where my neuropsych people at???

[serotonin]

Are you doing / going to be doing the neuropsychology track?

What are your main interests?

Mine have historically been psychiatric illness. That's where all my experience has been. However, I think I'm going to try and do some neuroimaging work with exceptional neuropsych ability and positive psych. My prof-to-be is giving me pretty much free reign with the magnet. He's done mostly amygdala / epilepsy / TBI stuff, which also interests me. But there is very little work with talent and excess on the old MRI, so I may try and carve out a niche.

PS, neuropsychology is the best area of study. High fives!

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[serotonin]

PSS, did it seem like the neuropsych people were kind of singled out at the schools you interviewed?

Where I interviewed they were referred to as "neuroheads" and "neuronerds" and "bio kids". I loved it!

 

[paramour]

I'm interested in neuropsych and have some EEG & psychophs experience from working in a sleep disorders center and in a biofeedback lab. However, there are other areas that I am 'more' interested in, so I used those when choosing which schools to apply to, even though I still hope to take a class (or two or three) in the area. Maybe an internship or postdoc in the area--which is what one of my profs recommended. That's years away though, so we shall see!

I expressed my interest in neuropsych & psychophys while at one of my interviews, and was told that I needed to go elsewhere because there's no one in the program who can help with this. With the neuropsych aspect, I completely understand with their program. BUT, they have some fairly new kick-ass psychophys equipment that I could EASILY use and would be ecstatic to "play around with" . . . They apparently have two individuals who are currently familiar with their equipment and they are both leaving after this year (one for an internship, the other was a postdoc), so, once again, allegedly, no one can help me.

This leads me to wonder why in the frak you would spend a crapload of money on this equipment if you're simply going to let it decay from non-use. Seems silly to me. If I have some experience & familiarity with it, LET ME PLAY if I wish to do so . . . at least the equipment wouldn't go to waste!

blah! Anyway, after my conversation with the one prof who kept shooting down every aspect of my application (still think he was purposely doing this ), I never mentioned it again while there. I've since then been given info that there may be another prof or two interested in this area, so I'll likely see if I can wiggle my way into using it at some point.

hehe, if anything, the soundproof vault-like rooms would make for good study areas.

Um, yeah, just realized not completely related to neuropsych (except for maybe the initial section) but ah, well . . . my contribution to hijacking every thread.

Actually, this does lead me to wonder . . . Are there any others who are interested in neuropsych but who are not entering a program to work specifically in that area? I have a few profs who work in neuropsych and not a one of them went to neuropsych programs; simply completed their programs & then worked internships/postdocs in relevant areas. I wonder how common this is, however.

 

[neuronerd1]

Hello fellow neuronerds.

1st of all, serotonin, do you happen to work at the FTC? and congrats to both of you on the acceptances.

So, I neuropsych. I'm also interested in psychiatric illness, especially schizophrenia. Oddly enough though, the only labs that invited me to interview this year (2) focus on dementia. I applied to 11 schools! I have yet to hear back from one school (ASU) and I still have a bit of hope, but most likely I will be applying again next year .

Can you all help me decide what to do to strengthen my application for the next crazy application cycle. I thought I had good enough stats and experience to get in this year, so I'm at a loss . . .

Stats:
GRE Verbal - 650
GRE Quant - 690
GRE Psych - 73rd percentile
GPA: 3.8 from BU

Experience:
2 years in pre-clinical research of substance abuse
1 year clinical research of scz, neuropsych, and neuroimaging
1 year as a clinical case manager (current job)
3 years as a volunteer for crisis hotlines

Pubs:
I'm working on one right now

What should I do? Quit my job now and go back to research? (I like my job) Get a masters? Keep my current job, work on pub, and volunteer in a research lab?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanx!

 

[serotonin]

hey neuronerd! Yup, I am at the FTC... who are you? I am so curious!

Anyway, your GPA is excellent and your GREs are good. I would suggest concentrating on getting a publication, and maybe doing an independent study if you can. It's great you love your job, but I think schools tend to value research positions more than clinical ones (not totally sure though; ask around).

Are your LOC excellent? What about your personal statement?

I think that neuropsych and psychiatric illness is kind of a tough thing to want to study cuz there are so few labs that focus on it, and the ones that do are extremely competitive. Where did you apply? I can give you my list if you want!

Good luck and let me know how you know me!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Neuronerd..... I love it!

-t

 

[BrainStah]

Are you doing / going to be doing the neuropsychology track?

What are your main interests?

Mine have historically been psychiatric illness. That's where all my experience has been. However, I think I'm going to try and do some neuroimaging work with exceptional neuropsych ability and positive psych.

Hi, I'm new here, hope you don't mind me jumping in on this conversation. I'll be applying to grad school in the fall, so I'm starting to get serious about looking for programs. Serotonin, I've also been thinking about neuroimaging work with exceptional neuropsych ability. Do you know of any good programs/links/resources? The whole grad school application process is pretty intimidating right now, so any advice or information would be great! Thanks!!

 

[LadyInRed]

Hey there neuroheads,

My background has been in cancer cell & molecular biology (a true "bio kid"), and I'm going to be doing the neuropsych specialization at WashU. I did look at some schools though that didn't have a neuropsych track but had a neuropsychologist on staff that I could work for. I think a number of future neuropsychologists probably go through non-neuropsych tracks, purely b/c there are so many good neuropsychologists at schools that don't have neuropsych tracks.

Eventually I'm interested in working in an inpatient setting of an academic medical center, with kids who have brain tumors, sickle cell, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury. In grad school I'll be studying working memory and executive functioning in kids with phenylketonuria and sickle cell disease (prone to strokes), and hopefully I can get some experience with the brain tumor population as well from the medical school.

I know there are more "neuronerds" on this forum...what are you all interested in?

 

[Sorg1123]

My likes are neuroimaging, white matter and neuropsych testing. The school I'll be starting in the fall does have a np track and I'm quite excited about the opportunities I'll have there. Right now I'm working on processing structural images (manual segmentation = boring ) for a study looking at changes in regions associated with reward ciruitry in alcoholics. Neuroimaging rules, I just with I had taken some comp science classes in undergrad.

 

[cammie790]

If you guys don't mind me asking, what schools are you all attending? Feel free to PM me. Thanks.

 

[Baloo]

I will be starting my doctorate this fall in neuropsychology. I am particularly intersted in neuroplasticity and neural networking; I like the whole rehabilitation aspect. Anyway, I am reading this INCREDIBLE book called, "The Brain that Changes Itself," by Norman Doidge. This book is such a great read for neuropsych students. I can't put it down because it is so dang interesting. Its an easy read that discusses the miracles of the brain. YOU HAVE TO READ IT!!! It is not like a text book, which makes it even better. Check it out:

http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9780670038305