____________________________________________________________
In this issue:
A. February Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news172.html
In February, 1 new figure were added and 18 pages were modified.
__________________________________________________________
http://www.humanbrainproject.eu/introduction.html
Just a bit more than 1 billion Euros. That's how much the European Commission and other sources will contribute to "The Human Brain Project," a 10 year endeavor to simulate the human brain. Researchers working on the project will focus on three main topics: A) neuroscience, B) medicine and C) computing.
The Human Brain Project web site describes the research plan in great detail. A good place to learn about the project is through a nice seven minute video on the opening page of the site. The video outlines the objectives of the research and interviews several scientists involved with the project.
Not to be outdone, the United States recently announced its own massive
project ($3 billion over 10 years) to map the human brain. Details of the
the US plan are expected to be released this month.
__________________________________________________________
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/contest13.html
To judge the contest, I looked at all 400 drawings and selected finalists for the different grade levels (Kindergarten-grade 2; grade 3-5; grade 6-8; grade 9-12; college students/adults). Winners were chosen by 12 judges who rated the finalists. Check the Neuroscience for Kids web site in November for the start of a new Neuroscience for Kids Writing Contest! B. Art Neuraux
Last month I participated in "Art Neuraux," a neuroscience-inspired art contest. The event was organized by graduate students in the University of Washington Neurobiology and Behavior program and held in the Fremont Abbey, not far from the university.
The exhibit started with a welcome from the students and then some introductory remarks from Professor Eb Fetz. Dr. Fetz discussed not only how the brain processes art, but how artists use their knowledge about vision to create their work. Then it was time to explore the gallery. Some artists used paint, some used collage, some used a variety of methods. I contributed five photographs to the exhibit.
It was great to see such variety and creativity from the group. I already have ideas for new art pieces for next year. __________________________________________________________
As we started to walk down the sidewalk, my mom caught her foot on the uneven sidewalk and tripped, falling face first onto the hard concrete, landing on her forehead. As I rushed to her, I could see that she had a large open cut above her right eye and some scrapes on her knees, chin and cheek.
I applied first aid immediately by holding her head still and applying pressure to the gash above her eye. Blood began to run down her face. The cut was quite deep and I could tell it would need stitches. Also, I was unsure if she hit her head. So, I had my son call 911 and within five minutes a fire truck and ambulance met us on the sidewalk. The paramedics first asked my mom some general questions such as her name, her birthday, if she knew what day it was, and if she knew where she was. They also asked if she remembered falling. Never did my mom lose consciousness before or after the fall and she was able to answer all of the paramedic's questions without a problem. Because my mom may have hurt her head and neck, the paramedics put her in a neck collar. Then it was on to a stretcher, into an ambulance and away we went to the emergency room with me in the front seat of the ambulance.
In the emergency room, the doctors asked my mom questions again to determine if she knew who she was, where she was, and why she was in the hospital. The doctors wanted to know why she fell. They asked if she was dizzy, felt weak, or if she had tingling in her arms or legs. They also asked if she had a headache. My mom thought this last question was strange. Of course she had a headache -- she just tripped and landed on her head! The doctors were concerned that perhaps the fall was caused by something other than the sidewalk, for example, by a stroke. She answered "No" to all of the questions (except the one about a headache). My mom was talking to me when she fell and I heard her foot catch on the sidewalk, so I was confident that the sidewalk was the problem, not my mom's brain. But I kept quiet and let the doctors do their job.
As a precaution, the doctors ordered a head CAT scan and back X-rays to ensure that there were no broken facial bones, bleeding under the skull or damage to the vertebrae. All of these tests turned out negative: there were no observable internal injuries.
Finally, it was time to stitch up the cut. I hadn't seen the injury since my mom fell and I didn't take a long look at it because I wanted to apply pressure as soon as possible. When the nurse removed the bandages above my mom's eye, I could see a two-inch long cut. The nurse estimated that the cut would need 20 stitches to close. It turned out that she needed "only" 12 stitches to close the wound.
My mom was alert and talkative the entire time we were in the hospital, even when the stitches were placed. She was mainly worried about me because her unfortunate fall caused us to miss lunch. She kept asking the hospital staff to bring me something to eat. My Mom's worry told me that she would be just fine. Finally, my mom was discharged from the ER wearing a large bandage on her forehead, but we still all went out for an early dinner. My mom still had a good appetite. She'll have a serious black eye for few weeks and she will have to get the stitches taken out in about a week.
As a precaution, the doctors provided some literature for my mom that told her to take it easy for a few days and to watch for symptoms of a delayed, more serious head injury (for example, dizziness, confusion, weakness). We all got a laugh out of the last precaution listed in the literature: "Avoid head injury for the next two weeks."
I hope my Mom avoids head injury for a lot longer than two weeks!
__________________________________________________________
The "Bloomin' Brains" Camp for middle school students will take place July 22-26, 2013 from 9 am to 3 pm each day. Students at the camp will conduct experiments from the Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience project and learn about the structure and function of the brain. We will also have field trips to the Burke Museum, UW Botany Greenhouse, Medicinal Herb Garden, the Hyde Herbarium, and UW Farm. For more information and camp registration, see:
https://sites.google.com/site/neuroseeds/home/neuroseed-summer-camp
The teacher workshop will be held August 12-16, 2013. During the workshop, teachers will work through the Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience curriculum. Teachers who complete the workshop will be able to check out Neuroseeds kits for use in their classrooms during the school year. For more information and workshop registration, see:
https://sites.google.com/site/neuroseeds/home/2013-teacher-workshop
Both the camp and the workshop are supported by my Sowing the Seeds of
Neuroscience grant from the Blueprint for Neuroscience Research and
administered by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
__________________________________________________________
B. Scientific American MIND (March, 2013) is now on newsstands with articles about mindfulness, the placebo effect, addiction, reward, brain imaging, depression and schizophrenia.
C. "Can Boosting Immunity Make You Smarter?" by Carl Zimmer (DISCOVER magazine, March, 2013).
D. "The Origins of Creativity" by Heather Pringle (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN,
March, 2013).
__________________________________________________________
B. The neurotoxin "tetrodotoxin", found in the blue-ringed octopus and some frogs, newts and salamander, is 10 to 100 times more deadly than black widow toxin (NAME) and 10,000 times more deadly than cyanide. (Source: Mather, J.A., Anderson, R.C. and Wood, J.R., Octopus, The Ocean's Intelligent Invertebrate, Portland: Timber Press, Inc., 2010.)
C. The sea robin (a fish) uses it pectoral fins to taste. (Source: Shanor, K. and Kanwal, J., Bats Sing, Mice Giggle, London: Icon Books, 2010.)
D. In the octopus, 60% of its nerve cells are located in its arms. (Source: Mather, J.A., Anderson, R.C. and Wood, J.R., Octopus, The Ocean's Intelligent Invertebrate, Portland: Timber Press, Inc., 2010.)
E. The blue-footed booby, a bird found on the west coasts of Southern
California, Mexico, Central America and northern South America, has
special air sacs in its skull to protect its brain when diving. (Source:
Hearst, M., Unusual Creatures, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2012.)
_________________________________________________________
Help Neuroscience for Kids
_________________________________________________________
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)