement of the IU Bloomington General Education program.