By Dr. Nancy Michael
Director of undergraduate studies for neuroscience and behavior at Notre Dame
Questions about people and how our experiences shape our behavior motivated me to return to graduate school for neuroscience when I was close to 30 years old. Everything I’ve learned since then has changed how I see and engage with the world around me: the way I teach, parent, talk to a cashier at the store, and even care for myself. By developing our understanding of our brains and how experiences shape our behavior, we are offered a deeper understanding of ourselves and new perspectives on how to care for and take part in healing one another.