Phi-TOPSS announces Brain Week Meetup and Brain Dissection at Regional Conference!

In honor of BRAIN WEEK (information from the DANA Foundation can be found here) being held March 14-20, Phi-TOPSS introduces a new workshop, "THE BRAIN" with Dr. Brian Balin of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM).

Special thanks to the American Psychological Association and TOPSS and the American Psychological Foundation for providing a grant for this workshop.

Dr. Balin's research is focused mainly on Alzheimer's, but he will discuss other neuroscience topics as well.

If you want a hand-on workshop where a human brain will be dissected as well as FREE materials to support your teaching of Neuroscience...this workshop is for you. It is FREE, but only for psychology teachers.

The event will be held on Saturday, March 19th at Penn Manor High School in Millersville, PA.

Check out more info or register here

Contact Maria Vita for more information

--- Posted by Amy Ramponi

Share

Lawrence University (Appleton, WI) hosts Lecture Series on Intersection of liberal arts and neuroscience

MORE EXCITING PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDWEST! 

From blogs.lawrence.edu : 

The intersection between the liberal arts and emerging technologies that reveal new answers for the way the human brain functions will be the basis for a new speaker series at Lawrence University.

Over the course of the next eight months, five national experts will explore how brain research is connected to various areas of the liberal arts, including religious studies, music, art and literature.

Edward Vessel

The series, “Liberal Arts in the Century of the Brain,” will incorporate the interdisciplinary areas of neuroscience and cognitive science to create connections with other disciplines at Lawrence by examining questions such as whether the brain processes literary fiction differently than formula fiction or how perception, emotion and cognitive processing impact creative expression.

Edward Vessel, director of the New York University ArtLab and a noted research scientist at NYU’s Center for Brain Imaging, opens the series Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m in Steitz Hall of Science 102 with the presentation “Art and Neuroesthetics.”  A question-and-answer session follows. The event is free and open to the public.

The emerging field of neuroaesthetics uses neuroscience to study art to determine why certain works of art produce an emotional response. Through the use of neural imaging, Vessel will share recent research that focuses on understanding the basis for how people derive pleasure and inspiration from various art forms and how this may be related to learning, motivation and well-being.

What a great way to bring Neuroscience and the Science of Psychology to students, teachers (of all disciplines, but especially us Psychology lovers), and the general public.

The OCTOBER speaker is none other than Dr. Richard Davidson. For real. So exciting. He will speak at 11:10 on October 30th in the Chapel at Lawrence. No cost to the public. For more information on Dr. Davidson's amazing work, check out his website here. SO EXCITING. 

I'm so excited for all the amazing opportunities being presented for HS Psychology teachers in and around my state. Wonderful!

-- Posted by Amy Ramponi 

Share

Brain Games Episode Guides-One Document

Brain Games is our new favorite series in my classroom. My TAs watched all the episodes and did their best to identify the seasons, episode titles, and concepts mentioned. I am certain there are errors or omissions, but neither student has had AP Psych.

I finally had the chance to put the seasons together into one document. Click here for the Word document.

Season One
1.1 Pay Attention
1.2 Watch This!
1.3 Remember This!

Season Two
2.1 Focus Pocus
2.2 It's About Time
2.3 Motion Commotion
2.4 Don't Be Afraid
2.5 Power of Persuasion
2.6 What You Don't Know
2.7 Battle of the Sexes
2.8 Seeing is Believing
2.9 You Decide
2.10 Use It or Lose It
2.11 Illusion Confusion
2.12 Liar Liar!

Season Three
3.1 Battle of the Ages
3.2 In Living Color
3.3 Laws of Attraction
3.4 Trust Me
3.5 Stress Test
3.6 What's Going on?
3.7 In Living Color
3.8 Mind Your Body
3.9 Follow the Leader
Bonus: Brain Games DIY

Season 4
4.1 Compassion
4.2 Addiction
4.3 Language
4.4 Risk
4.5 Battle of the Sexes 2
4.6 Superstitions
4.7 Food
4.8 Anger
4.9 Patterns
4.10 Intuition
Bonus: Digital Extras

If you want to purchase the DVDs, you can find them here:











You can buy Season 5 on video on demand now with Amazon Video or order the DVDs later when they are released.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

Psychology at the Movies: A Psychological Review

Quick post this morning.  I found this really cool article from the American Psychological Society that talks about a website that critiques psychological conditions from a scientific and neurological perspective (it includes amnesia and Finding Nemo).

