Why Are Networking and Nurturing the Real Game of Success in Science?

It’s been under two years since I dove into the science world, and I’m spotting some resemblances between science and other fields. It’s a market, plain and simple. According to Merton (1968), this “Matthew effect” means that scientists who are already well-known tend to receive disproportionate credit for collaborative work, making prior visibility self-reinforcing.

Just like the music scene. Think about Pitbull, for instance. He might seem like an unlikely star, coming from a poor Cuban background, and he wasn’t the greatest singer.

So why did Pitbull make it big? He headed to LA, penned songs for famous folks, sneaking in his name as ‘feat Pitbull.’ 

Over time, people figured that if he was collaborating with big names, he must be somebody.

Science works similarly. Partner up with a respected name, enhance your work, attach their name to your paper, and eventually, you’ll have publications under your belt, and voila, you’re fantastic. Initially, I was against this notion of fairness, but now I find it amusing.

I’m gradually warming up to this game because, in essence, it’s a game, not reality. You need to network, pick your alliances wisely, fight for your space, and nurture your connections. According to Granovetter (1973), loosely connected acquaintances, not just close collaborators, are often what open the door to new opportunities.

It’s a fascinating life, as many of these colleagues are true friends, and the journeys can be enjoyable. You even need to engage with the media, and that’s not too tough, since scientists who communicate well are a rarity, which piques their interest. According to van der Wal, Thorogood and Horrocks (2021), published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the size and connectivity of a researcher’s co-authorship network is closely linked to career progression in academic science.

Did I Just Find My Calling in Science?

In general, I’m in high spirits because I’ve finally found my calling: Computational Psychiatry. Both my parents are engineers, and I often wondered why I didn’t follow suit. Well, now it’s coming together. 

After all, the brain’s just a network of electrical pathways, and mental disorders are essentially misconnections in the brain. The task is to locate the glitch and adjust it to restore balance. Schizophrenia, for instance, involves the thalamo-cortical loops, though the details aren’t entirely clear yet.

How Do Different Brain Circuits Map to Different Disorders?

ADHD relates to connections between the cortex and basal ganglia. Obsessive-compulsive disorder springs from the orbitofrontal cortex. According to Menzies, Chamberlain, Laird, Thelen, Sahakian and Bullmore (2008), Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, neuroimaging evidence consistently implicates orbitofronto-striatal brain circuits in obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

The list goes on. Autism, psychopathy, depression—they all root from abnormal brain functions, with various complexities in treating them. My role is to employ available tools like MRI on humans, optogenetics, genetic manipulation, and optical imaging in rodents to pinpoint which cell groups malfunction and where the brain misinterprets stimuli. 

Then, zap the right spots to bring things back to normal. All in all, my job’s incredible, as I’ve always been intrigued by people and their perception of the world.

Now, I mend minds, and they compensate me. Life’s about thriving, not just surviving. According to Keyes (2002), people who experience their work as meaningful, not merely functional, are more likely to describe their lives as flourishing rather than just getting by.

To sum up, discovering my true calling in Computational Psychiatry has brought me immense joy. As the child of engineers, I pondered my path, and now it aligns – the brain, a network of electrical pathways, with mental disorders as misconnections. My role involves untangling these glitches using tools like MRI, optogenetics, and more, mending minds and pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.