NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 10, Issue 2 (February, 2006)

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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

Here is what you will find in this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Neuroscience for Kids Writing Contest - Judging has Begun
4. UW Brain Awareness Week Open House
5. CDC Science Ambassador Program for Teachers
6. Summer Brain Camp for Middle School Students
7. Freen Neurology Now Subscription
8. Media Alert
9. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
10. Support Neuroscience for Kids
11. How to Stop Your Subscription
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1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in January including:

A. January Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news101.html
B. Israeli Prime Minister Suffers A Massive Stroke
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/sharon.html
C. January, February, March and April 2006 NeuroCalendars
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/jan06.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/feb06.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/mar06.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/apr06.pdf
D. Sleep Fog
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/sleepf.html
E. Laughter: New Medicine for the Heart?
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/laughh.html

In January, 14 new figures were added and 75 pages were modified.
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for February is "The HOPES Brain Tutorial" at:

http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/basics/braintut/ab0.html

The HOPES (Huntington's Outreach Project for Education, at Stanford) web site takes people on a guided tour of the human brain. The tour starts with a brief description of brain cells (neurons and glia) and the ventricular system and then explores the different lobes of the brain. The tutorial gets more detailed in its discussion of the limbic system, basal ganglia and diencephalon. The tour makes it easy to learn this material by allowing users to turn labels on and off and by showing only certain structures in each picture. The ability to add or subtract structures will help you get an idea of the three dimensional structure of the brain.

The brain tutorial is only one section of a larger HOPES web site that discusses the causes, diagnosis and treatment of the neurological disorder called Huntington's disease. Use the buttons on the left side of the brain tutorial screen to visit the main HOPES site. Make sure to read the online illustrated book for kids titled "Bryan's Dad Has Huntington's Disease" (the "For Kids" button).
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3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS WRITING CONTEST - JUDGING HAS BEGUN

The NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS WRITING CONTEST is now closed and judging has begun. Winners will be notified by mail and sent their prizes over the next few weeks. Winning entries will be posted on the Neuroscience for Kids web site and announced in next month's newsletter.
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4. BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK 2006

International Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is scheduled for March 13-19, 2006! I hope you have plans. It's not too late to find a neuroscientist to visit your class. Visit the SfN web site to locate a neuroscientist near you:

http://www.sfn.org

The American Psychological Association also has a list of speakers:

http://www.apa.org/ed/topss/speakerbureau.html

Here at the University of Washington, 300 students will attend the 9th annual BAW Open House on March 22. 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/baw.html
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5. CDC SCIENCE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM FOR TEACHERS

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created the Science Ambassador Program for teachers interested in partnering with public health scientists to create classroom lessons for students about birth defects, developmental disabilities, chronic disease and other topics. The goal of the program is to produce lesson plans about public health concepts that can be used in schools nationwide.
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6. SUMMER BRAIN CAMP FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

The University of Washington Extension and Neuroscience for Kids will be hosting a summer brain camp for middle school students called "Brain Works." This camp is among several Middle School Short Course programs offered for summer 2006. "Brain Works" is a half day program (9 am to noon) scheduled for July 17 to July 21, 2006.
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7. FREE NEUROLOGY NOW SUBSCRIPTION

"Neurology Now" is a free magazine from the American Academy of Neurology for neurology patients, their families and caregivers. It contains information about the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, epilepsy and Huntington's disease. For a free subscription to Neurology Now, see:

http://www.neurologynow.com
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8. MEDIA ALERT

A. The January 16, 2006 issue of Time magazine has several articles discussing how to keep the brain in top shape. These articles include: "How to Tune Up Your Brain," "Help! I've Lost My Focus," "Can You Prevent Alzheimer's Disease?" and "The Hidden Secrets of the Creative Mind."

B. "What You Need to Know Now" by Isadore Rosenfeld (Parade magazine, January 15, 2006) discusses how Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed and treated.

C. "The Myth of the Midlife Crisis" by Gene Cohen (Newsweek magazine, January 16, 2006) discusses how the brain changes during midlife.

D. "Balding, Wrinkled, and Stoned" by Jeffrey Kluger with Jeffrey Ressner (Time magazine, January 23, 2006) discusses how drug abuse in the 1960s and 1970s is affecting people today.

E. "Why Is Her Vision Hazy?" by Richard Fleming (Discover magazine, February, 2006) discusses multiple sclerosis.

F. "Intrigue at the Immune Synapse" by Daniel M. Davis (Scientific American, Febrary, 2006) discusses how cells in the immune system communicate like cells in the nervous system.
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9. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. The original recipe for Coca-Cola contained a small amount of cocaine (about 22.5 milligrams of cocaine per gallon). Cocaine was removed from Coca-Cola in 1903. (Reference: Karch, S.B., A Brief History of Cocaine. From Inca Monarchs to Cali Cartels: 500 Years of Cocaine Dealing, Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press, 2006.)

B. An estimated 9% of adolescents in the US aged 12 to 17 (approximately 2.2 million adolescents) experienced at least one major depressive episode during the past year. (Reference: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)

C. For every minute in which a large vessel ischemic stroke (blockage of a large blood vessel in the brain) is untreated, a person loses 1.9 million neurons, 13.8 billion synapses and 12 km (7 miles) of axons. For every hour in which this type of stroke is untreated, the brain loses as many neurons as it normally does in 3.6 years. (Saver, J.L., Time is brain - quantified, Stroke, 37:263-266, 2006.)

D. In 1774, English explorer Captain James Cook was poisoned, but did not die, after eating the liver of a fish. It is likely that the liver came from a pufferfish and that Cook was poisoned by the neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin. (Reference: Doherty, M.J., Captain Cook on poison fish, Neurology, 65:1788-1791, 2005.)

E. In the early 1920s, Hans Berger recorded the first human electroencephalogram (EEG).
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10. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

To insure that Neuroscience for Kids stays available, we need your help. If you would like to contribute to the funding of Neuroscience for Kids, please visit:

Help Neuroscience for Kids
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11. 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
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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)