NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 16, Issue 5 (May, 2012)

____________________________________________________________
In this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Brain Awareness Video Contest
4. The Press
5. Media Alert
6. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
7. Support Neuroscience for Kids
8. How to Stop Your Subscription
____________________________________________________________

1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in April including:

A. April Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news164.html

In April, 2 new figures were added and 12 pages were modified.
__________________________________________________________

2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for May is "School-Wide Concussion Management" at:

http://brain101.orcasinc.com/

This month's site selection does not have the most exciting name, but it does have some excellent information about concussions for student athletes and their parents, teachers and coaches.

The site discusses how to recognize, respond and prevent head injuries in student athletes. Videos discuss these issues in more detail and include criteria that determine when it is safe for an athlete to return to play. In the Student Athlete section, an animated cartoon titled "What's a Concussion, Anyway?" shows what happens to the brain during a concussion.

The "School-Wide Concussion Management" web site is a good resource for anyone involved in school athletics programs: athletes, parents, coaches and teachers.
__________________________________________________________

3. BRAIN AWARENESS VIDEO CONTEST

The Society for Neuroscience has announced the second annual Brain Awareness Video Contest. The competition is now open to anyone (students, teachers included) interested in the brain. For full contest rules and prizes, visit the Society for Neuroscience web site:

http://www.sfn.org/BAvideocontest

The deadline for entries is June 11, 2012.
__________________________________________________________

4. THE PRESS

Last month a reporter from MSNBC called me with some questions he had about a story he was writing. He asked me about the "10% of the brain" myth. I gave him my opinion and told him about the lack of evidence to support the claim that we use only 10% of the brain. He also asked about another article he was writing about why so many people confuse their right and left sides.

A few days later, both pieces were published online. Although most of the articles accurately reflected what I had said, I found it interesting to read the specific quotes that were selected. I suppose the entire interview could not be used and that to sell a story, a reporter must use the most catchy "sound bites."

After that article appeared on MSNBC, a morning radio personality in Seattle asked if I could do a live interview about the same topic. I agreed and spent about 15 minutes talking to the radio host and his sidekicks. For the most part, they all stayed on topic until one of them asked me to interpret the meaning of a dream he had the night before.

These experiences remind me that it is important to speak clearly and to choose words wisely especially when dealing with the the press.
__________________________________________________________

5. MEDIA ALERT

A. A chapter I co-authored was recently published in a new book: Ritchie. S.J., Chudler, E.H. and Della Sala, S. Don't Try This at School: The Attraction of 'Alternative' Educational Techniques, in Neuroscience in Education: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, pp. 244-264.

B. "Shhh! Genius at Work" by Jeffrey Kluger (TIME magazine, April 23, 2012) discusses sleep and creativity.

C. "Mind Wandering" by Michael Corbalis (AMERICAN SCIENTIST, May-June, 2012) discusses how remembering the past and imagining the future use similar processes. This issue also has the article "Plenty of Room at the Bottom?" by William G. Eberhard and William T. Wcislo about brain size in invertebrates.

D. "Erasing Painful Memories" by Jerry Adler (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, May, 2012) discusses how traumatic memories can be removed with new drug and behavioral therapies.

E. The May 2012 issue of Scientific American MIND is on newsstands now with the articles "How Physics and Neuroscience Dictate Your "Free" Will" by Christof Koch, "Redefining Mental Illness" by Ferris Jabr, "Inside the Wrong Body" by Carrie Arnold, "Sleep's Secret Repairs" by Jason Castro, and "The Subtle Power of Hidden Messages" by Wolfgang Stroebe.
__________________________________________________________

6. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

This month's trivia all come from the recent WHO/Alzheimer's Disease International Report titled "Dementia: A Public Health Priority," available at:

http://www.alz.co.uk/sites/default/files/WHO-dementia-a-public-health-priority.pdf

A. The total number of people with dementia worldwide in 2010 is estimated at 35.6 million.

B. The total number of people with dementia is projected to nearly double every 20 years.

C. The total number of people with dementia is expected to be 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050.

D. The total number of new cases of dementia each year worldwide is almost 7.7 million

E. The number of new cases of dementia is estimated to be one every four seconds.
_________________________________________________________

7. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

To ensure that Neuroscience for Kids stays available, we need your help. All contributions to Neuroscience for Kids are tax deductible (subject to IRS regulations). If you would like to donate to Neuroscience for Kids, please visit:

Help Neuroscience for Kids
_________________________________________________________

8. HOW TO STOP RECEIVING THIS NEWSLETTER

To remove yourself from this mailing list and stop your subscription to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter, send e-mail to Dr. Eric H. Chudler at: chudler@u.washington.edu
_________________________________________________________

Your comments and suggestions about this newsletter and the "Neuroscience for Kids" web site are always welcome. If there are any special topics that you would like to see on the web site, just let me know.

Eric

Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D.
(e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu)
(URL: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html)