Learning Neuroscience Etc. Day-1

 

Day — 1

Learning with Excitement

I just want to learn in a way that excites me. This is me trying to do that.

Dialogue with ChatGPT

I wrote something to ChatGPT about how I should be learning neuroscience without it becoming a frustrating, really difficult to maintain process, but a really exciting one that keeps me energetic and excited to learn more and more.

ChatGPT agreed with some of the things I wrote and gave me a plan.

It agreed with my point that when I try to go study “Physiology” or “Anatomy” by reading a book, it gets really boring because everything just feels random. There’s no context to what you’re learning.
So, it suggested starting with big questions or mysteries in neuroscience that fascinate me, like a big mystery such as “How do brain networks fail in ADHD?” and whenever I learn a “small fact” like neurotransmitter X does Y, I should immediately connect it to the big question. Which, I guess, would make my learning more contextual and connected instead of random.
It gave me a few questions:

• How do brain networks fail in ADHD?
• What’s happening in schizophrenia at the synapse level?
• How do neurons encode information computationally?
  I find these questions pretty interesting and want to actually find the answers to them, especially the first one.

Challenges in Starting

But the only problem with this suggestion is I don’t really know how to start studying all this. Should I start with another basic physiology course for beginners and then try to connect it to ADHD? How would I even connect it to ADHD if I don’t know what is wrong in the ADHD brain? I don’t even know what brain networks are.
The last physiology course I actually completed, the only one that I completed, was teaching about cell compartments, channels, etc. in the beginning, and then we had a week of nervous system study where we learned about something I don’t even remember. But I think in order to even connect what I’m learning here, I need to actually learn about what is happening in ADHD.
So, that means I need to study what is going on in the ADHD brain, then I can find out what is different? But to know if it’s different, I would need to know what the “normal” brain is like; for that, I would need to study the basic stuff until the end of it.
Anyway, the problem here is how to actually implement it without making it boring by learning individual topics that cover one single thing and then move on to the next and so on, which is hard for me to do.
The solution seems to be to start with learning about ADHD physiology, and then whenever it’s mentioned that this thing is not working like normal, go back and learn what normal working is.
But even to do that, I think I would need to know some basic terminology and physiology.
I don’t know what that basic is.
If it’s too big and vague, then I wouldn’t be able to study it.

Finding Resources and Tracking Questions

And if I could somehow combine both, I would still need to know where to study what’s different in ADHD. That means finding good resources.

ChatGPT also mentioned
instead of “study X because it exists,” connect it to a question like “Why is dopamine dysregulated in ADHD?” and track questions in a notebook or digital tool. When you learn something, mark which question it answers.
This kind of answers this question. But still, it is not exactly clear how? Like the resources I should use, etc.
I like this idea of tracking questions because obviously a question wouldn’t be answered in just one study session, so I need to keep adding to the answer over time.

Writing a Blog While Learning

I also talked about writing this blog while learning instead of after learning. Because learning never finishes enough for me to feel like I should write. When I do decide to write, I just don’t know what and how. So, I never end up writing.
Also, I can never sustain my learning either.

So, ChatGPT says to “Use your blog as a thinking tool, not just a recording tool. Writing helps your brain link new concepts together.”
and I agree. But how?

Struggling with Consistent Learning

I also noticed that when I do try to learn consistently by deciding on having regular sessions on learning that thing, I often start dreading my learning sessions as I go along. Because whatever thing I chose for my learning — the lecture series, the course, the book, etc. — becomes hard to watch or read and continue. Because it’s hard to pay attention to, I just dread it. And I just start avoiding it.
I know that I need to keep my spirit of learning alive. Whatever made me want to learn that thing, I need to keep it in mind. But it never stays.
I wrote that I should switch things up. Switch up the way I’m learning things, so that it is always exciting. And when it gets boring or something I am dreading, then I should change it, switch the topic or the medium of study.

Learning in Multiple Modes

ChatGPT says I should learn in multiple modes:

You don’t want study to feel boring or frustrating, so mix your modes:

• Watching lectures / videos: Shows the big picture and current research. Inspires curiosity.
• Reading papers or textbooks: Deep dives into mechanisms, anatomy, and computational modeling.
• Writing/blogging: Forces connections, forces explanations in your own words.
• Philosophical reflection: Understanding learning itself — what does it mean to “understand”? Helps meta-cognition.
  Switching modes prevents mental fatigue and keeps the spark alive.

It said philosophical reflection because I also wrote that I need to learn about learning itself. To learn something, I need to know how to learn, the best strategies. I also need to understand terminology, like what learning is, what understanding itself is, which I know is more of a philosophical question or even psychological, so I need to know that too. Also, I need to know how to learn with ADHD because I have ADHD and that causes problems with learning.
The problem here is that I don’t want to just follow random advice on how to learn. I don’t want to go on experiment mode. I don’t want to try again where I would end up failing again because the strategies I was using were not really good. I want to learn in ways that would keep me interested in it because I learn best when I am interested. I can focus when I can focus. I would like to be able to make myself focus. But I don’t know how.
I know that ADHD is definitely causing this problem, so I want to look into ADHD. And also, I’ve noticed that I like to learn like this. I liked the introspection and Aha moments that come with learning philosophy, so I want to delve into that. I liked Benjamin Keep’s channel because the strategies for learning he told were what research showed as more effective, like free recall and making connections and associations between things, which were actually more engaging for me. And some of the things were surprising, and I would like to try them out. Maybe because my ADHD brain loves novelty.
I also liked learning about learning. So, there’s that too.

