studyingbrains

[studyingbrains]

Goodbye: Thank you for making this so fun!

This page will no longer be active from 26th May 2017.

It has been a pleasure to meet so many like-minded individuals with similar passions toward learning, stationery and general obsessions trying to organise this mess we call life.

I am moving on to other things and feel I have outgrown this platform. A special mention to those below who have made this place extra great, (in no particular order): 

@to-work-or-not-to-work  @fuckstudy  @etudiance   @fromquantumfluctuations   @coffeesforstudiers @tobeagenius @getstudyblr  @succulentstudy @studylune @juniorincollege @istudytoomuch @studiyng @ballpointandfountain @arabskaya-devushka @rahaflearns @studyquill @neur0sciences @izzystudies @studyign  @study-well@neuroscienxe @deep-time-studying@slowtownstudies  @emmastudies@boligraff @jhonstudies @visualyze@freudsucks@medemedemed @academla @hawkstudies @delthenerd @tea-study-sleep @elkstudies @areistotle @hayley-studies @studnt @rewritign @petiteprune @universi-tea @frostyzach  @arystudies@mymidnightlatte @jung-studyblr @hannahbananastudies @intellectus @adorable-amygdala @dangostudy @magdalena93 @bionctes @aangelofthedawn @astrostudy @sophocused @raineydaystudies

Many have deactivated along the way but for those who remain thank you for providing stimulating conversations, great advice and beneficial posts. 

Remember, this is a journey and it’s the progress that matters. Thank you for supporting me and I hope you all achieve your goals and contentment one way or another.

If you need to contact me after the 26th of May 2017 please email studyingbrains@gmail.com because this account will no longer be checked. 

[studyingbrains]

Someone else’s happiness and success does not negate your own. 

[studyingbrains]

Stationery Recs!

I usually buy stationery from pretty basic places: Tesco, WHSmith, Waterstones, Paperchase and Wilko (!!).

Sometimes I indulge, and here’s where (online stores):

The Journal Shop: (Free delivery for orders over £10 in UK, yes please!). They are actually my favourite place. I get my Field Notes and Midori stuff from here. 

Fox and Star: They have some stuff TJS has but cheaper! I buy Washi tape from here (Masté and MT is the best!).

Present and Correct : I buy notecards, stamps and other ephemera from here. 

Typo: I buy novelty items from here, not sure how good their site is. I love visiting the store!.  

The above sites are pricey (sucks I know), but a lot of the stuff can also make for great gifts!

[studyingbrains]

University Tips (non-conventional)

Studygram | Twitter  

If these help anyone, great!

Set your timetable as your phone background for the first few weeks. Use this method for no. 6 too if you can be bothered. 

Wear sports bras/bralettes to lectures instead of the ones with a buckle at the back. They tend to poke and prod your back after a while if you’re leaning back. Sports bras don’t. 

Lay a towel on your bed a few days before your period is due. If you leak on a towel you can just wash it or throw it away. Easier than washing and changing the sheets (esp. if you’re in a rush to get to a lecture!).

When you’re in a lecture taking notes on a laptop remember to turn down the brightness on your screen, especially if the lecturer has dimmed the lights. Otherwise you’ll annoy others and drain your battery. 

Save your recordings at every given break instead of making one continuous one through pausing. Sometimes files are too large to save and you don’t want to risk losing the entire lecture recording. Save as you go along.

If you need to remember something (e.g. a library book, USB, locker key..) write it on a post-it note and stick it on your shoes before you sleep. Make sure they’re the shoes you intend to wear the next day!

Don’t shoot me: if you have left an assignment really late, stay up as long as you can completing it (yes, that means an all-nighter may be needed). Sleep as soon as you’ve handed it in. 

If you use tech in a lecture e.g. phone for recording or electronic notetaking on your laptop, then mess around with it before uni begins. Know what buttons to press and when, otherwise you’ll mess up your notes and annoy others, with your excessive clicking. 

Always, always, ALWAYS carry a plastic bag/carrier bag. You might need to make a trip to the library, drink may spill in your bag so you’ll need an alternative. Seriously, just carry one.  

Find out where coursework/assignment are submitted within your first week on campus. Ask admin how the procedure works and make sure you know it inside out. 

Spend a day wondering around campus (before timetabled lectures start). Find out where the library is, talk to the librarians and ask them how to borrow/return books and also how to reserve!

When you get your timetable be sure to visit the lecture halls and seminar rooms a few days before the term starts so you know where to go. Find out where the toilets are in those buildings too. 

Find out where your lecturers offices are. Know the building and floor that they’re on (they’re usually all in the same place). 

Carry cereal bars and other non perishable foods that take up little room. Sometimes your tummy rumbles really loud in a lecture, give it some love.

