NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 16, Issue 4 (April, 2012)

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In this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Brain Awareness Week
4. Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience 5. Media Alert
6. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
7. Support Neuroscience for Kids
8. 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 March including:

A. March Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/may12.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/jun12.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/jul12.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/aug12.pdf

In March, 4 new figures were added and 22 pages were modified.
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for April is "Brains: The Mind as Matter" at:

http://www.wellcomecollection.org/whats-on/exhibitions/brains.aspx

"Brain: The Mind as Matter" is a new museum exhibit open at the Wellcome Collection (London, England) until June 12, 2012. To accompany the museum exhibit, the Wellcome Collection has developed a great web site where you can learn about the brain. The web site is divided into six sections:

A. Image galleries: four separate collections of photographs about measuring the brain, mapping/modeling the brain, treating the brain and collecting brain specimens.

B. Events: public events associated with the museum exhibit. These event look like a lot of fun!

C. Axon: an interactive game where you try to grow the longest neuron.

D. 360 degree brain: an interactive activity where you can rotate a human brain in different directions.

E. Brains: the book: some pages from a book published for the exhibit can be read online.

F. Credits: learn who is responsible for the exhibit.

If you cannot visit the Wellcome Collection in London to see the museum exhibit, then the next best thing is the "Brains: The Mind as Matter" web site.
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3. BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK

I hope you enjoyed Brain Awareness Week (BAW) last month. Here at the University of Washington, BAW was celebrated on March 7, 2012, when 600 students in grades 4-12 attended an Open House. The Open House was supported by the Pacific Cascade Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, and the Hope Heart Institute.

To start the Open House, I spoke with students during an interactive, multimedia "Brain Assembly" where they learned about the nervous system. We discussed neurotransmission, compared the brains of different animals and played with some visual illusions.

Students then visited exhibits set up by University of Washington departments, laboratories and other organizations. For example, students were connected to a transcranial Doppler machine to measure their brain blood flow (UW Dept. of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine) and they tested their senses and built neuron models at exhibits set up by the Neurobiology and Behavior Community Outreach Program. The Pacific Science Center "Brain Power" team provided many exhibits that they bring out to schools. The DO-IT program, UW Department of Otolaryngology, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, Northwest Association for Biomedical Research, Department of Biology, Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, Unite for Sight, Youth Take Heart program and Seattle Hydrocephalus Support Group also provided exhibits.

Some of the students' favorite exhibits were the planaria exhibit (stem cells), Doppler brain blood flow, comparative neuroanatomy display, visual illusions, "magic" water illusion, face painting, fly flight simulator, prism goggles, auditory exhibits, bird songs, mirror drawing and make-a-neuron.
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4. SOWING THE SEEDS OF NEUROSCIENCE

A few months ago I was awarded a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for a new project called "Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience." The goal of this new project is to increase student understanding of neuroscience using simple, safe lab investigations using plants and herbs. We plan to extract chemicals from different plants and herbs and then test these chemicals to see how the affect the nervous system in simple experiments.

After we develop these experiments, we will teach science teachers to use the materials in their own classrooms. I think teachers and students will have a fun time learning about neuroscience this way. You can read more about our progress developing these materials on the new Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience web site at:

http://www.neuroseeds.org
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5. MEDIA ALERT

A. "This Is Your Brain in Meltdown" by Amy Arnsten, Carolyn M. Mazure and Rajita Sinha (Scientific American, April, 2012) discusses the neural circuits responsible for conscious self-control and the effects of stress.

B. "Polio's Last Act" by Helen Branswell (Scientific American, April, 2012) discusses problems associated with the polio vaccine.

C. "MITs Sebastian Seung Wants Computers to Map the Brain" by Matthew Hutson (Wired magazine, April 2012).
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6. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

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.
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7. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

To ensure that Neuroscience for Kids stays available, we need your help. All contributions to Neuroscience for Kids are tax deductible (subject to IRS regulations). If you would like to donate to Neuroscience for Kids, please visit:

Help Neuroscience for Kids
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8. 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)