Brain Awareness Training Session 2014

BACGRAD709 Student Advisor:

Amie Severino

Outline

• What’s BAC?– Steering Committee– Links– Activities

• Activities in Depth

What is the BAC?

• An official graduate student organization– Steering committee– Faculty advisors– Grant funding

• Our general membership is comprised of:– Undergraduates– Graduate students– Post Docs– Medical students– Faculty and staff– Whoever is in this room

BAC Steering Committee

• Committee Coordinator• School Visit Coordinator • Brain Awareness Chair• Neuroflix Chair• Materials Management Chair– Lending Library Chair

• Public Relations Chair• Website/Internal Communications Chair

BAC Website Links

• http://bac.graduate.wfu.edu/• brainawareness.wikispaces.com/home

BAC Activities

• Multiple Outreach Initiatives– School Visits– Brain Awareness Week– Neuroflix– Learning lending library

School Visits

• Stations work best for younger students– We are using ~20-30 minute stations (K-8)

• 90 minute lectures with human and comparative brains keep highschoolers stable

• NEWish: School visit coordinator position for each visit– Bringing and returning materials (2 hours credit)

Human Brains Station

Other Stations

Visual Plasticity

Build-A-NeuronAnatomy Coloring

Two-PointDiscrimination

Before a Visit

• http://brainawareness.wikispaces.com/• Sign up for your sessions in advance• GRAD709 has priority• Use the handbook to plan and guide your lesson

(don’t show up totally unprepared)

At the Visit

• BE ON TIME and “ON TIME” IS 15 MINUTES EARLY

• Don’t panic, shadow someone if you’re new or uncomfortable

• Make sure you know who the visit coordinator is and return your materials to them

Visit Materials

• Station or Lecture Style– Stations Descriptions• Human and Comparative Animal Brains• Build a Neuron • Visual illusions and adaptation• 2 Point Discrimination• Anatomy Coloring

– Lecture• Powerpoint• Brains (Human and Comparative Animal)

Brain Awareness Week

• Community event• Children’s Museum• SciWorks• Stations Style Presentations for all ages

Neuroflix

• Free, community-oriented movie events hosted every semester by the BAC

• A film with neuroscience theme is selected to screen at a local venue

• A panel facilitates a discussion of the film afterwards– local informed community members, clinicians,

researchers• Adult oriented activity– 25 to 50 people per event attend

Lending Library

• “BAC in a box”o CNS and PNS modelso Human and animal

brainso Self-contained

educational resourceo Promotes interactive

learningo Teachers report

improved test scores

Sales Pitch: How this Benefits You

1. Sense of fulfillment 2. Better familiarity with topics in neuroscience3. Outreach/community service hours4. Teaching experience5. Networking o Within the universityo National conferences: SfN o Local industry and businesses, media

6. Resume/C.V. builder

GRAD 709 Course

Notes for GRAD709

• GRAD709 Course– 1.5 hours for this meeting– 10 hours required for K-12 visits

• 2 weeks notice of cancellation– Penalties for late changes (extra hours)

• More than 1 unexplained absence results in the U grade (Unsatisfactory)

BAC School VisitPowerpoint

Outline Brain Anatomy

Structures and functions Disorders caused by lesions Comparative Anatomy

Brain Function Cells in the brain How brain cells communicate

Drugs on the Brain Mechanisms of action Drug addiction

Or Lateral Sulcus

Structural Anatomy

Functional Anatomy

Executive Function

Functional Areas of the Brain

Language

WERNICKES AREA:LANGUAGE

COMPREHENSIONBROCA’S AREA:LANGUAGE

PRODUCTION

Wernicke’s Aphasia

Broca’s Aphasia

Two Interconnected Hemispheres

Split-Brain Phenomenon

Internal Structures of the Brain

Internal Structures of the Brain

VENTRICULAR SYSTEM

Comparative Anatomy:Structure = Function

Brain structure tells us a lot about how smart an organism is, how it

interacts with the world, etc.

RAT BRAIN

CAT BRAIN

PIG BRAIN

MONKEY BRAIN

Neurons: Cellular Communicators

DENDRITES

NUCLEUS

CELL BODY

AXON

MYELIN SHEATH

AXON TERMINALS

Electrical Signal Action Potential

Chemical Signal Neurotransmitter

Release Receptor Binding

Neurons: Cellular Communicators

Neurons Form Networks

Action Potential

Drugs of Abuse

How do drugs like nicotine and alcohol affect the brain? Why do these drugs produce a “high” while other drugs that act on the brain (such

as asprin) don’t have this effect?

Drugs Hijack Brain Pathways(endogenous vs exogenous ligands)

Example: Dopamine Reward Pathway

Cocaine Increases “Reward” Signal

Mechanisms (Simplified)

• http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse.html

What is tolerance?

Tolerance occurs when you are abusing a substance/drug and over time your sensitivity to that substance decreases.

Higher quantities of the substance/drug must be consumed in order to achieve the same effects as before.

For example, a person has to drink more alcohol to reach a “buzz” than when he/she started drinking for the first time.

What is physical dependence?

Dependent upon a substance/drug to have normal function.

Develop negative withdrawal symptoms when the substance/drug is no longer on board.

Withdrawal symptoms are basically the opposite of the drug effects Withdrawal from stimulants: depression, lethargy Withdrawal from depressants: anxiety, sleeplessness

What is a standard drink?

What is Moderate Drinking?

Women Men

Moderate Drinking (“Low Risk”) Per Day

3 or less 4 or less

Moderate Drinking (“Low Risk”) Per Week

No more than 7 drinks

No more than 14 drinks

Heavy drinking would be considered consuming more than the daily amount or weekly amount listed in the table.

Alcohol Effects: Chronic Use

Normal “Happy” Brain

Your brain wants to compensate

Alcohol on the Brain

Your brain wants to compensate

Alcohol Withdrawal

What is considered a binge?

Binge drinking is consuming so much alcohol that your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches 0.08g/dl or higher within 2 hours.

For women: 4 drinks or more within 2 hours

For men: 5 drinks or more within 2 hours

Withdrawal symptoms increase in severity after multiple relapses

Alcoholism can cause loss of brain matter over time

Impaired Brain Activity in Alcohol Dependence

Questions?