Neuroscience For Kids

Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia

A collection of trivia about the brain and nervous system from the archives of the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter. For more trivia about the brain, see brain facts and figures.

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January, 2012

A. Weng Feng, 21 years old, won the 2011 World Memory Championship that was held last month in Guangzhou, China. He broke three world memorization records on his way to his top score. For details of about this event, visit:

http://www.worldmemorychampionship.com/index.asp

B. Psychologist William James was born on January 11, 1842; Nobel Prize-winning scientist Roger Guillemin was also born on January 11 in 1924.

C. 10% of babies develop their tactile corneal reflex in at least one eye at 2 days of age, 25% at 1 week, 50% at 3.5 weeks, 75% at 6 weeks, and 100% at 12 weeks. (Source: Snir, et al., Tactile corneal reflex development in full-term babies, Ophthalmology, 109:526-529, 2002).

D. Cranial nerves IX (glossopharyngeal), X (vagus) and XI (spinal accessory) go through the jugular foramen of the skull.

E. When it is light outside for 24 hrs each day and in temperatures of approximately 0.8 degrees C, Emperor penguins spend 45.1% of the entire 24 hour day asleep. In alternating day/night conditions and in temperatures between -14 degrees C and -17 degrees C, these penguins spend 41.3% of the entire 24 hour day asleep. (Source: Buchet C, Dewasmes G, Le Maho Y., An electrophysiological and behavioral study of sleep in emperor penguins under natural ambient conditions, Physiology and Behavior, 38(3):331-335, 1986.)

February, 2012

A. February is Age-Related Macular Degeneration Month, Low Vision Awareness Month and Wise Mental Health Consumer Month.

B. The first mental hospital, inspired by a priest's sermon, was founded in Spain in 1409.

C. The brain of a horse weighs about 532 grams.

D. Sea lions can hear frequencies between 100 and 40,000 Hz. Humans can hear frequencies between 20 and 20,000 Hz.

E. The diameter of the vertebral artery is 2 to 3 mm.

March, 2012

A. Cats cannot taste sweet flavors. (Source: Jef Akst, "Cat Cravings", The Scientist, January, 2012, p. 20.)

B. As of January 13, 2012, India has gone one year without a case of polio. (Source: Science, January 20, 2012, p. 268.)

C. Paedophryne amauenis, a newly discovered frog species found in an eastern New Guinea rainforest, is the world's smallest vertebrate (animal with a backbone). These adult frogs average 7.7 millimeters in length. (Source: Science, January 20, 2012, p. 269.)

D. March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month.

E. The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion chili pepper has replaced the Bhut Jolokia chili pepper as the world's hottest pepper.

April, 2012

A. The estimated cost of treating Alzheimer's disease in the United States in 2012 is estimated to be $200 billion. (Source: TIME magazine, March 19, 2012, page 14.)

B. The Sydney funnel web spider (Atrax robustus) uses a neurotoxin called robustotoxin to subdue its prey. Robustotoxin works by opening sodium channels on neurons.

C. The adult human brain consumes about 10 kcal/kg/hr or about 280-420 calories per day. (Source: Lieberman, D.E., The Evolution of the Human Head, Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011.)

D. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it estimates 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/CountingAutism/)

E. The word "microscope" was coined by Johannes Faber in 1625.

April, 2012

A. The estimated cost of treating Alzheimer's disease in the United 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.

More trivia from other years:

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998

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