Fear Memory

Amygdala is an almond shape region in the brain which has a crucial role in fear or emotional memory. This image is a close look of this region that I took with a Leica microscope just recently.
These are the neurons that got beautifully activated by a fear stimulus in the amygdala of a genetically engineered mouse brain. The bright yellow fluorescence is like a reporter saying which neurons were involved. It's very important to see what is it that some neurons can be activated because of the trigger and the other not. What are the factors that make them different from each other.
The method that we just started to use is new and seems promising. What you can see under the microscope is astonishing, really amazing!

...

To give you an overall view of how my days look like I tell you this: A month ago I was recommended for physiotherapy. I requested to go to the therapist in the hospital I work as I thought it would be more practical for me to switch my places in the building I already am when needed and this has stayed only in theory so far. Not every weekend is free anymore and during the last weeks sometimes I had to leave the department not sooner than 10.p.m. I cannot feel the days and this is my wish most of the time that a day was more than 24 hours. I feel lucky that I had a chance to join a very vibrant work environment and I feel also stressed. I'm in the middle of my learning process and also in charge of the results of the project that I started. This makes me excited + stressed! I'm starting to know myself more in the new atmosphere with new challenges and in the meantime sometimes I just need to stop, to pause and grab my shoulders, look at myself and think for a little while. The painting class looks nothing like the world that I actually live and makes me feel I entered a different world; world of colors for 2 hours and got back to the real world. And the Dutch course is the latest activity that I'm taking together with Mr.B wondering when would be the possible/productive time of the day to practice and do the homework. Until I realize this goedenavond!

Lab memoirs (?)

I try to avoid turning here to a lab memoirs and it's worked only via the not writing approach so far. I guess after a while when I feel more settled, I can see the whole me and not only me at the lab. Or maybe I let it go and start writing about my work, after all this chapter is new and truly exciting.
PS: Painting is amusing

To catch up

The second weekend after starting my work and I don't know from where I should start. I've been learning various techniques. I need to know the basic experimental and theoretical aspects of my own research. I'm expected to be creative with new suggestions and ideas and I'm overwhelmed with loads of skills I need to acquire and things I should learn. Every night I sleep so quickly or almost faint. People ask me how are you? I say I'm great and I literally mean that. I have my own concerns though, can I meet all the requirements that I'm tilted to accomplish?

And I report!

Next week my work will start. My research topic + my future boss + knowing almost all my lab-mates were enough of the reasons to make my mind on joining the lab and at the time I thought: "No shocking surprises perhaps". I hope if I was not totally right I'd be able to deal and think like a grown up confident person.
And one lesson from the last two years would be getting involved in more than one activity. I'm finally going to take a painting course once a week, it's time I think (need).