PURPOSE-
I formally study neuroscience and have a deep passion in extreme environments, especially space, the adaptations that occur to the brain and body and, just as importantly, how we can translate what occurs in such extremes to better our understanding of neuroscience/ human beings whilst, crucially, deriving benefits toward the everyday person. Essentially, using out newfound understandings and insights to better life for us all, extremes and otherwise. I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned and discovered each week, with discussion of the ‘so what’ to what I’ve learned. Whilst this is a thought piece, I’m more than happy to connect with likeminded readers. And with that, I hope you enjoy and leave this blog better off (even if in a small way) 🙂
December 5 2025– What learning from extremes teaches us about our species and where our true limits are.
Neuroscience– the operating system of us.
Neuroscience is typically seen as rather esoteric field to the lay person. Here, as someone who studies this very field, I want to simply and even take it to the extremes (more on that later) yet still bring you along, without losing your interest no matter your background. To begin, neuroscience can essentially be described as the study of the brain and its connections (for the interested, the brain and spinal cord- which is collectively called the central nervous system (CNS) and the nerves that extend and communicate to and fro being the peripheral nervous system (PNS)). Acknowledging my bias, I believe this field is especially intriguing as it’s not merely the study of an organ system eg. Like studying the heart. Since it relates to absolutely everything of what makes us human it can often feel like a daunting abstract attempt to even being to understand. It’s quite literally what makes us, us. So now we’ve gathered what neuroscience generally is, what at all do the extremes (and what that itself means) have to do with the field but, more importantly, the everyday person.
The extremes
Firstly, what’s this ‘The extremes’ I’ve dangled in front of you thus far? This refers to the extreme environments in which we live (have established habitats or short duration missions) that are objectively stressors on the body, and especially the nervous system which itself is affected, but governs all other systems. Such environments include the polar regions, deep sea diving, all the way up to space (expeditions and established habitats) as an aside, would the international space station (ISS) be considered an established habitat or an expedition centre? Let me know your thoughts :).