Volunteer in your first year of university, these is the least hectic year (usually!). You want something to put on that CV and those post grad applications! 

In the UK the first year generally doesn’t count toward the final degree classification but those grades WILL show up on your transcript. Make sure they look decent. When you apply for post grad courses, if you don’t have the certificate yet (because you’re still completing the course) the university/institution will ask for your grade transcript. First year grades come up first! 

A huge part of your degree classification/GPA comes from the final year thesis. Talk to as many older students as you can and ask them what topics they picked and how they went about it. A great thesis/dissertation will literally move you from a 2:1 to a 1st. 

When you have a meeting with your supervisor take notes and write up a short summary of what was said, similar to writing up “meeting minutes”. This will be helpful for you and your supervisor. Especially if you take long breaks before meeting again. 

I’ll update this list as things come to me. I hope it helps. 

[studyingbrains]

Hey Ashley, that’s a great observation that Drugsand.me has tried to tackle by guiding users to legit drug test kits. You can purchase drug testing kits here:

https://www.reagent-tests.uk/shop/ 

Reagent testing is an excellent way to massively reduce the risks of using drugs. With the ability to instantly see if what you have bought is fake or even dangerous it’s much easier to make good decisions about safe drug use.

Using just a scraping of a pill or a few crumbs of powder and a drop of reagent you can instantly see if you have been sold PMA, MDPV or other more dangerous drugs instead of what you were expecting.

Here’s the colour chart for their drug testing kits. They cover quite a few substances:

A Harm Reduction Guide to Safer Drug Use

drugsand.me is an educational website that teaches about the existing harm reduction methods for drug users. We do not promote drug use, but we do encourage you to be safe if you are thinking of taking any kind of drug. This website was inspired by the thousands of deaths that occur in the UK due to the lack of correct drug education.

An example of the site’s interactive feature, allowing users to investigate the risks when mixing different drugs:

All the information on the site is sourced from peer-reviewed academic publications, the advice they offer - on cocaine, MDMA, alcohol, cannabis, and now ketamine and LSD - is certainly a cut above the anecdotal information you may receive from peers. 

Have a look around: Drugsand.me 

[studyingbrains]

MRI of the Fetal Brain

Advancements in MRI are giving us an unprecedented look at the fetal brain.

Until approximately a decade ago, what researchers knew about the developing prenatal brain came primarily from analyzing the brains of aborted or miscarried fetuses. But studying postmortem brains can be confounding because scientists can’t definitively pinpoint whether the injuries to the brain occurred before or during birth. 

Over the years, however, improvements to MRI are finally enabling researchers to study the developing brain in real time. With these advancements, researchers are just beginning to understand how normal brains develop, and how abnormalities can manifest over the course of development. Scientists cataloguing typical infant brain development with the mini-MRI hope to use it eventually to study the brains of premature babies, who have a high risk of brain damage. Ultimately, clinicians hope to intervene early with therapies, if available and approved, to prevent developmental disorders when there are signs of brain damage in utero or shortly after birth.

Read more here in Nature Medicine. 

[studyingbrains]

A Harm Reduction Guide to Safer Drug Use

drugsand.me is an educational website that teaches about the existing harm reduction methods for drug users. We do not promote drug use, but we do encourage you to be safe if you are thinking of taking any kind of drug. This website was inspired by the thousands of deaths that occur in the UK due to the lack of correct drug education.

An example of the site's interactive feature, allowing users to investigate the risks when mixing different drugs:

All the information on the site is sourced from peer-reviewed academic publications, the advice they offer - on cocaine, MDMA, alcohol, cannabis, and now ketamine and LSD - is certainly a cut above the anecdotal information you may receive from peers. 

Have a look around: Drugsand.me 

Studyingbrains Instagram || Studyingbrains Twitter 

[studyingbrains]

Bookmark Printables (via Google Drive) 

Would you guys be interested in free bookmark printables?

I’ve never done these before so feedback would be appreciated (good or bad!). If you guys like these then I could maybe make a better (more pretty) series or even custom ones.   

More free printables here. 

[studyingbrains]

What are your top 5 study tips?

Helloo!

These answers are slightly obscure (but they’re good!):

Have a bedside table and a lamp (with dimming settings). There’s casual ways to keep studying. This is one of them. 

I get in bed about 30/40minutes before I want to sleep. I put my phone on silent (and it’s out of reach). Then I sit up in bed and read (the dim lamp helps me doze off and I can just reach over and turn it off when I’m done, instead of getting out of bed). 

The bedside table gives me easy access to my current reads!

Buy a clipboard: print off the journal articles you need to read for tomorrow’s lecture and sit up in bed annotating them. Then turn the lamp off and sleep.