Integrating Multiple Domains

ChatGPT says to integrate multiple domains:
“You’re already seeing that to truly understand neuroscience (or ADHD), you also need:

• Philosophy: Terminology, concepts like ‘understanding’ and ‘knowledge.’
• Learning science: Memory, organization, overcoming ADHD barriers.
• Computational modeling / ML: Mechanistic understanding, simulations.
  Think of this like a web of interconnected knowledge, not separate silos.”

Which is a good idea and exactly what I want to do. But I don’t know how to do this without getting overwhelmed and getting into a paralysis because I don’t know which one to study since there are too many things to study.

Meta Learning and Reflection

ChatGPT also said that

“You’re interested in learning about learning (meta learning) — that’s powerful. Focus on:

• How do humans encode and retrieve knowledge?
• How do attention and executive function shape what you can learn?
• How do you organize knowledge to overcome ADHD-related executive function challenges?
  Practical step: When studying neuroscience or ML, reflect briefly: ‘How am I learning this? Could I learn it better?’ — and log these reflections.”

Yes, I’m interested in learning about learning. It’s like it gave me questions about learning: “How do humans encode and retrieve knowledge?” This is a cognitive psychology question. I am saying this because I have a book on cognitive psychology, and it goes over encoding, etc. It told me to focus on these questions.
I guess the point is to connect things that come from research on learning and cognitive psychology concepts to ADHD and neuroscience.
It is also telling me to reflect on my own learning process. Is it working or not? What am I doing exactly? How could I do this better?
So that I know, over time, which learning method is better and which is not working, etc.

Which is good. And I tried to do that before.
I think the problem I really have is that all these structures and templates that ChatGPT always builds for me, I just never consistently follow them because it’s too tedious to follow, and this also makes everything dreadful and overwhelming.

Probably because of executive dysfunction. I think it’s just hard for me to follow mechanical steps like filling in this template every day about 3 things that worked for me, 3 things that didn’t, etc. I like to do things more organically. I like to just get into a lecture or process instead of having to force myself to try to focus. Or force myself to do 7 things every day to learn neuroscience, like filling these 3 templates at the end of the session or start with this question, etc. I just lose my drive to do all this. I don’t know why.

I need to find a way to keep myself on path, while also just doing things as I want to do on that day.

Like here, ChatGPT gives me this approach and I just know that I wouldn’t be able to follow it because I am not a robot.

Using the Blog for Accountability

I copy-pasted this whole thing written above into ChatGPT, and it has some good ideas on how to study.

It says I should make my blog not about explaining neuroscience but about documenting how I’m learning neuroscience.
Which means my blogs should be like
Day 1: I watched a video on brain networks and I learned …
Day 2: I found out that Default Mode Network is more active in ADHD brain, and I don’t know what that actually results in …
and so on.

It advises me to switch things up when I can’t focus. When I feel curious but restless, I should watch a lecture. When I’m calm and focused, I should read or take notes, etc.
I like this idea. I think I get really fidgety and want to move around, but I have to study in front of my computer, so I can’t. I think on those days I should just start watching a lecture on my phone while walking like I did today. When I can’t focus on anything, the lecture or video, I can just record myself explaining things or ask questions to ChatGPT on my phone and read the answers.

It says that I can meta-learn without using a rigid template. I can just write one-line reflections from time to time like “this lecture kept my attention for longer than usual,” etc.
I think one thing I can do is just record myself saying these meta insights out loud while walking because that feels easier to me.

It also says to reignite the spark when it’s fading:
“When you start dreading your sessions:

• Drop the textbook or course immediately. Go find a video, podcast, or visual explainer about something you already find mysterious.
• Ask a fresh ‘Why?’ question — curiosity resets attention.
• Reread your earliest notes/blog entries to remind yourself of how exciting it felt to not know yet.
• Talk or write about it as if you’re explaining it to your past self — ‘Hey, remember when you didn’t know what dopamine did? Look at this now.’
  That kind of self-conversation keeps the emotional thread alive.”

The Real Framework for Learning

In the end it gave me this:
“You’re not looking for structure; you’re looking for momentum.
Here’s your real framework:

1. Start with a mystery → ‘How do brain networks fail in ADHD?’
2. Follow the unknowns → chase every term or idea you don’t understand.
3. Write while you learn → short, messy reflections = real progress.
4. Switch modes when bored → let curiosity dictate form.
5. Reflect casually → one-line notes about what worked.
6. Stay connected → everything you learn lives in the same web.”

So, instead of asking it follow-up questions, I am just going to start learning.

My goal for now: I’ll try to keep this blog writing and my learning alive for as long as possible.

Need for Accountability

One thing I know for sure: I need accountability. I need something to keep reminding me of this thing because I get sidetracked. I need someone to pull me back into it.
I am learning a subject with another person from my class. We have daily sessions at a fixed time, and because of that, till now, I am learning something for days every day without losing interest because I have accountability. It serves as a reminder; it pressures me into not quitting if I can’t focus some day and then never coming back to it again, because I have no choice but to do it. Some days I am not feeling excited, it feels tedious, but because we are doing it together it is kind of easy to get through that and then get into that kind of excitement and interest again.
So, I need something like that for this.
But I don’t have anybody who is going on this learning journey in the same way I want to.
I am thinking of using this messy blog post as a way of getting that.