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A Final Brain Assignment

After viewing the PBS video about mirror neurons, choose one of the following class activities:

Option #1

Mirror Neurons - A Social Experiment

In the PBS video we saw a social experiment in which empathic facial responses were exhibited by people watching a person carrying a precarious stack of boxes. Design a similar experiment in which one person displays an action or behavior which you think may elicit an empathic response from unknowing observers. Here are some guidelines:

  1. One person in your group should be the “actor”.
  1. One or two people should be the “response recorders” and will note the responses of the unknowing observers.
  1. Decide upon a subtle action or behavior which is likely to elicit a response from unknowing observers but which will NOT be ultimately disruptive or traumatic (for example, you may NOT yell “Fire!” or pretend you are seriously ill!) You MUST get teacher approval before performing your action or behavior.
  1. Create a formal observation chart which allows response recorders to discretely note the responses of the unknowing observers. For example, you may choose to note facial expressions, verbal expressions, body language, amount of glancing, degree to which someone “breaks stride” in the hallway, etc. You may also want to note the age range of the observer.
  1. When you have completed your experiment you may either write a minimum one-page lab report using standard lab report guidelines, create a PowerPoint using lab report guidelines, or you may prepare a three-minute research talk for the class which still follows Purpose/Procedure/Results/Conclusion format.
  1. In your conclusion, consider what your results tell you about life in the Middle School at Park. What do mirror neurons have to do with the Rule for Community Living? Use the keywords brain, activation, mirror neurons, empathic response, expression.

This is a great choice for kinesthetic learners and those who like designing experiments.


Option #2 - Concussions and Sports Safety

·  Read the article “A Dozen Athletes To Leave Their Brains To Concussion Study” from the September 24, 2008 issue of the New York Times.

·  After reading the article, use the links on the website to learn more about chronic traumatic encephalopathy. There are paper resources as well.

·  Your task is to create an advocacy tool which advocates for awareness, understanding and prevention of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

·  For example, you could create a poster, PowerPoint, video, etc, focusing on things like injury prevention for Middle Schoolers, answering common questions Middle and High Schoolers have about brain safety during sports, advocating for change within the school, etc. Or you could write a letter to the NFL Commissioner, the NCAA, the athletic director of your favorite college team, your own rec league coach, etc.

·  Keywords to be used include neurons, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and the names of regions of the brain you think are implicated in CTE based on what you have read.

Option # 3 - Get the Lead Out – Advocating for Lead poisoning awareness

·  Read the article entitled “Lead tied to Criminal Behavior” from the May 28, 2008 Baltimore Sun.

·  After reading the article, visit the website for the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning linked to the course website.

·  Your task is to create an advocacy tool which advocates for awareness, understanding and prevention of childhood lead poisoning.

·  For example, you could examine the ideas on the CECLP website and choose to do something like contact a local elected official and urge them to sponsor or support legislation that will help end childhood lead poisoning. Or you might create a poster, PowerPoint, video, etc, raising awareness about lead poisoning and its harmful effects on individuals, families and our entire society.

·  Keywords to be used include specific areas of the brain affected by lead poisoning and specific skills and behaviors affected by lead poisoning.

Both #2 and #3 are great choices for those who enjoy reading and who want a chance to practice advocacy and contact people outside the Park community.

Option # 4 – Multitasking…or not??

·  Go to the course website and choose the link called “Think You’re Multitasking? Think Again.” from NPR

·  Listen to the original radio broadcast (originally broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition on October 2, 2008).

·  Read the story on the website as well.

·  Look at the images on the website as well, and click to explore the interactive activities, including the brief video.

·  You may also do the same with the other stories from NPR; they are the second and third parts of a series on multitasking.

·  You may also read the article called “System Overload” from the December 1, 2006 issue of Current Science.

·  Design a quick experiment you could lead your classmates in which would test their ability to multitask.

·  Lead the class in your experiment and be prepared to lead a discussion which relates the experiment you designed to the experiment described in the NPR story. Do the results match? And what do the results tell us about the way our brains are wired to function?

·  Keywords you will use as you lead class include frontal lobes and executive system. Also try to include the names of other brain parts that are implied but are not specifically named in the NPR story.

This is a great choice for people who’d like to work on developing excellent skills in planning and leadership.

Option #5 - He said, She said:

Gender differences in the brain?

·  Read the three resources, available in paper and on the course website, about some recent studies about how brains might differ between males and females.

·  Your task is to present your findings in any creative way you choose. This can be a poster, a skit, a movie, a PowerPoint, etc.

·  Keywords should include specific areas of the brain that studies suggest may be different (or similar?) in males and females.

This choice is here for the many people who mentioned interest in this topic in their journal responses earlier this year.

Option #6 – ADHD and neurotransmitters

·  Use the three electronic resources from the course website (slideshow, website, and webpage with audio clip) to learn more about how Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is being treated at the neurotransmitter level in the brain.

·  You should tell us what ADHD is, how it’s thought to work in the brain, and how it’s being treated at the neurotransmitter level.

·  Your task is to present the information in a way that makes these new studies clear to anyone – not just 8th graders who already know a lot about the brain and neurons. This probably means that a visual presentation with clear illustrations is necessary.

·  Keywords should include neuron, synapse, neurotransmitter, dopamine, etc.

This choice is here for the many people who mentioned interest in this topic in their journal responses earlier this year.

Option #7 – This is your Brain at Costco

·  Begin by reading (or re-reading) pages 200 to 203 from Jonah Lehrer’s How We Decide, in which the author explains the battle that rages in our brains whenever we go shopping.

·  In the reading, Lehrer describes how merchants manipulate the design of their stores to “trick” our brains and make it more likely that we will spend money and buy their products. Make sure you can clearly identify the parts of the brain involved in shopping decisions.

·  You have three tasks:

·  In class, visit some of the shopping websites linked to the course website, or visit similar websites, approved by your teacher. Find evidence that supports Lehrer’s assertion that merchants are “manipulating” our brains in the way that Lehrer suggests. Whose website is really manipulative? Whose website might not be?

·  Outside of class, take at least one visit to a place like Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s, or some other “warehouse” kind of shopping environment. An average mall store won’t work for this activity. Document your visit with photographs or video. Again, find evidence that supports Lehrer’s assertions of “brain manipulation”.

·  Present your findings in a brief but clear presentation (video or PowerPoint will probably work best) that clearly connects the Lehrer reading, what you see on the shopping websites and what you saw or experienced during your visit.

·  Keywords include the brain regions mentioned in the Lehrer text.

This is probably the most dangerous choice; it sounds “fun” and “easy” and is probably the hardest to get “right”. You must clearly relate your web browsing and live visits to the reading. If you don’t….