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Viola Hollestein is a PhD candidate studying how chemical imbalance in the brain could be what cause differences in both the brain and in behaviors in autistic individuals. She got her Bachelors degree in cognitive neuroscience and philosophy at the University of Skövde in Sweden, being determined to figure out where consciousness happens in the brain. She then got her Masters degree in cognitive neuroscience at the Donders Institute, where she discovered her fascination with people who experience the world differently than most of us do, and what is happening in the brain that makes this happen. That is what led her to her research in neurodevelopmental disorders and especially autism, where she hopes a better understanding of those differences could help in giving better support for those who might need it.
In her free time she loves spending time with her two dogs, redecorating her home, and reading.