Students with a combined interest in neuroscience and the environment will now have a new avenue to pursue their studies at Brock University.

The University has launched an Environmental Neuroscience stream in the Centre for Neuroscience within the Faculty of Mathematics and Science.

Through the new channel, students will be prepared for a plethora of career options ranging from biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms to artificial intelligence, robotics and game development.

The skills learned in the stream will have a wide and lasting impact on Canadians as a whole.  Government institutes, such as Environment Canada and the Institute of Health Research, need graduates trained to understand the connection between behaviour and the environment in order to create new and better policies.

The idea for the stream, which draws upon courses offered by the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) and Centre for Neuroscience, originated from the ESRC Transdisciplinary Hub project.

“It has been rewarding to team-up with the Centre for Neuroscience in developing and offering a stream which innovatively considers the environment in relation to brains and behaviour in humans and other species,” said ESRC Director Ryan Plummer.

For example, Environmental Neuroscience may look at how interacting with urban greenspace may reduce psychopathology through improvements in neurocognitive functioning, which, in turn, may increase social interactions.

“As natural and built environments continue to evolve, it is more important now than ever before to have a profound understanding of how these environmental changes affect the human brain,” said ESRC Co-ordinator Erin Daly.

“We believe the stream is a valuable addition to our Centre for Neuroscience offerings,” said Ejaz Ahmed, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science. “It’s an excellent example of academic progress and collaboration.”

Students interested in learning more about the stream and how to enrol can click here for more information.