2Lesson. Outline 1.1. Lesson Plan. The OVERVIEW. Lesson 1.1: How can we study our brains? LESSON. Unit1.2

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1 Outline OVERVIEW Rationale: This lesson is intended to engage the students with this module on neurological disorders, as well as address the larger question: Why should we care about studying our brains? The lesson captures student interest by using Socratic discussion and short videos to investigate how scientists have studied the human brain and its functions throughout time. Objectives: Students will be able to describe how scientists have studied the brain throughout history. Students will be able to explain that by studying patients with different diseases or injuries we can learn about brain function. Students will be able to explain that we can also study how the brain behaves in everyday life to learn about brain function. Activities: This lesson includes a Socratic discussion along with short videos to get the students interested and engaged with the study of our brains. The lesson begins with an introduction to the Neurological Disorders module. The lesson continues by asking the students to work in small groups to answer three critical questions about brain function and the study of our brains. After a Socratic discussion about these questions and a brief history of brain science, the class concludes with short videos describing how scientists are currently investigation how our brains work. Homework: The students will prepare for tomorrow s brain dissection by completing a worksheet that has them research the function for the main brain structures they will identify during the lab. The Lesson Plan Lesson : How can we study our brains? 1. (20-25 min): Students work in small groups to answer three critical questions about brain function and study. Using the PowerPoint, these questions are discussed along with a brief history of brain science. 2. Activity (15 min): The PowerPoint includes two short videos describing how current research is investigating how the brain functions. 3. Wrap Up (7 min): Mind Control: Can we use what we know about brain function to control someone s mind? 4. Homework: Students prepare for tomorrow s dissection of the sheep brain by completing a worksheet that has them research the function of the primary areas they will be identifying in the lab. 2Lesson Unit Materials: 1. Printed Materials Homework worksheet 6

2 Welcome to the Neurological Disorders Module! Use this slide to give the students an overview of this module on Neurological Disorders. Since this module contains five units, each of which builds upon the others that came before it, be sure to guide the students through the goal of each unit to answer a new question about how our brains function. Slide 3 1. Slide 2 Use this slide to facilitate a discussion about the key questions we will be answering throughout the entire module. Have the students work in small groups to answer the questions presented on the slide. After giving the students 5 minutes to discuss these questions in small groups, lead the class in a Socratic discussion. Ask the students What does your brain do? This question is both simple and very complex. Students will likely be aware of the fact that our brains control all of the functions throughout our bodies. Our brains allow us to think, feel and interact with the world around us. Ask the students How do you know what your brain does? This question is a little more complex. Students might not have thought about how they know what they know about their brains. Students might respond that they know because they read about it, or saw something about it in a movie or documentary. Ask the students How could you study your brain? This question is probably one that the students haven t spent much time thinking about previously. Allow students to share some ideas, but at this stage, it s okay that the students might not have an answer 7

3 1. Phineas Gage Use this slide to share the story of Phineas Gage with the students. Tell the students Phineas Gage was an American railroad worker who is remembered now for his unbelievable survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head. This accident which happened in 1848 (long before modern medicine) destroyed the front left portion of his brain. Before the accident, friends described Gage as friendly and easygoing. However, after the accident Gage was no longer Gage. He was irritable and suspicious and was unable to control his temper. Gage has become one of the most famous patients in history because his case was the first to suggest a link between brain trauma and personality change. Phineas s accident (and behavior after) suggests that specific parts of the brain are responsible for specific functions. The fact that he survived indicates that the part of his brain that was destroyed wasn t necessary for him to live. Phineas s accident helped doctors to realize that the front portions of our brains are critical for our personalities and what we ll later refer to as executive functioning, which is basically a filter for the things you think, but know you shouldn t say, so don t. Phineas s accident destroyed this filter so he just blurted out whatever came to mind. Patient H.M. Use this slide to share the story of Patient H.M. Slide 5 Slide 4 Ask the students What can Phineas s accident tell us about the brain? Tell the students Henry Gustav Molaison, known as Patient H.M., was suffering from epilepsy. To treat his epilepsy in 1953, doctors removed portions of both his right and left brain just above the ears. After surgery which was successful in its primary goal of controlling his epilepsy - 8

4 1. Should you have difficulties playing it directly through the slide, the video file is included within the Materials Folder for this lesson. H.M. suffered severe anterograde amnesia: meaning that he couldn t make any new memories, but his long-term memories remained intact. (The students might be familiar with the movie Memento which tells the fictional story of a character with a similar condition and how he compensates for his lack of short-term memory.) Ask the students What can H.M. s condition 9 tell us about the brain and how it works? H.M. was widely studied because of what his case could tell researchers about how memory functions. By studying H.M. doctors learned that the area of the brain that was removed during surgery is critical for the formation of new memories. The students will learn later in this unit that this portion of the brain, called the hippocampus is critical for memory. (One hint to remember the function of this structure is to remember hippocampus - think college campus and much learning and memory happens there.) 2. Activity Can we only study the brain using cases of injury or disease? Use this slide to transition to the idea that while we can learn a lot about how the brain functions by studying patients with different injuries or disease, we can also learn a lot about the by studying our behavior through the use of modern technologies. Slide 6 Ask the students So far, we ve discussed what we can learn from studying patients with different injuries or disease, but is that the only way we can study the brain? No. That s certainly not the only way we can study the brain. Due to the advancement of technology, researchers now have a plethora of different tools to use to study the healthy brain. Show the students the embedded video clip of NOVA sciencenow about Magic and the Brain. The video clip is embedded in this PowerPoint slide, so you should be able to just click on the picture and it will play. The video is approximately 12 minutes long. Ask the students What can we learn about the brain from studying how magic tricks it? We can learn several things by studying how the brain is fooled by magic. First, we learn that the brain does not pay attention to everything that is sees. The brain focuses on specific things within any scene. We can also learn that the brain is guided to what to pay attention to by seeing what the magician is paying attention to we look where he looks. We allow him to direct our attention. 9

5 The homework worksheet is included in the Materials Folder for this lesson. 3. Wrap Up Mind Control: Can we use what we know to control someone else s brain? (1) Use this slide to explain the process of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) which is highlighted in the next and last video of this lesson. Use this slide to explain the process of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) which is highlighted in the next and last video of this lesson. Slide 7 Ask the students So, does this mean we can we control someone s mind? Not really. The mind encompasses so much more space than even the most powerful TMS can stimulate at any one time that it would be impossible to control someone else s brain entirely. The video does demonstrate that TMS can be used to disrupt the function of very specific areas of the brain. TMS thus works like a reversible injury to allow researchers to determine the function of specific brain areas. The Sheep brain dissection video is included in the Materials folder for this lesson. Tell the students Transcranial magnetic stimulation (or TMS for short), uses magnetic fields to control the electrical impulses of the brain. Depending on where the magnetic field is applied, you can disrupt or activate different brain functions. Mind Control: Can we use what we know to control someone else s brain? (1I) Show the students the embedded video clip of NOVA sciencenow about TMS and Morality shown on the next page. The video clip is embedded in this PowerPoint slide, so you should be able to just click on the picture and it will play. The video is approximately 4 minutes long Slide 8 Homework Worksheet: brain structures Tomorrow the students will dissect a sheep s brain. To prepare them for this lab, have them complete a homework worksheet that has them research the function of the primary brain structures that they will be identifying within the lab tomorrow. Additionally to prepare the students you may want them to watch the video of the sheep brain dissection. It is included in the Materials folder for this lesson. 10