Here is the article link:
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/obsonline/countering-neuromyths-in-the-movies.html

Here is the actual site, NeuroPsyFi:
http://www.neuropsyfi.com/

How cool a name is that!

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

Cheppewa Valley TOPSS Conference/Symposium Announcement

Greetings, Psych Teachers!

I am pleased to announce a new conference and training opportunity that may be of particular interest to folks in the Midwest, especially Wisconsin and Minnesota. With generous support and assistance from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, we’ve been putting together a FREE Chippewa Valley TOPSS Symposium for high school psychology teachers that will be held Saturday, February 28th at the UW-Stout Campus in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

The symposium has a neuroscience theme, in part because of UW-Stout’s tremendous access to biopsych resources and expertise. Highlights include hands-on use of EEG equipment in an EEG lab, demonstration of a brain specimen from the cadaver lab, keynote speaker Dr. Michael C. Mensink’s talk on “Educational Neuromyths: Separating Fact from Fiction in Teaching & Learning,” and a neuroscience lesson-share led by the fabulous Amy Ramponi. Click here to view the full schedule and speaker biographical information.

Although there is no cost, REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED and enrollment is limited to 32 participants (due to the size of the EEG labs/space issues). Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, so don’t delay! Click here to complete the online registration form and reserve your spot today.

Reasons you should attend:

• Did you see that this is FREE? Even your breakfast and lunch are included. Wowsa.
• Location: Menomonie, WI is just an hour’s drive from the Twin Cities, 2 hours from Wausau, WI, 2.5 hours from Superior/Duluth. Outside of the Midwest? Now’s your chance to experience Wisconsin in late February. Who would want to miss that?!
• You’ve always wanted to take a selfie while EEG electrodes are pasted to your head.
• It’s a Saturday, so you don’t even have to put in for a substitute or miss class.
• Meet other psychology teachers from the area! Really, we’re very nice people.
• GET FREE STUFF! There will be door prizes! Because of the impressive legwork of Amy Ramponi, who has contacted many textbook publishers and other parties to solicit donations, you are unlikely to leave without free goodies.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions: wellevk@chipfalls.org

Hope to see you there!

Virginia Welle

AP Psychology Teacher

Chippewa Falls Senior High School

715-726-2406 ex. 1136

wellevk@chipfalls.org <------- wbr="">-- Please note that my email address has recently changed. 

Share

The Brain From Top to Bottom: McGill University

Kent first posted about this site back in 2009, but it has been updated and is worth a visit for those teaching or learning neuroscience.  For an amazingly detailed site that has various levels and topics dealing with neuroscience, it would likely take hours (or a full-year course) to utilize all its content.

So check out: http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/avance.php if you would like to have a great resource for your kids doing research (or for you as well).



posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

Phineas Gage--What Really Happened?

Phineas Gage is the most well-known neuroscience patient in history.  Teachers of all topics like to trot out his picture and talk about his accident when the explosion drove the tamping iron through his skull. After that, he survived, but, as was indicated in the early Psychology/Brain videos, "Gage was no longer Gage."  I enjoyed reading the author's examination of the early press accounts and how the stories about Gage changed throughout time.  There is also a great deal of context added that many of us have not read about,

Today, Slate.com printed an extended essay discussing the history of the stories about Gage and how they have changed through the years, perhaps being influenced by neuroscientists personal preconceptions.  It is a fascinating read and possibly a great one for this post-AP exam time for those students who love both psychology and history.

