Hey all,
Well I remember being pretty freaked out and frustrated the last time I wrote to you but I have decided that nothing can being solved with such an attitude so I have moved on to being blissful denial of my dissertation. Don’t get me wrong, I am not not doing any work, in fact all I do is think about it but I am just sick of worrying about how it feels like most of the time I don’t know what I am doing and just when I think I have figured out what I am supposed to be doing my supervisor decides to add another little twist to the project and he has being known on I would say three to four occasions now actually change the direction of the project…he calls it “evolution of the project” whereas I call it “confusing me to the point where I have reached blissful denial”….apparently this is the reaction of a control freak such as myself…. push me far enough into an environment of feeling out of control and I will eventually decide to surrender all power…..that could be a useful tip for any suffering spouses or partners out there!
Weirdly though since I have reached this new level of calmness I seem to be getting to grips with the project a bit more and I can actually see the light now….*actually tapping my head in a bid not to kinx myself!* I can proudly say that I have being able to upload brain MRI scans and view them on the University laptop….this description does not do the work involved justice but I do not want to bore you with the details. For my anatomically and scientifically wired brain learning computer software commands and terminal inputs was and still is a total headache but unfortunately a fundamental part of this project. Anyway this means that I will be able to measure the volume, surface area and cortical thickness of the brains insula which is an area of the brain tucked deep inside. It is usually bigger on one side than the other depending on the individuals language dominant side. It has been found that individuals with Schizophrenia are more likely to not have a bigger insula on one side compared to the other. Just last Thursday we also scanned a fresh/frozen and embalmed head specimen with MRI and CT to compare how the two types of specimens appeared. I hope to again look at the insula of these specimens on the scans, measure them and compare them to what we find to be a normal measurement based on the 152 previously measured scans.
So that’s the sense I have made of my project thus far but it will be evolving and I will be understanding more and more about it as the weeks go by so stay tuned for more interesting facts on the brain 🙂
In other news…..we raised over £300 for cancer research at the Race for Life 5km run and it was a lot of fun. I have been interviewed for and rejected by one PhD project but am applying for more!!!
Feeling good and realising that worry does not help anything…..this bewildered anatomists bids you a due for now! 😉