Keep your favourite snacks with you when studying:

To stop me from getting up and wondering around (aka scavenging for food) I keep essentials near my desk:

A bag of Gala Apples, 6 pack of 50cl water bottles and gummy bears. 

Make lists: not a list for the week, or the day but for the specific study session. Write down what you want to achieve in the next 2/3hours and do it! 

Use sticky tabs in your books:

But always write on sticky tabs! Don’t just stick them in, always scribble something. Why did you put it there? You will forget if you don’t write it down. 

I could have listed off 5 generic answers but idk the above tips have really changed my life. Also, I just realised my answers are more to do with productivity, not studying, but let us ignore that. 

[studyingbrains]

Book Recommendations: Books that have helped me think and write critically when it comes to scientific literature. I’ve never gotten below a 4.0/1st in a lab report.

This post will be especially helpful for those taking psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, pharmacy etc. All books are written by world leading academic researchers and are very well referenced. 

Bad Science by Dr Ben Goldacre - 342pgs, Age 11+.

If there is a book on this list that you read, let it be this! Dr Goldacre focuses on the misuse of science by journalists, homeopaths, schools and big pharmaceutical companies. The book has a great segment on understanding “The Placebo Effect”. Other topics include; Brain Gym, misleading cosmetic adverts, issues with vitamin pills and “toxins”. He has a blog he runs Badscience.net that has great free articles! The book is beautifully referenced and really easy to read, definitely worth investing in. If you can’t spend money on the book just yet, there is a similar free talk here. 

Drugs: Without the Hot Air by Prof David Nutt - 316pgs, Age 12+.

Prof Nutt incurred the wrath of the UK government when he put forth research papers stating that alcohol and tobacco were more harmful than many illegal drugs, including LSD, ecstasy and cannabis. In “Drugs”, he talks us through the science of what drugs are and how they work, quantifying and comparing the harms caused by different drugs, as well as drug addiction. This book is a great starting point and has educated me on all major drugs better than any textbook has. It’s written in simple English with numerous references and even has a wonderful segment titled “What should I tell my kids about drugs?”. I have had the pleasure of meeting Prof Nutt multiple times and given the slander he has endured, he remains passionate and dedicated to his field. Prof Nutt runs a website aimed at the general public Drugscience.org. There is a similar free talk here.

Bad Pharma by Dr Ben Goldacre - 404pgs, Age 15+.

Another gem by Dr Goldacre, this is a slightly heavier text than the above two books but is a must read for those going into pharmacy or research. Bad Pharma explains where new drugs come from and issues with missing data in clinical trials. Companies run bad trials on their own drugs, which distort and exaggerate the benefits by design. When these trials produce unflattering results, the data is simply buried. Dr Goldacre discusses the issues with design and also the harms of not making the missing trial data available. This book is not ‘anti-drug’, this book highlights issues with publication bias and how this needs to be and can be mended in order for doctors and patients to make better informed decisions on the drugs they are prescribing/prescribed.There is a similar free talk here.

The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Dr Oliver Sacks - 246pgs, Age 11+.

Written by the late Dr Oliver Sacks, this was the first book I purchased at the age of 13 in the field of neurology that made me go nuts for the brain. As a huge fan of Roald Dahl’s style, this book was just perfect. Dr Sacks turned patient case studies into short stories, inviting you into the incredible world of neurological disorders. The following phenomena are covered: visual agnosias, memory loss, Parkinsonion-symptoms, hallucinations etc. Dr Oliver Sacks has multiple books that are worth investing in, have a look at  Oliversacks.com. There is a similar free talk here.

Phantoms in the Brain by Dr V. S. Ramachandran - 257pgs, Age 15+.

Ramachandran, through his research into brain damage, has discovered that the brain is continually organising itself in response to change. Phantoms in the Brain explores case studies and experiments invented by Dr Ramachandran like the Mirror Box to help understand the underlying issues. Examples of the case studies involve a woman who persists that her left arm is not paralysed (albeit her entire leftside is paralysed) and a young man loses his right arm in a motorcycle accident, yet he continues to feel a phantom arm with vivid sensation of movement. In a series of experiments using nothing more than Q-tips and dribbles of warm water the young man helped Dr Ramachandran discover how the brain is remapped after injury. This book is really enjoyable and is a slightly more in-depth read than The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat. There is a similar free talk here.  

The Lucifer Effect by Dr Philip Zimbardo - 488pgs, Age 18+ (due to explicit images).

Prof Zimbardo provides an in-depth analysis of his classic Stanford Prison Experiment, and his personal experiences as an expert witness for one of the Abu Ghraib prison guards, raising fundamental questions about the nature of good and evil. This book has really interesting commentaries on The Columbine Shooting, People’s Temple Mass Suicide, Prison Abuse in Afghanistan etc. I enjoyed the book but it does get really repetitive (it definitely could have been made shorter by 100 pages), the publishers also use a really small font. There is a similar free talk here. 