The Slate link: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/05/phineas_gage_neuroscience_case_true_story_of_famous_frontal_lobe_patient.html?wpisrc=newsletter_slatest_morning_newsletter&mc_cid=a9e5dfa92a&mc_eid=924356369f

This photos below are ones I had not seen before.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

ASAP Science Videos

One of my students, Frankie, has been on me for weeks to check out as series of videos on YouTube.  I finally did and wanted to share them with you.  They call themselves "ASAP Science."  This is the link to their channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/AsapSCIENCE.  They are similar to the RSA Animates videos, only dealing with various science topics, including many in psychology.  There are so many ways to use them, whether it be as attention grabbers, resources for topics we have no time for, or as research ideas.  Great stuff either way.

They have many videos covering many topics we teach--here are a few:












posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

Neuroscience Haiku--Poetry in Psychology

Brain plaques and tangles

Memory loss, dementia

You are someone else.

This is but one of many haikus that Eric Chudler (from Neuroscience for Kids fame) wrote for his new book, The Little Book of Neuroscience Haiku.  This book combines my love of the brain and love of words and poetry in such an enjoyable and informational manner.  You can use these Haikus as topic or class starters, as clarification, or as a lesson in itself about a term.  Each poem is accompanied by an explanation and cover a wide variety of neuroscience topics.  Chudler also uses humor, puns, and straight learning in his poems.  While I like them all, here are a few of my faves.

Fresh neurons arise

Call it neurogenesis

New tricks for old brains.

EEG awake

Muscles paralyzed, eyes move

Paradoxical.

Tyrannosaurus

A very large stressed reptile

You're a nervous rex.

Strange homunculus

Little man inside the brain

My, what large fingers.

Large, small nerve fibers

Melzack, Wall control theory

Closed gate, reduced pain.

Do get this book--it's a great addition to your arsenal of classroom teaching tools.



For some context, here is Wikipedia's entry on haikus in English:

A Haiku in English is a short poem which uses imagistic language to convey the essence of an experience of nature or the season intuitively linked to the human condition.^[1] It is a development of the Japanese haiku poetic form in the English language.
Some of the more common practices in English include:

• use of three lines of up to 17 syllables,^[1] traditionally in "5–7–5" form.^[a][2][3]

• allusion to nature or the seasons.^[4]

• use of a caesura or kire represented by punctuation, space, a line-break, or a grammatical break^[1] to compare two images implicitly.

Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

Big Think and Psychology Resources

For some time now, I have been receiving regular emails from a web site called "Big Think."  While the site contains content ranging from economics, technology, style, culture, history, and more, it also contains neuroscience, psychology, and identity.

Like TED, the site contains videos from experts, but they are more individual and up-close.  These videos typically occur within longer blogs related to a variety of topics, the best of which relate to psychology and neuroscience.  I will link to some favorites below.  Because the videos are short, they can be wonderful additions to what we do in the class, to have another person (read: expert) explain an idea that we'd like to get across to our students.  Additionally, the content creates a wonderful little professional development opportunity for we teachers.

Science and Technology Link Page
Brain Bugs: Hallucinations, Forgotten Faces, and Other Cognitive Quirks (with V.S. Ramachandran)
How ADHD Affects the Brain
This is Your Brain During Orgasm
Your Storytelling Brain (with Michael Gazzaniga)



There are so many other stories and content that are fascinating, I recommend taking some time to explore.  It is well worth it.


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

Infant Brains and Teenage Brains--Two New Articles

This weekend has been a boon for neuroscience articles.  Below are a couple of articles that we could use in our classes related to development and the human brain.

1)  National Geographic--The Teenage Brain

Printable version of the article
The article begins by asking rhetorical questions about our teens and their decision making process.  The article also deals with a cross-cultural/historical mention of adolescence and its tempering effect on behavior.  The article includes an excellent overview of brain development, including myelination.  Very nice article--but what else would one expect from National Geographic.


2)  The second article comes from NPR--the article describes a book and interview with the authors of Welcome to Your Child's Brain with an article entitled "How to Help Your Child's Brain Grow Up Strong."


The NPR article also discusses brain development, but highlights what infants are capable of which is considerably more than previously thought.  Help a child develop self-control is a highlight of both the book and article. It's another good read.  Also, in the left column of the article are links to other brain books and authors.


