SANS – Southern African Neuroscience Society

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What is Neuroscience?

Neuroscience is at the interface between biology and psychology. It is about the scientific study of nervous systems. It includes study of the nature and functioning of the nervous system at all levels, from the molecules that make up individual nerve cells and the transfer of information from one nerve cell to another, to the complexities of how behaviour, thoughts and emotions are produced. Neuroscientists are interested in many basic questions, including why do people and other animals behave, think and feel the way they do, how addictive drugs produce their effects, how brain cells develop, why they die or sometimes malfunction, and how they repair themselves when damaged.

Our vision is to foster interest in Neuroscience and facilitate communication between those interested in Neuroscience, within Southern Africa and Africa.

SANS Vision

SANS Mission

It is the mission of the South African Neuroscience Society to foster interest in Neuroscience and facilitate communication between those interested in Neuroscience, within Southern Africa and Africa.

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FRIENDS OF SANS

Other Neuroscience initiatives, organisations and clubs with whom SANS shares a connection

University of Cape Town Cortex Club

website

Forum for dealing with cutting-edge topics and significant, challenging issues in neuroscience. It is made up of students and professors alike from all sectors of the neuroscience spectrum. Seeks to create a platform whereby ideas about the brain can be discussed in an open, relaxed and informal environment.

Society of Neuroscientists of Africa

website

SONA is a non-profit organization registered in Nairobi, Kenya and functions as the umbrella organization for the regional and national neuroscience societies and groups in Africa. The society’s mandate is to promote research and teaching in neuroscience in Africa.

South African Society of Psychiatrists

website

SASOP is the only professional body in South Africa that represents the interests of the majority of Psychiatrists in South Africa. The Society is also actively involved in South Africa and Internationally to destigmatize Mental Illness and is fighting against discrimination against people who suffer with mental illness

Anatomical Society of Southern Africa

website

The Anatomical Society of Southern Africa (ASSA) founded in 1967, was born out of the Colloquia of the Anatomy Departments in the “old” Transvaal. Today, the Society represents anatomy departments from all tertiary institutions in Southern Africa (i.e. South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe); and …

Physiology Society of Southern Africa

website

To promote all aspects related to the teaching, research and dissemination of the discipline of Physiology. By providing a spectrum of physiological information, the society strives to play a role in the establishment and advancement of physiological sciences within Southern Africa and the rest of Africa.

Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study

website

The Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS) is a joint initiative of the University of Johannesburg (UJ), South Africa, and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Like other institutes of advanced study elsewhere in the world, its purpose is to promote advanced research…

WHAT NEUROSCIENCE MEANS TO...

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.

Fleur Howells

Current SANS chair

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.

Jennifer Hsieh

Executive committee member

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.

Tanya Calvey

Secretary of SANS

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.

Lihle Qulu

Past executive committee member

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.

Jacqueline Womersley

Executive Committee Member

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’.

Nathaniel McGregor

Executive Committee Member

Southern African Neuroscience Society

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MEMBERS

FRIENDS OF SANS

University of Cape Town Cortex Club

Society of Neuroscientists of Africa

International Brain Research Organization

South African Society of Psychiatrists

Anatomical Society of Southern Africa

Physiology Society of Southern Africa

Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study

Neuropsychology SA

WHAT NEUROSCIENCE MEANS TO...

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