Saranya Viswanathan

Growing up, I loved fantasy books because they made me wonder what it would be like if the world was full of magical ongoings that most people weren’t aware of. Our brain is mysterious in many ways, and even the world’s best scientists still haven’t completely figured out how it works. That’s where my job comes in – I explore the logic behind how the brain works and what makes us who we are.
The brain works like a very vivid and colourful diary, it records events and happenings in a way that lets us revisit them – almost as if we were back in the past, right there when it first happened! I like to explore where exactly these memories are stored, how we remember events from the past, why we forget things and what will happen if our memories are completely erased. Will that make us a different person?

To understand all of this I use tools like magnifying glasses (microscopes), brain maps, and cool chemicals. I also love making new magical tools to understand brain. I can use light to turn on or off certain areas of the brain. How cool is that?

I love Neuroscience because we can use it to solve problems like understanding the brain, curing brain diseases, and making new technology that would make world a better place. So, what do you think would happen if the brain had a “erase” button and it was pushed?