What does it mean to be a doctor? A Hopkins answer to this question is more often than not: doing well on midterms, being a member of the 2 a.m. migration from MSE to the Hut and, most importantly, getting into medical school.
The medical connotation of the word "doctor" on our campus is a symptom of often undiagnosed pre-med tunnel vision. We tend to forget that the professors we interact with in class on a daily basis also have this most sought-after prefix on their name. These doctors are the reason Hopkins is able to call itself one of the premier research institutions in the country. They are the reason the term "undergraduate research opportunity" is touted as an integral part of the Hopkins experience.
Despite these famed `undergraduate research opportunities' the student population is often unaware of faculty research. My remedy for this lack of information is to offer the profile of a professor and doctor: Dr. Gregory Ball.
Ball is a professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. More specifically, the scientific community would call him a behavioral neuroendocrinologist. Translation: Ball studies the relationship between behavior and hormones found within the brain. This complex relationship is studied in birds, or more affectionately termed by Ball, "avian species."
In scientific research, an investigator must creatively use information already available within the published database of the scientific community.
Luckily for Ball, ethologists, or scientists who study animal behavior in nature, have acquired a wealth of information about the behavior of birds. With this knowledge, neural circuits within avian species have been directly related to their behavior.
What this means is that Ball can use well-understood connections between neural circuits and behavior to set up controls and variables within his experiments.
One of these well-studied neural circuit/behavior relationships is that which exists between the HVC and POM nuclei in the European starling's brain and birdsong. (For those of us who are not Ball's students, the term nucleus here refers to a specific section of the brain, not the center of a cell or atom.)
During the European starling's mating season, in the spring, the hormone testosterone is supplied to two different areas of the brain that allows for a male bird to sing and attract a mate.
The difference between the functions of the POM and the HVC can be compared to the difference between wanting to be a doctor and actually being able to make it through school to become a competent doctor. The supply of testosterone to the POM is what makes the bird want to sing, where as the testosterone that reaches the HVC determines the actual singing ability.
Ball and his colleagues have found that the testosterone in the HVC triggers the release of the growth factor BDNF within the HVC, causing it to grow in size during the birds' reproductive season. This nucleus growth is big news; we don't have selective growth of nuclei in our brains.
Furthermore, it has been found that over time the repeated production of BDNF within the HVC has functioned to alter the brain's control of birdsong. The repeated production of BDNF and the use of the neural pathways associated with its production in the male European starling's brain have caused a learned change to improve the bird's song, to allow him to better attract a female.
That's great for a male bird, but what does all this mean for us? Ironically, the bird brain has similarities to the human brain that allows for comparisons to be made between the two.
For instance, the change in the bird's brain that allows for an improvement in song can be related to the effect of drugs on the human brain. The repeated use of specific neural pathways targeted by the use of a drug can cause marked changes in brain and behavior. This has implications in treating drug addiction.
Through such investigations, Ball and his colleagues are coming closer to understanding the intricacies of brain function, which will allow physicians to better treat patients.
Around campus, Ball is known for his undergraduate lecture classes, which include Animal Behavior and Behavioral Endocrinology. He also leads the annual Ecuador/Galapagos Intersession trip.
Having experienced the Ecuador 2005 intersession trip, I can attest to Ball's skill as a lecturer. He gives the kind of lectures that make you feel like you are at Hopkins for something more than just a stepping-stone into med school.