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a short entry about David Eagleman appearing on the Colbert Report.  After having delayed the purchase of his book, I did finally buy it.  And was it ever worth it.  His writing style is so engaging I could first imagine reading portions of it to my classes.  He mentioned so many demonstration-style activities that I started marking the book up to be able to use or remind myself of these great ideas.

The content of the book examines the premise that reality is not what the conscious mind tells us it is.  He explains how "processes under the hood" are going on in our various biology-based systems and that our "conscious choices" may not exactly be that, but rather due to some underlying mechanism that we are unaware of.

No matter if you like the neuroscience books, you will like this book.  I encourage you check it out--or at least share it with one of your students and get a more detailed book review.


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

New Society for Neuroscience Website--

The Society for Neuroscience has created a wonderful resource that could potentially be utilized by those of us who can get our kids to the internet or for use during snow days or other cancellations.  It could also be used in a webquest.  Wonderful name as well:  "NERVE: Virtual Encycloportal."  I do believe they have engaged in creating a new word, a neologism. 

After the welcome page, the user is directed to this page where there are links to various themes including addiction, anatomy of the brain, and much more as you can see from the graphic on the left.

Each theme has numerous links to other resources that provide an incredible wealth of information and graphical representation of each topic.  One could literally spend days examining all the sites.

In fact, I will be starting my background research for my neuroscience, mental health, and sensation and perception units from this page.  There are just so many incredible resources. 

Do take the time to visit the site and search through the topics. 

Core Concepts in Neuroscience is a booklet that is downloadable for teachers and students to use.  Not only is there the booklet, but there is a short PowerPoint that you can download.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

Neuroscientist David Eagleman on Colbert Report on 7/21/11

I was catching up on some television watching when I discovered this little nugget.  Dr. David Eagleman has written the book, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain which examines the various processes that occur without the conscious mind being aware.  The reviews on Amazon are mixed, but for those of us who are not in the neuroscience field, it could be a good read.  In the interview, he comes across as a younger, cool, hip and bright neuroscientist.  He does not come off all like the stereotypical stodgy scientist image.  It's a short, fun interview.  Who knows, it may just make a student interested in the brain.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
David Eagleman
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Share

Falling in and Out of Love

One of the daily emails I receive is called Delancey Place.com.   Each day, an excerpt from a book or magazine is highlighted--the topics vary widely.  This week, they are doing a series on love.  Every semester, my students ask me about falling in and out of love.  I know have my answer thanks to this find from  Delancey Place.  Here is the excerpt:

12/28/09 to 1/1/10: The Delanceyplace.com Week of Love!!!

In today's encore excerpt - the neural and chemical basis of love. Why doesn't passionate love last? - because we develop a chemical tolerance:

"Anthropologist Helen Fisher ... has devoted much of her career to studying the biochemical pathways of love in all its manifestations: lust, romance, attachment, the way they wax and wane ... [In her studies] when each subject looked at his or her loved one, the parts of the brain linked to reward and pleasure - the ventral tegmental area and the caudate nucleus - lit up. ... Love lights up the caudate nucleus because it is home to a dense spread of receptors for a neurotransmitter called dopamine ... which creates intense energy, exhilaration, focused attention ... [thus] love makes you bold, makes you bright, makes you run real risks, which you sometimes survive, and sometimes you don't. ...

"Researchers have long hypothesized that people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have a serotonin 'imbalance.' Drugs like Prozac seem to alleviate OCD by increasing the amount of this neurotransmitter available at the juncture between neurons. [Researchers] compared the lover's serotonin levels with those from the OCD group and another group who were free from both passion and mental illness. Levels of serotonin in both the obsessives' blood and the lovers' blood were 40 percent lower than those in normal subjects. ... Translation: Love and mental illness may be difficult to tell apart. ...

