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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
In this issue:
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Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in May including:
A. May Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2605.html
B. New Neuroscience in the News
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/inthenews.html
C. Visit or follow my Instagram site with neuroscience facts and trivia:
https://www.instagram.com/ericchudler/
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The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for June is "Neuroscientifically Challenged" at:
https://neuroscientificallychallenged.com/
Dr. Marc Dingman, who received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Penn State University, has created his "Neuroscientifically Challenged" web site to make neuroscience simpler. The site is filled with articles and excellent illustrations about neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, brain disorders and brain function that will keep you busy and entertained for hours. Visit the site's glossary for the definition of many brainy words or view one of the more than 100 two-minute videos for a short lesson on a specific topic.
So, if you are looking for a quick, accurate explanation about a neuroscientific concept, "Neuroscientifically Challenged" is right place for you.
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Enter the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Brain Awareness Video Contest to "showcase entertaining and educational neuroscience concepts and activities." Everyone is welcome to participate, but if you are not a SfN member, then you must find a SfN member to sponsor and submit your video. Entries are due on July 5, 2022. For the video contest rules and guidelines, see:
https://www.brainfacts.org/for-educators/programs-and-events/bavc-rules-and-guidelines
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Most people have four or five dreams each night and can remember parts of their dreams. I am usually able to remember a dream or two every day. A few years ago I kept a detailed record of all of the dreams I had for an entire year. Last month I had a dream that was unlike any dream I can ever recall: I could taste something!
I do not remember the plot or situation of my dream, but the taste I remembered was of key lime pie. I have not had key lime pie in a few years and there are no limes in my house, so I don't know why the taste of key lime was part of my dream. The key lime flavor was so strong and vivid in my dream that it made a lasting impression on me. This dream was the only dream I can ever remember when I tasted (or smelled) anything.
Smells and tastes are not usually part of dreams. In one study published in 1998, researchers had 164 people record their dreams over a 2-3 week period. Of the 3,372 dream reports from these people, only 0.78% of men's dreams and 0.89% of the women's dreams had any reference to taste. Interestingly, author and disability rights advocate Helen Keller (1990-1968), who lost her sense of sight and hearing before the age of 2, often had dreams with smells and tastes. In her book "The World I Live In" (1910), Keller wrote:
"In my dreams I have sensations, odors, tastes, and ideas which I do not remember to have had in reality. Perhaps they are the glimpses which my mind catches through the veil of sleep of my earliest babyhood. I have heard 'the trampling of many waters.' Sometimes a wonderful light visits me in sleep. Such a flash and glory as it is! I gaze and gaze until it vanishes. I smell and taste much as in my waking hours; but the sense of touch plays a less important part."
References:
A. Keller, H., The World I Live In, New York: The Century Co., 1910.
B. Zadra, A.L., Nielsen, T.A. and Donderi, D.C., Prevalence of auditory, olfactory, and gustatory experiences in home dreams, Percept Mot Skills., 87(3 Pt 1):819-826, 1998.
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The DO-IT Center and Center for Neurotechnology (CNT) at the University of Washington is sponsoring a free, ten-day program for neurodiverse students during the summer of 2022 (August 8-19, 2022). The program is open to high school sophomores, juniors, or seniors who are citizens and permanent residents of the United States and its possessions who identify as neurodiverse learners. I will serve as the education director of this camp. Students will learn about neuroscience, neural engineering, neuroethics, scientific communication and research in CNT laboratories. The goal is to expose students to the field of neural engineering and provide basic preparation for college studies in STEM subjects and future STEM careers. Applications for the summer program are now being accepted at:
https://www.washington.edu/doit/programs/nnl/summer-program
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A. "How the brain 'constructs' the outside world," (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, June, 2022).
B. "U.S. kids are falling behind global competition, but brain science shows how to catch up," (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, June, 2022).
C. "The discovery of the shark's electric sense," (AMERICAN SCIENTIST, May-June, 2022).
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A. Scent dogs can detect coronavirus from skin swabs with an accuracy of 92% (Source: Kantele, A., et al. Scent dogs in detection of COVID-19: triple-blinded randomised trial and operational real-life screening in airport setting, BMJ Global Health, 2022;7:e008024).
B. Drinking tea may protect against cognitive impairment in the elderly (Source: Li, W. et al., Prospective associations of tea consumption with risk of cognitive decline in the elderly: A 1-year follow-up study in China, Front. Nutr. 9:752833. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.752833, 2022).
C. Neurosurgeons show significantly higher scores than the aerospace engineers in Cognitron's Great British Intelligence Test, a semantic problem solving test (Source: Usher, I., et al., "It's not rocket science" and "It's not brain surgery." -- "It's a walk in the park": prospective comparative study, BMJ 2021; 375 :e067883 doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-067883, 2021).
D. Cycads, plants found in tropical and subtropical areas, contain a neurotoxin called β-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA).
E. June is National Aphasia Awareness Month and Vision Research Month.
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If you will be changing your email address for the summer and would still like to receive this Neuroscience Newsletter, please let me know (chudler@u.washington.edu ) your new email address.
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to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter, send e-mail to Dr. Eric H.
Chudler at: chudler@u.washington.edu
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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.