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Psychology
Articles
Getting Inside a Criminal's Mind
Putting Thought into Cognition
Rats and Students on the Brain
Fighting Depression on a Cellular Level
Rats
and Students on the Brain
Emily Kwok
THE LIFE of an academic is as rewarding as it is busy. Through their position, they have access to the latest research and facilities whilst having the ability to shape the scientists of “tomorrow”. Dr. Gavan McNally, from the School of Psychology at the University of New South Wales, is as passionate about his research as he is about his teaching.
On any particular day, one can easily get the impression that Gavan’s schedule is dominated by teaching. The first lecture begins at 9am, followed by tutorials and meetings with students. His commitment to teaching is evident by the amount of effort he willingly places into the preparation of his classes. Gavan reveals that it can take five to six hours to prepare for a single lecture. One may wonder why a person, who already possesses so much knowledge in his field and has already taught similar materials in previous years, would humble himself enough to put this much effort and precious time into planning his teaching. According to Gavan, teaching methods need constant revision because there are times where students simply do not understand and he wants to find ways to resolve their concerns.
For short periods after a lecture, Gavan has private discussions with students who may have questions concerning particular aspects of his lecture. Although his timetable indicates that he is needed elsewhere, Gavan answers the queries of the students with patience before heading off. There is a short hour between the end of a lecture and the beginning of a tutorial when Gavan can follow up on his real passion – research. He says that this is the best part of his work and that he would devote all his time to it if he could. Unfortunately for Gavan, this is not possible due to his teaching responsibilities.
Before taking us to see his labs, Gavan briefly explained some of his current research, which at the moment is focused on learning in rats. One particular experiment is second-order conditioning. An example of first-order conditioning is when an association has formed between a tone and a shock so that when the rat hears the tone, it will respond in a similar way as it would to a shock, even when the actual shock is absent. To have second-order conditioning, the tone will then be paired with another stimulus, such as light, in the absence of the shock. If second-order conditioning has occurred, then the light will be able to elicit the same response as the tone even though the light itself has never been paired with the shock.
Research takes constant monitoring and observation in order to obtain reliable results. As previously mentioned, Gavan cannot possibly spend all his time on research due to other duties, so he has lab assistants who help him. From speaking to the people who assist Gavan with his research, it is obvious that they have a mutual respect for each other and are passionate about their project.
As being a teacher and researcher places such a high demand on Gavan’s time, one cannot help asking how he manages to sustain a positive attitude amidst the piles of work demanding his attention. Gavan simply replies that he has learnt that people are willing to help assist you if you are positive and encouraging.
Surely, one
day is insufficient to understand Gavan’s work in any great depth.
However, one minute talking with him, especially as he speaks about his
research, is more than enough to sense the satisfaction that can come
from his work and appreciate what he does as a scientist.
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