Neuroplasticity In Action: Cognitive, Clinical, Environmental, And Translational Neuroscience In The Experiential Undergraduate Course At A Canadian University

Abstract

We propose a model psychoeducational program which seems to bear some therapeutic potential. We believe that such intervention might be beneficial not only for adolescents, but also for adults in all age groups. Canadian undergraduate students participated in an experimental research course grounded in neuroscience that was offered for credit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The training had an interdisciplinary character and integrated cognitive, clinical, environmental, and translational neuroscience perspectives to study the interplay between brain, behavior and social determinants of health. The course curriculum implemented an experiential learning style and had a neuroscientific focus on brain plasticity. This paper aims to identify the need for this type of action and explains the researchers’ role in designing it. It sheds light on the emotional challenges during the traumatic times of lockdowns, university closures, and social isolation, when the experience of uncertainty and extreme loneliness led to mental health deterioration. We aimed to gain experience in creating a neuropsychological perspective on the management of adolescents’ emotional and somatic pain, viewed as a subjective, multidimensional, and individual phenomenon. In those trying times, more than ever before, offering a salutogenic intervention under the umbrella of mental health promotion seemed to be an attainable goal with possible benefits to participants. No previous evidence could be found about educational training with potentially therapeutic elements offered in university settings. This underscores the need for innovative and effective health promotion initiatives of this type.