EDITOR'S NOTES 

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Dear Reader,

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Each edition of Grey Matters is an opportunity to reconnect, to remember our values, and to reinforce our mission–I am glad you are here. 

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I am filled with a bittersweet sense of gratitude as we release our ninth issue, marking the conclusion of my time with an organization that has influenced who I have become along the way. As I look to the future of Grey Matters CU, I am overwhelmed with admiration for the individuals earnest in forging ahead, building on the legacy of those who paved the way.

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The role of science communication, our principle mission, remains critical in an era increasingly characterized by misinformation. Consistent with this, our first set of articles explores how the nervous system detects, processes, and represents information. Our writers discuss how cognition and emotion become progressively distorted through manipulation, how unconscious beliefs and biases can arise from the structure of language itself, and how our preferences for particular brands can be now be predicted–even preceding our conscious awareness. In transitioning past the beginning of the issue, we encounter the underpinnings of those all-too-familiar mood changes in winter months, delve into the groundbreaking work on neural stem cells and cell differentiation, and explore how surgeons use music in awake neurosurgery as a proxy for cognitive function of their patients–each one a powerful reflection of the vast biological complexity within the brain. We then venture towards one of the most contested lines in neuroscience, that which separates conscious from unconscious, as examined here through the creative capacities of a robotic artist. As the edition comes to a close, we emphasize growth, beginning with the importance of maternal health on fetal nervous system development. With the progression of human development comes the acquisition of language, where we explore how nature interacts with nurture in molding communicative ability. We end with the emergence of self-stimulating behaviors in childhood, their misinterpretation in society, and how error-prone diagnostic criteria miss the mark–overlooking their benefits and the role of individual differences.

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The work presented in this issue illustrates that science is at the core of all we do. It manifests in how we interpret information, experience emotion, and as we grow as individuals. This comes at a point in history where our scientific enterprise is under assault. In moments such as these, effective science communication becomes indispensable, a necessary counteroffensive against efforts to undermine confidence in the realm of public opinion. As beneficiaries of knowledge accrued across generations, it is our duty to retain the integrity of scientific thought, to make it accessible, and to equip the public with the ability to understand. The continuation of scientific progress and its immense benefit to humanity are non-negotiable. To falter now would be to relinquish our future, this is a line we must hold.

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With unwavering persistence,

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Kevin Rostam

Editor-in-Chief