Why Is Internal Coherence So Important?

It feels great to have a sense of internal coherence. Having a fulfilling job and engaging in exciting activities outside of work that all fit together in a peculiar way. When you delve into studying the human brain and its capabilities, it becomes quite natural to explore the limits of the body during your free time.

Moreover, mountains serve as a profound metaphor for life—a simple model of something much more intricate. Many life goals are often vague and contradictory, or at least challenging to reconcile. In the mountains, the goal is singular: reach a specific point on the map and return safely. 

To achieve this, you must gather a finite number of essentials, from proper footwear to NRC foil, invest in personal growth, assemble a reliable team, and then maintain composure while diligently following instructions. It doesn’t guarantee success, but it maximizes the probability of success. I believe it teaches you to approach life with methodical humility. 

When I returned from Kilimanjaro, on the very same day at Amsterdam airport, I ceased to stress about work. Because now I understand that you must fulfill your responsibilities: select capable individuals, work hard, and adhere to the predetermined plan. 

No need to invest unnecessary emotions, as they won’t change anything and might even disrupt progress. According to Folkman and Lazarus (1980), Journal of Health and Social Behavior, problem-focused coping — directing energy at the parts of a stressor one can actually control — is the more effective strategy specifically when the stressor itself is controllable. This time, I have an excellent team, and the chances of producing a remarkable doctoral thesis are certainly increasing. So, why stress?

What Happened When I Opened My First Brokerage Account?

Furthermore, during the pre-Christmas period, I opened a brokerage account. It will work, it will work. Well, at least I’ll try my hand at the stock market. At twenty-seven years old, you possess the resources and independence to pursue your genuine interests. According to Arnett (2000), American Psychologist, the years from the late teens through the twenties form a distinct developmental period marked by unusual independence to explore different possible directions in love, work and worldview. As a teenager, I had a fascination with physics, oil painting, and books, without any inkling that in ten years, my interests would shift to brain research, the stock market, travel, and high-altitude hiking. 

I don’t think I’ve changed much during this time; the difference is that these pursuits are now within my reach due to my environment and a decent salary. What the future holds—I have no idea. Perhaps in ten years, I’ll be able to buy an airline or something equally unexpected :)

What Is My New PhD Project About?

And there was supposed to be something about a research project… It’s challenging for me to write about it, but I’ll give it a try.

The main focus is on studying the functioning of neural networks in ADHD. This project consists of two parts. The first part involves research using human fMRI to develop new diagnostic methods. 

The idea is to place the patient in a scanner, and eventually, a diagnosis will be determined: the probability of the patient having a specific nervous system condition. This is the goal for the future, but currently, we are working on identifying reliable biomarkers for ADHD and other mental disorders.

According to Barkley (1997), ADHD can be understood as, at its core, a deficit in behavioral inhibition that cascades into difficulties with working memory, self-regulation, and other executive functions.

The second part is even more advanced. It involves translational research, which refers to studies conducted on animals to draw conclusions about the human brain. For instance, certain genes can be turned off to create models of mental disorders, including ADHD, in mice.

How Are These Animal Models Studied?

These mice are then subjected to behavioral tests, and the activity of individual brain cells is observed using tetrodes or multi-photon imaging. 

More sophisticated techniques can even involve implanting a specific virus into the tissue and stimulating it with light of a particular frequency. This enables the control of specific cell populations in the brain, allowing researchers to examine their behavioral effects and understand their functioning. 

According to Deisseroth (2011), optogenetics allows researchers to switch specific, genetically defined neurons on or off with light at millisecond precision, a level of control traditional methods cannot achieve. In my case, I will be using optogenetics to target the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which plays a crucial role in higher cognitive processes such as attention. I will analyze the effects in a task that requires mice to shift their attention from one stimulus to another. 

Additionally, I will examine single cells using two-photon imaging to study their communication and model cellular networks in the PFC, both in ADHD and healthy conditions. The mice will be stationary, placed on a ball, and experience a virtual reality environment instead of an open space. 

How Am I Mitigating the Risks?

It’s an ambitious project, but also quite challenging, as I have to conduct both the experiments and develop the models myself. It’s a true test of my abilities… It’s like aiming for ‘Nature’ or nothing, but I believe I am the most suitable person for this task, especially considering the experiences I’ve been through that have strengthened my mental resilience. 

Furthermore, I have a unique two-part PhD project, which ensures that I have a backup plan even if one of the research lines encounters difficulties in publishing results. That’s why I’m willing to take the risk.

Regarding the sense of danger, I’m starting to wonder if it’s my middle name. Until now, I had this belief that my private life would be a refuge from the risks and uncertainties of my professional life and adventurous hobbies. 

I thought it would be a place of clarity, trust, and tranquility, where I could always rely on my partner and where everything would unfold at a relaxed pace. Unfortunately, it turned out that I can only truly rely on myself. Maybe a sense of security is simply not meant for me because I struggle to secure any extra money…