Fred Colbourne is a professor in the Department of Psychology. Photo credit: John Ulan
What do you teach?
I teach an undergraduate and graduate psychology course dealing with recovery after brain injury. This course covers stroke and, to a lesser extent, trauma and cardiac arrest. We discuss injury and repair processes (neuroplasticity), neurological and functional effects of brain damage, and treatment strategies, such as rehabilitation.
Why should people learn about this?
What could be more interesting that learning about the brain? While most people are aware of the various ways that brain injury occurs, they often do not fully realize how common and sometimes devastating it really is. Stroke alone affecting over 62,000 Canadians each year, and it is the leading cause of disability. Most people think of stroke as a disease affecting the elderly, but strokes occur at all ages including before birth. You may know someone affected by stroke or other brain injuries or be unfortunate to be affected yourself. While this is not a self-help course, it is a great introduction to this area and highly relevant to those interested in working in brain injury research or patient treatment, such as physiotherapists and psychologists.
What are some of its "real-world" applications?
This course is heavily geared towards "real-world" applications. We discuss the implications of brain injury on the individual and their families (e.g., neurological and neuropsychological alterations). For instance, we discuss how post-stroke depression affects neurological recovery. We also discuss a number of pharmacological and behavioral therapies used to treat those with brain injury, such as physical therapy, robotics, brain stimulation, etc.
What's the coolest thing about this subject area?
The "coolest thing" has to be my lecture on therapeutic hypothermia. Intentional cooling is discussed as an example of a neuroprotective or brain-saving treatment for certain brain injuries, such as cardiac arrest, and stroke. It is also my primary research interest.
What kinds of unique or innovative learning experiences do you offer your students? What's the value in offering students these opportunities?
Other than compulsory tests, students have a lot of choice about how they earn marks in this course (e.g., different types of presentations and essays). We also do a laboratory tour so that students get a better appreciation for neuroscience research methods used in stroke research.
What was your favourite learning experience as an undergrad, and how do you incorporate that experience into teaching your students?
I always disliked memorization courses whereas I enjoyed those courses that emphasized critical thinking skills. As such, I often get students to think about research design and analysis, and the key issues with translational research.
What is one thing that people would be surprised to know about you?
I've been told that I'm "more fun than I look."