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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
Here is what you will find in this issue:
1. What's New on the Neuroscience for Kids Web Site
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Neuroscience for Kids Writing Contest
4. Super Bowl, Super Headache
5. Brain Awareness Week
6. Summer Science Camps
7. Time Perception and Body Temperature
8. Media Alert
9. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
10. Support Neuroscience for Kids
11. How to Stop Your Subscription
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A. January Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news81.html
B. US Government Takes Steps to Protect Food Supply from BSE
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bsen.html
C. Did West Nile Virus Conquer Alexander the Great?
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/alexg.html
D. Neuroscience in the News 2003 Archive
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/inthenews03.html
In January, 8 new figures were added and 42 pages were modified.
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http://www.nature.com/nrn/archive/
The archives contain a display of the journal's cover art. Every journal
cover has a drawing or photograph that somehow incorporates a brain.
Artists and photographers have been extremely creative with their work.
For example, the November 2003 cover has a photograph of a brain-shaped
boulder and the July 2002 cover has a brain-shaped crop circle. Can you
see "magic-eye" images? If you can, try the December 2003 issue!
Unfortunately, the web site does not provide much information about each
drawing or photograph. In addition to the cover art, some articles from
each issue of the journal are available for free.
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The American Academy of Neurology defines a concussion as a "trauma-induced alteration in mental status that may or may not involve loss of consciousness." In other words, a concussion does not require a person to lose consciousness.
Researchers have just published their findings about the causes and consequences of concussions in the NFL. Between 1996 and 2001, there were 0.41 concussions per NFL game (787 total concussions). Quarterbacks had the highest risk of having a concussion, followed by wide receivers, tight ends and defensive backs. Most (67%) of the concussions occurred when a player was hit by the helmet of another player. The most common symptoms of players who had concussions were headaches (55%), dizziness (41.8%) and blurred vision (16.3%). Only 9.3% of the players with concussions lost consciousness and 2.4% were hospitalized.
Reference: Pellman, E.J., Powell, J.W., Viano, D.C., Casson, I.R.,
Tucker, A.M., Feuer, H., Lovell, M., Waeckerle, J.F. and Robertson, D.W.
Concussion in professional football: epidemiological features of game
injuries and review of the literature--part 3. Neurosurgery. 54:81-94,
2004.
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http://www.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=neuroscientistTeacherPartners
Here at the University of Washington, 300 students will attend the 7th annual BAW Open House. The Open House will feature hands-on, interactive exhibits sponsored by researchers and staff from various university departments and organizations. If you would like to share what you did during BAW, send me (e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu) a summary of your activities and I will try to include it in a future issue of the Neuroscience for Kids newsletter.
Even if you cannot organize a brain fair or a classroom visit by a neuroscientist, you can still participate in BAW with some lessons about the brain and nervous system. Neuroscience for Kids has some "brainy" ideas for a day, a week or a whole month:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw1.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/act.html
In celebration of BAW, send a "brainy" postcard to a friend or family member. See:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/post/baw1.html
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Summer Enrichment
Program
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
Summer Youth
Programs
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
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Although it's possible that some factor associated with Mrs. Hoagland's illness other than her fever caused her altered perception of time, other scientists have performed similar experiments and confirmed Hoagland's original work. These data suggest that our internal body clock is linked to our body temperature.
Reference:
Hoagland, H., The physiological control of judgements of duration:
evidence for a chemical clock. J. General Psychology, 9:267-287,
1933.
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B. Several articles in Newsweek magazine (January 19, 2004).
i. "Now, Reduce Your Risk of Alzheimer's"
ii. "Starve Your Way to Health"
iii. "You Will Start to Feel Very Sleepy..."
iv. "An Irrepressible Idea"
C. "The Good News About Prions" by Nancy Shute in US News and World Report (January 19, 2004).
D. "Mind over Machine" by Carl Zimmer in Popular Science (February, 2004) discusses how thoughts may be able to control machines across great distances. "Mental Muscles of Steel" by McKenzie Funk, an article to "boost science smarts" is also in this issue.
E. "The Addicted Brain" by Eric J. Nestler and Robert C. Malenka in Scientific Amercian (March, 2004).
F. "Hope for Alzheimer's," by Sanjay Gupta, and "Depression Drugs for
Kids: How Safe?" in Time magazine (February 2, 2004).
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B. Morphine, the analgesic (pain reliever) drug from the opium poppy, is named after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus. Morpheus was the son of the Greek god named Somnus.
C. Eight hours in a smoky bar breathing second-hand smoke is the equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes. (Source: "The Secondhand Smoking Gun," by Rosemary Ellis, The New York Times, October 15, 2003.)
D. Neurophysiologist and Nobel prize winner (1932) Edgar Douglas Adrian was an expert fencer and mountaineer.
E. Cerebral oxygen consumption is 3.5 ml/100g of brain/minute or 49
ml/minute for a whole brain. The energy consumption of the brain is equal
to that of a 20 W light bulb. (Source: Aminoff, J. and Daroff, R.B.
Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences, Amsterdam: Academic Press,
2003.)
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http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/help.pdf
or
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/helpform.html
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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.
(e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu)
(URL:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html)
"Neuroscience for Kids" is supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center of Research Resources.