Ages have been mentioned not as restrictions but as guidelines in terms of the writing style and sensitivity of the literature. Every book mentioned above doesn’t need to be read chronologically, from cover-to-cover. They have been compiled in such a way that you can dip in and out of the chapters without confusion. Lovely!  All free talks are given by the authors and they cover the same topics that are mentioned in the books. 

If you ever wish to discuss the literature, do get in touch with me! 

[studyingbrains]

Hello! Bad Science is a real treasure. The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat has a great layout, especially when we don’t want to read a book from cover to cover in one sitting. It doesn’t need to be read consecutively either; you can dip into it and read the “story” case studies as you please. I’m glad the recommendations proved useful and I hope you enjoy them all!

PS: the covers of your books are so much cooler than mine!

Book recommendation post available here.

Studyingbrains Instagram || Studyingbrains Twitter

Per the recommendation of @studyingbrains I picked up these three books from Amazon. I’m not really a reader and in all honesty, the last time I read a book for my own pleasure was in elementary school (I’m a senior in high school) and even when we were assigned books I’m school and for summer assignments I never actually read them. I would skim over them and do enough to get an A on the project, but I never really got anything from them. I think I figured out why I stopped being interested in reading for so long and it’s because I hadn’t figured out what kinds of books I was actually interested in. I personally am not a huge fan of fiction books, when I read something I want to be able to learn about something and be able to take away actual facts about how things work and why the world is the way it is. I’ve always been very into science and it’s so nice to read a book by a person of science and have him debunk all of the garbage “science” that is all over the internet/magazines/products in stores, because it’s nice to know that there are people out there who believe in science and know that crap like “detox” is a complete scam and not even a scientifically valid concept (the book I was talking about is Bad Science). If you want more info on these books and a few others then check out @studyingbrains post on them.

[studyingbrains]

7:40am // Gloomy Sunrise -  Studygram: @studyingbrains 

Revising early in the morning on the train before my last statistics exam. I really struggled all throughout this module. I’ve learnt a big lesson though; if the first lecture leaves you dumbfounded then know at the end of the module you’ll definitely have learnt something. 

[studyingbrains]

hi! was wondering (if you had to) but how did you decide between neurology and psychology for your graduate degree?

Hi!

Excellent question, graduate degrees are no walk in the park, so decide wisely. 

My research interests revolve around behavioural changes that occur after brain damage. I couldn’t study this unless I branched away into neuropsychology (which is what I’m doing now!). 

Picking between psych and neuro depends on what you are interested in. My advice is:

Attend course open days.

Email course directors; let them know your background and ask what past students have gone on to do. This may be on the course website.

ALWAYS look at the modules being offered. Read the module content carefully to make sure that’s what you’re interested in.

Pay close attention to your undergraduate grades; where do you shine academically? It might be worth investigating those subjects further. 

I hope that helps. 

[studyingbrains]

Morning Session // Writing up project proposals…

I actually enjoy getting on campus early in the morning, before too many students are around. It gives me time to ease myself into the day (and eat my apple in peace). These pretty red chairs are super comfy too. 

Follow my Studygram for more: studyingbrains 

[studyingbrains]

07:00 || Lone mornings in the library.

As the term is only just kicking off, nobody attends the libraries early in the morning. Allowing me to bask in silence!! The above images are taken in The Flaxman Gallery inside the Main Library at University College London.

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Follow my Twitter too!

[studyingbrains]

Assignment Checklist Free Printable (PDF in Google Drive)

Keep your assignments looking professional and academic with these checklists that are used once you have completed a piece of work.

Tick off each task to make sure your work is of a presentable standard, for example:

Single/Double spacing.

Hanging indent for references.

Completing title pages; Title, student ID, module code & name. 

Consistent font and font size. 

…And feel free to add your own tasks specific to your course too. 

Bonus: Box at the bottom has common reference styles (MLA, APA, Harvard). 

I usually print these, cut them out and keep one with each assignment. It saves me time having to Google what’s required when referencing University/College work. If you can’t print then just write it out on paper/sticky notes. Let me know if this is helpful (and where to improve!). 

More help: MLA Referencing // APA Referencing // Harvard Referencing 

Follow my Studygram: studyingbrains 

Follow my Twitter too!

[studyingbrains]

05:00 // The morning sun & a great textbook.

My lecturer gave me a great book “The Biology of Psychological Disorders” by David Linden. It covers so much and the info is easily digestible. I’m a little upset because I really flopped the exam on this topic which has put me off attempting to learn the material again. Never thought an exam would leave me triggered like this. Also, studying under the sun is nice. The warmth kisses my hands as I write and the white paper blinds me into oblivion… Lovely.