NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 11, Issue 5 (May, 2007)

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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. University of Washington Brain Awareness Week
4. Swimming the Amazon River for Alzheimer's Disease Awareness
5. Neuroscientist-Teacher Partner Travel Awards
6. Book Review
7. Media Alert
8. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
9. Support Neuroscience for Kids
10. 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 April including:

A. April Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news114.html
B. Mad Cow Disease
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/mcd.html
C. Most Dangerous Drugs Ranked by Researchers
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/wdrug.html
D. May and June 2007 Neurocalendars
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/may07.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/june07.pdf
E. Methamphetamine in Rural Areas
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/methr.html

In April, 15 new figures were added and 61 pages were modified.
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for May is "The Best Visual Illusion Contest" Web site at:

http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelate.com/index.php

On May 12, 2007, scientists, physicians and artists will go in front of a panel of experts in Sarasota, Florida, and present their entries for the best visual illusion. According to the contest Web site, illusions will be judged on the basis of:

The Web site has examples of past winners and will soon display the top ten illusions for 2007.
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3. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK - PHOTOS

In last month's Neuroscience for Kids newsletter, I described the events that took place at the University of Washington during Brain Awareness Week (BAW). A newsletter reader asked if I had any pictures from the UW BAW Open House. I do! If you are interested in seeing these photos, please visit the following Web site for a brief slide show:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw07oh.html
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4. SWIMMING THE AMAZON RIVER FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AWARENESS

Some people will go to great lengths to raise awareness about a particular issue, but Martin Strel took his cause further than most people. Martin swan the entire length of the Amazon River to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders. On February 1, 2007, Mr. Strel entered the river in Peru; 3,273 miles and 66 days later, he finished his swim at the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil.

Read more about Martin Strel's incredible journey at:

http://www.amazonswim.com/main.php
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5. NEUROSCIENTIST-TEACHER PARTNER TRAVEL AWARDS

K-12 teachers who are able to demonstrate an established partnership with a neuroscientist, and who can describe their cooperative activities are eligible for a travel award that will support their attendance to the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in San Diego, CA (November 3-7, 2007), the premier venue for cutting-edge neuroscience research. The Society for Neuroscience's Neuroscientist-Teacher Partner Travel Awards will grant neuroscientist-teacher partner pairs complimentary registration to the meeting, and a $1,000 stipend for each teacher to offset travel expenses. Ten awards will be granted.
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6. BOOK REVIEW

The Human Brain Coloring Book by Marian C. Diamond, Arnold B. Scheibel and Lawrence M. Elson, New York: Harper and Row Publishers Inc., 1985 [ISBN: 0-06-460306-7].

Reading level: middle school and up

It's a textbook. It's a workbook. It's an artbook. It's a neuroanatomy manual. It's a coloring book. Actually, it's ALL of these things. That's right, The Human Brain Coloring Book has many different uses, all of which make learning about the brain fun.

Although The Human Brain Coloring Book was published more than 20 years ago, it is still useful. The book's table of contents reads like a typical neuroanatomy textbook, but the pages of the book are anything but usual. One page describes the structures or pathways in the nervous system while the facing page has black and white line drawings illustrating the description. By coloring a structure and its label on the line drawings, you may find that learning and remembering the structures of the brain is easy. Don't think that the book is just for kids! The material covered in "The Human Brain Coloring Book" is very detailed.

So, get out your crayons or colored pencils and brighten up the world of the brain!
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7. MEDIA ALERT

A. "In Our Messy, Reptilian Brains" by Sharon Begley (Newsweek magazine, April 9, 2009) is a brief essay about the evolution of the brain.

B. The April/May 2007 issue of Scientific American MIND is available with articles about eating disorders, pain, neuroengineering, illusions, the teen brain and mental health.

C. "Know Thyself ? Man, Rat or Bot" by Sharon Begley (Newsweek magazine, April 23, 2007) discusses whether machines and animals can be self-aware.

D. The museum exhibit "Brain: The World Inside Your Head" will be at the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science (Houston, TX) until May 6, 2007. The exhibit opens on May 26, 2007 at the Mid America Science Museum in Hot Springs, AR.

E. "Walking Away from Paralysis" by Jeffrey Kluger (Time Magazine, April 20, 2007).

F. "Eyes Open, Brain Shut" (Scientific American, May, 2007) by Steven Laureys discusses how brain scans are being used to understand patients who have suffered brain injuries.

G. "Over the Limit" by Nancy Shute is the cover story in the April 23, 2007 issue of US News and World Report. The article discusses caffeine and its effects on behavior.
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8. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. More than 12 million people in the United States are estimated to have obstructive sleep apnea. People with sleep apnea may stop breathing 10 or more times an hour while they are asleep. (Source: NIH News in Health, April, 2007.)

B. May is Stroke Awareness Month, Better Sleep Month, Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and Mental Health Month.

C. Many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have trouble walking and maintaining their balance. Therefore, they may fall more often and break bones. Osteoporosis also puts people with MS at risk for broken bones.

D. In 1962, Michael Siffre spent two months in a cave without information about the time of day in order to study sleep and other circadian rhythms.

E. Failure of the corpus callosum (the band of axons between the right and left cerebral hemispheres) to develop occurs in 1 out of 4,000 people. (Source: Paul, L.K. et al., Agenesis of the corpus callosum: genetic, developmental and functional aspects of connectivity, Nature Neuroscience Reviews, 8:287-299, 2007.)
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9. 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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10. 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)