Grey Matters UMD - Fall 2024
Welcome to our first issue! Click the link below to read about topics ranging from the neurobiology of gambling to alien hand syndrome or aphantasia!
Editors Note
We are extremely pleased to present the very first issue of the Grey Matters Journal at the University of Maryland! This production cycle has been especially meaningful to us as we ventured through many ups and downs to establish this chapter here at UMD. Over these past couple months, we believe our team has crafted an issue that reflects our collective visions and ambitions. Watching this take shape has been entirely rewarding for us two—a testament to the dedication of everyone involved. With that said, we are incredibly proud of each artist, writer, editor, and member of our team who worked so diligently to help lay the foundation for this journal.
This dedication is towards highlighting the heart of Grey Matters’ mission: to make neuroscience accessible while bridging its profound connection to everything. Even by engaging with this issue, you, as a reader, are part of the very process neuroscience seeks to understand— learning, reflecting, and rewiring your own neural pathways in this dance of curiosity and discovery. Still, there is much left to learn about our control center, and through this platform, we aim to meld science and humanity by connecting neuroscience with disciplines like philosophy, psychology, and the arts. After all, neuroscience is the study of what fundamentally makes us, us.
By exploring the boundaries of the brain, our first issue delves into what pushes the edges of what we know, revealing the depth of what we have yet to uncover. In “Strangers to Ourselves: Alien Hand Syndrome,” Vaishnavi Vaijaeepay examines a rare neurological disconnect that leaves individuals without conscious control over their limbs. Through an examination of this disease and the brain’s hidden complexities, Vaijaeepay offers a compelling exploration of the neural mechanisms and dialogues that govern our sense of autonomy.Touching on the supernatural, Emily Davies uncovers the scientific theory behind those who claim to have seen heaven in “Between Life and Death: The Science and Mystery of Near-Death Experiences,” attempting to substantiate neurobiological insights into an often heretical phenomenon. With these pieces and more, we hope to inspire you—just as this issue has inspired us—to marvel at the boundless wonder of neuroscience and the human condition. We look forward to continuing this journey into the ever-expanding field of neuroscience, issue by issue! This is just the beginning. For now, we’ll leave you with a quote from the pioneers of neuroscience:
“As long as our brain is a mystery, the universe, the reflection of the structure of the brain will also be a mystery.” – Ramón y Cajal
Stay curious,
Shree Bhattacharya and Emma Benjamin
