SANS is here to facilitate South Africans and Africans with linking and connecting to organisations and institutes that may help develop individual and group interests in the broad field of Neuroscience.
Neuroscience is broad in definition, from how we and animals behave, to what neural systems and molecular switches turn-off and on when a behaviour is carried out. We investigate disorders of the central nervous system from motor disorders to mental disorders. We investigate animal models to translate molecular aspects to clinical conditions. Neuroscientists are the final frontier – we are wacky, studious, ambitious, and hopeful that our scientific contributions will improve life on this planet for all.
SANS is the gateway to SONA and IBRO, international neuroscience research collaborations and funding.
Vivienne RussellFounder, past chair, and current SANS executive committee member
Neuroscience is about working out how external landscapes and internal thoughtscapes are transmitted, encoded, decoded, and interpreted by the brain; at every level, from genomics, to proteomics, to cellular structures, signaling, networks, firing patterns, systems and organisms. The aim would be so that we can learn how to manipulate these signals at any level in order to improve our moods, attention and movement; to attain more clarity of thought and control of our mind and body, in everyday living.
To me, neuroscience represents a microcosm of creativity and innovation, a place where new ideas are always welcome. To my knowledge, our laboratory is the first on the African continent to employ clinical electroencephalography (EEG) modalities to characterize food cue processing.
The nervous system connects the body to the ‘self’ and exchanges information between the inner and outer worlds. It is the important link between the living organism and the universe and is immediately affected by internal or external imbalance. I am particularly interested in the role it plays in the mind and the generation of thoughts, emotions and actions. According to the World Health Organization, neurological and psychiatric disorders are the largest global health challenge. Understanding the complex functioning of the nervous system in relation to the internal and external worlds is essential for human wellbeing and, ultimately, progress on this planet and beyond.
For me SANS is the blueprint of neuroscience in Africa and how the rest of the African researchers can level up to international standards of research. SANS is also the link to other international neuroscience organization i.e. IBRO and SONA. The ultimate goal of neuroscience is to mimic neurological disorders in animal models in order to understand them at a molecular and behavioral level. This aids post graduate students to develop analytical skills, research skills and independent thinking skills. These skills are pivotal for the sustenance of research nationally and internationally and also to encourage collaboration. SANS plays a central role in all these expertise.
There are many reasons why neuroscience is a fascinating field. It makes use of a variety of rapidly evolving tools and techniques to study one of the most complex structures that we know of – the brain. It spans multiple disciplines, including physiology, biochemistry, genetics, neuroimaging, psychology and statistics, to investigate the brain and behaviour from a macro through to a micro level. It allows collaborations with individuals around the world united in an attempt to research neurological and psychiatric disorders that cause significant harm to many individuals. It is a dynamic field where new research constantly leads to yet more questions. However, to me, neuroscience represents a beautiful merger of humanities and sciences. We try to decipher how the traits that make us human – motivation, language, empathy, social interactions and much more besides – are encoded and processed in our brains in both health and disease.
To me, neuroscience is the brain ironically trying to find out more about itself. It is the interface of many disciplines and the ultimate mystery. What greater problem to solve is there than how we think?
As a neuropsychiatric geneticist to me neuroscience is the last ‘black box’ of genetic research. Where most aspects of medicine focus on a specific area and move towards multidisciplinary tactics, in neuroscience an interdisciplinary approach is an absolute. It conceptualizes the very essence of persona and quantitatively embodies the uniqueness of every single person. It’s the science of ‘individuality’.