Why I Study This

I have spent my entire professional life thinking about how to improve learning. I began as a middle school teacher, and after law school, I worked at a company training lawyers how to do online legal research. My undergraduate degree and my PhD are in education, and I have been teaching at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law since 1997. I am driven to teach better and help students learn more effectively.

My interest in neuroscience was triggered when the instructor in an Anger Management Class I was attending with my then teenager said, “when we get angry, we lose 30 IQ points.” When the therapist made that statement, I immediately thought of my work with stressed-out law students. They were often so stressed, they got angry. And what if that meant they could not learn as well as when they were not stressed and angry? I contacted the academic researcher responsible for that therapist’s statement and he said it was “mostly a metaphor for what’s going on in the brain.” I had to know what was going on in the brain during stress and anger.

Neuroscience research indicates that the aggregate effects of chronically stressful environments may weaken memory and thinking capacity. Stress might also set the stage for high rates of anxiety, depression, substance misuse, and suicide risk. Exposure to chronic stress can kill the brain cells necessary for learning and thinking.

I learned that chronically stressful environments can cause brain damage. I have been studying the neuroscience and psychology of brain health and mental strength since then.