Author: Iasmina Hornoiu

My name is Iasmina, and I administer a personal blog called Finding Neuron, where I post articles related to neuroscience. I am currently doing a Master in Molecular Biosciences with a Major in Neuroscience at Heidelberg University, in Germany. I finished my undergraduate studies at the University of Manchester, UK, where I obtained my BSc. degree in Neuroscience. After graduating, I became a Visiting Academic at the same university, for a year, in order to continue my bachelor thesis project, about attention to odours in mice, which resulted in a publication in Behavioural Brain Research, entitled: "Quantifying how much attention rodents allocate to motivationally-salient objects with a novel object preference test". In the past, I have done an internship in Vienna, Austria, at the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, working in oncology research. I have previously volunteered for environmental, conservational and social projects, as well as at animal shelters, in Romania, Greece and Austria. In my spare time, I enjoy playing the violin and horse riding. For more access to my articles or to get in touch with me, please visit my facebook page @Findingneuron or visit my ResearchGate @Iasmina Hornoiu.

‘Gather’ for poster presentation at the German Neuroscience Conference

23 March 2021

Recently, I have had the pleasure to experience the ‘Gather’ platform, where several posters including my own were presented, as part of the 14th Göttingen Meeting of the German Neuroscience Conference. The platform is really fun to navigate and a great way to interact with fellow presenters and interested participants. I took a short video … More ‘Gather’ for poster presentation at the German Neuroscience Conference

Animals are more than we think: Empathy and social intelligence in animals

6 January 2021

Our experience with animals has shown us that they are not mindless creatures, functioning solely based on their instincts, as Skinner’s behaviourism suggests. In fact, many animals exert characteristics generally thought to be uniquely human. This idea is important not only because it challenges our efforts to answer the ancient question of what actually makes … More Animals are more than we think: Empathy and social intelligence in animals

The biological implications of meditation practices in the treatment of depression

23 November 2020

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mood disorder and a great cause of disability worldwide. Biological factors implicated in MDD range from neural imbalances to signaling dysregulations (which are partly grounded in genetic predispositions). As shown in Figure 1, the socio-cognitive and biological deficiencies involved in MDD appear to influence each other in a … More The biological implications of meditation practices in the treatment of depression

The biology of meditation. How meditating can change your brain

22 November 2020

This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! […] The dark thought, the shame, the malice. Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whatever comes. Because … More The biology of meditation. How meditating can change your brain

Forced to suffer for science: From animal cruelty and experimental inefficiency to a change of perspective.

9 November 2020

We, as scientists, have become desensitized to the pain, the distress and the physical and emotional damage that we inflict on laboratory animals. So much so, that we constantly find justifications for our cruel experiments in the goal of finding cures for the illnesses of our conspecifics, and in the rules and regulations that authorize … More Forced to suffer for science: From animal cruelty and experimental inefficiency to a change of perspective.

Consciousness – Who decides, you or your brain?

4 June 2016

If you were to answer the question “What differentiates humans from other organisms on Earth?”, you would probably list a number of things, including the ability of humans to make “free choices” dictated by their consciousness, rather than by something organic. Am I right? What if someone told you that this is not actually the … More Consciousness – Who decides, you or your brain?