First day in the new #lab! For the next 5 months, I’ll be working at INCIA (L’Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine), part of the Bordeaux Neurocenter. I am in the adaptive decision making project, where I am majoring on the thalamo-cortical circuits. My goal is to uncover new insights into the cellular and functional architecture of these circuits during adaptive decision-making tasks. I’ll be collaborating with a postdoc from Japan; and my project marks the starting point of a large, long-prepared project, so exciting and responsible work ahead! First day in the lab was full of administrative stuff and meetings with team members, but funny moments already happened: 1. Scored an old computer from a former PhD student (don’t worry, no battles - he was cool with it). My laptop couldn’t handle image processing, so it was either this or tears; 2. Met everyone in the office - they’re all French; with someone, we barely understood each other, but it was fine. But honestly, I love the vibe of working in a language I barely get. Instant background white noise = peak my concentration mode; 3. Got to know the PostDoc from Japan I’ll be working with. She’s super duper smart and can chat about anything. An hour in, we realized we were dissecting Elon Musk’s latest project instead of our own lawl)) 4. I accidentally attended an RNA conference because I was mistaken for an employee. I only wanted coffee but figured, "Why not?" Ended up joining a poster discussion like I belonged there, drinking free coffee from huge mug :) 5. Attempted to learn the building layout. It's a literal labyrinth of corridors that my brain refuses to map. I feel like a rat there during whatever behaviour task. Spent the day walking in circles until I could finally tell one hallway from another. Well, that is The Progress! haha I really like my group and the building where my internship is taking place. That is going to be an amazing internship. #MSc #INCIA #adaptive_decision_making_project