NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 19, Issue 3 (March, 2015)

____________________________________________________________
Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

In this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Neuroscience for Kids Drawing Contest
4. Book Review
5. Brain Awareness Week
6. Bloomin Brains Summer Camp
7. Neuroseeds Teacher Workshop
8. Media Alert
9. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
10. Support Neuroscience for Kids
11. How to Stop Your Subscription
____________________________________________________________

1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in February including:

A. February Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news192.html
__________________________________________________________

2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for March is "Searching for the Mind with Jon Lieff, M.D." at:

http://jonlieffmd.com/

Searching for the Mind is the blog of Dr. Jon Lieff, a psychiatrist who specializes in geriatric psychiatry and neuropsychiatry. The blog is a collection of articles arranged into nine different categories including Human Brain, Animals, Neuronal Plasticity and Where is Mind. Dr. Lieff publishes new entries several times a month so it is likely you will find an article that interests you. The February 15, 2015, article discusses the complex behavior of insects such as ants, bees and termites. To dive deeper into a particular topic, Dr. Lieff provides numerous book suggestions in the Resources section of the site.
__________________________________________________________

3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS DRAWING CONTEST

The NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS DRAWING CONTEST winners have been selected. A total of 307 drawings from four countries (USA, India, Romania, England) and 19 states were received. Some of the winning drawings are posted online at:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/contest15.html
__________________________________________________________

4. BOOK REVIEW

Birmingham, M., Tastes Like Music. 17 Quirks of the Brain and Body, Berkeley (CA): Owlkids Books, Inc., 2014 (40 pages).

For students in grades 3-6.

Developmental topographical disorientation. Amusia. Tetrachromacy. Prosopagnosia. Congenital anosmia. Strange words and phrases all explained by Maria Birmingham in her book about unusual conditions that affect the human body.

Of the 17 different conditions described in the book, 13 involve the nervous system. Learn what it is like to remember practically everything that happens to you every day (highly superior autobiographical memory). Find out why some people sleepwalk and why other people get lost in familiar places (developmental topographical disorders). Problems with hearing music (amusia), face blindness (prosopagnosia) and interpreting size (Alice in Wonderland syndrome) are also discussed. When you read about enhanced abilities such as supertasting, supercolor vision (tetrachromacy) and synesthesia, you might wonder what you are missing in the world around you. __________________________________________________________

5. BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is next month! I hope you will participate at your own school or in your neighborhood. For more information about BAW, visit the Dana Alliance and Society for Neuroscience web sites at:

http://www.dana.org/brainweek/

and

http://www.sfn.org/BAW/

Show your BRAINY spirit for BAW:

http://www.neuro4kids.com
__________________________________________________________

6. BLOOMIN' BRAINS SUMMER CAMP

There is still time to apply to the 2015 University of Washington Bloomin' Brains Summer Camp. The camp is part of my Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience program and it is designed for middle school students interested in the brain. Learn more about the camp and apply online at:

http://www.neuroseeds.org/home/2014-bloomin-brains-summer-camp
__________________________________________________________

7. NEUROSEEDS TEACHER WORKSHOP

You can call it a summer camp for teachers! Here at the University of Washington, we will hold a workshop for teachers August 3-7, 2014. 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/neuroseeds-teacher-workshop

This workshop is sponsored by my Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience program.
__________________________________________________________

8. MEDIA ALERT

A. The March/April 2015 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND includes articles about music and the brain, mental health and Toxoplasma gondii.

B. "How Animals Communicate Via Pheromones" by Tristram Wyatt (AMERICAN SCIENTIST, March-April, 2015).

C. "A Whole New World" by Rachel Gross (WIRED magazine, February, 2015) describes devices to restore the senses.

D. "Electronic Medicine Fights Disease" by Kevin J. Tracey (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, March, 2015) describes how stimulation of the nervous system could replace drugs for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.

E. TIME magazine (February 23-March 2, 2015) has a special health issue with "Get Your Head in the Game" by Jeffrey Kluger about how the mind can influence health and "Can Brain Games Keep My Mind Young" by Justin Worland about the possible benefits of cognitive games.
__________________________________________________________

9. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. Penguins lack sweet, umami and bitter taste abilities. (Source: Zhao, H., Li, J., and Zhang, J., Molecular evidence for the loss of three basic tastes in penguins, Current Biology, 25:pR141-R142, 16 February 2015.)

B. Humans have about 450 different types of olfactory receptors. (Source: http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/senses-and-perception/ articles/2015/making-sense-of-scents-smell-and-the-brain/)

C. The Institute of Medicine has proposed that "chronic fatigue syndrome" be renamed as "systemic exertion intolerance disease."

D. The last words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt were: "I have a terrific headache."

E. Australian author Colleen McCullough, who died at the age of 77 on January 29, 2015, wrote the novel "The Thorn Birds." Before McCullough became a full time author, she was a neuroscientist who did research at Yale Medical School.
_________________________________________________________

10. 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
_________________________________________________________

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
_________________________________________________________

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)