"Why doesn't passionate love last? ... Biologically speaking, the reasons romantic love fades may be found in the way our brains respond to the surge and pulse of dopamine ... cocaine users describe the phenomenon of tolerance: the brain adapts to the excessive input of the drug ... From a physiological point of view, [couples move] from the dopamine-drenched state of romantic love to the relative quiet of the oxytocin-induced attachment. Oxytocin is a hormone that promotes a feeling of connection, bonding."

Lauren Slater, "Love: The Chemical Reaction," National Geographic, February 2006, pp. 35-45

Share

Scientific American--Recent Articles

Scientific American has been rife with articles about psychological topics of late. In addition to the usual in Scientific American Mind, recent articles deal with cognitive enhancers, depression, blushing and more.

Depression's Evolutionary Roots
Why Does Music Make Us Feel?
Girl Brain, Boy Brain
Why We Blush: The Social Purpose of Showing Embarrassment
A New Vision of Teaching Science
Smile: It Could Make You Happier

I am such a fan of these two magazines. They highlight current research as well as give us potential examples of nearly everything we do within our psychology classes. If you are not already a subscriber, I recommend it. Otherwise, keep up with the news with what they post online.

Share

Animated Tutorials: Neurobiology/Biopsychology

Sumanas Inc has created a number of animations to help explain the basics of neurobiology/biopsychology. A complete list of animations can be found below.

Please be aware some of the animations need the Adobe Shockwave plug-in which can be downloaded at Shockwave. Intel-based Macintoch users should be sure to read the special TechNote regarding the Shockwave Player.

The neurobiology/biopsychology page can be found below or at http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/neurobiology.html.
To examine the complete set of animations from Sumanas Inc. go to http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animation.html

Neuronal Development	Synaptic Transmission
The Action Potential	Electrical Signaling in Neurons
Sensitization in Aplysia	The Voltage Clamp Method
AMPA and NMDA Receptors	Sound Transduction
The Vestibular System	Visual Pathways in the Human Brain
Receptive Fields in the Retina	Reflex Arcs
Receptors of the Skin	Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Share

Exploring the Mind of a Serial Killer

TEDTalks is an excellent intellectual series highlighting scientists and their research. Their website is http://www.ted.com/

I subscribe to their iTunes feeds and came across a six minute talk by Jim Fallon, a neuroscientist with a fascinating family history.

Where do serial killers come from? Nearly all out students ask us and want to know. Now, the talk is on the website and includes genetic, epigenetic, environmental factors as potential causes. He shows brain scans of people based upon double-blinded research he did. Fascinating and brief. Perfect in our short attention-span world.

Share

Psych in the news

"Patients often have difficulty getting the help they need — partly because therapists tend to regard borderline patients as manipulative and demanding of an inordinate amount of time and attention." A nice column in the NYT by Jane Brody on borderline personality disorder. Questions can be left for a BPD expert here and she'll provide answers to some of them next week.

"I am not trying to say cats are stupid, just they are different." A British researcher finds cats none too bright in her little tests. (No word as to whether she was clawed to death shortly after publishing her findings.)

Even the world’s best pros are so consumed with avoiding bogeys that they make putts for birdie discernibly less often than identical-length putts for par, according to research by two Wharton School professors.

Is alcohol really good for you? A nice causation v. correlation piece.

One of the most celebrated findings in modern psychiatry — that a single gene helps determine one’s risk of depression in response to a divorce, a lost job or another serious reversal — has not held up to scientific scrutiny, researchers reported Tuesday.

Really, I swear this one will work! The next big weight-loss craze involves sprinkling stuff on your food to enhance the smell and taste ... so you eat less.

But now researchers are beginning to unearth clues as to how savants' formidable brains work, and that in turn is changing our view of what it means to be a savant. Also, see this related link of art done by savants (like the one at the top of this post).

How does language shape thinking? Great essay here by a Stanford prof whose research finds evidence for the old (and new again?) Whorf hypothesis.

Finally, I just found this (thanks to the fabulous Mindhacks) and haven't had a chance to check it out -- so please, if you do, leave your thoughts in the comments! -- but here is Weird Al and Al's Brain, a 3-D Journey into the Human Brain. (P.S. I love the t-shirt below if anyone's looking for the perfect birthday present ...)

Share