The Neuroscience Club at Arkansas State University hosted an examination of human brains and cadavers at the College of Nursing and Health Professions Cadaver Lab.

Dr. Susan Motts, neuroscientist and associate professor of physical therapy, led the lab instruction. Motts guided members of the Neuroscience Club and other participants through the brain as well as other parts of the human body.

Motts said she first became interested in neuroscience through clinical work.

“When I was in school I thought I was going into sports medicine,” Motts said. “I got out into the clinic and realized that I really enjoyed neuro-patients. I enjoyed Parkinson’s patients. I enjoy stroke patients, multiple sclerosis, things like that. So I really realized I had so much more of an interest in that.”

Motts said all of the cadavers were obtained from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Cadavers are human bodies donated for science with the express consent of the deceased. 

“People have to sign up to be a donor while they are still alive. They have to sign that paper, so you can’t donate grandpa. These people volunteered for this, they wanted this and they appreciate the opportunity to see what the inside of the human body looks like.”

Cadaver dissection and examination has been a common practice for centuries by those in the medical fields for a better understanding of human anatomy.

“We’ve been using cadavers for longer than this program has existed, which is more than 25 years ago,” Motts said. “If you think about what physical therapy is, we really are anatomy specialists.” 

Motts said programs such as occupational therapy, nurse anesthesia, athletic trainers and most other nursing programs use cadavers in their own studies.

Caroline Parkinson, the vice president of the Neuroscience Club, said the lab helps with their own studies and respective majors. 

The senior psychology major from Little Rock said the presentation helped her connect more to what

 “Both this presentation and being in this club really helped me connect more to the biological and anatomical side of what makes up a person,” Parkinson said. “Mental health as a whole is not just in the brain, but in the body too. So this presentation can show the vast array of what all can go on with a person like that. Plus, it’s cool to see the actual brain functions and places in there.”

Other members of the club expressed similar reasons the lab would help them in the future.

 “I feel like I learned a lot of different things,” Jayden Garrett, a senior psychology major from Batesville, Arkansas said. “It refreshes my memory on a bunch of different stuff, because we’re not as biologically based in psychology.” 

Garrett is the treasurer of the club. She said she hopes to be a clinical mental health counselor and that the activities that the Neuroscience Club puts on, such as this lab as well as trivia nights, helps her get experience to help in her future career plans.

Garrett said this is important work, not just for those in neuroscience, but also those in other medical fields.

 “You get to do experiences like this, where you’re working with the human body,” Garrett said. “You get hands-on experience, which is always better than reading out of a textbook.”

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