Dr. Nadja Spitzer: BackyardBrains Sympathetic Nervous System Response.
We will use the Heart & Brain Spikerboxes to measure the electrical signal generated by the heart. We will then observe changes in heart rate elicited by activation of the autonomic nervous system which controls unconscious processes that keep our body systems in balance.
https://backyardbrains.com/experiments/Sympathetic_Nervous_System
Dr. Louise Risher: BackyardBrains Action Potentials
We will learn the principles of neuronal activity and how to record their activity using a SpikerBox and live cockroaches. We will talk about synapses and integrate the role of glia. We will also talk about how adolescent binge drinking disrupts synaptic signals.
https://backyardbrains.com/experiments/spikerbox
Dr. Chris Risher: Rubber Hand Sensory Illusion
We will be conducting the Rubber Hand Illusion, an experiment to illustrate sensory illusions. We will make you feel as if a fake rubber hand belongs to your own body by synchronously stroking your occluded hand and the fake one. This illusion helps scientists understand how our brains integrate sensory information (like sight and touch) to create our sense of body ownership, which may have practical applications in fields such as prosthetics and virtual reality.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3125296/
Dr. Brandon Henderson: Record Electricity From Your Muscles
We will record spikes in electricity from your own muscles. We will learn about muscle physiology through electromyograms, neuron/muscle communication, and will listen to the electrical impulses of muscles at rest and during contraction.
Experiment: Record Electricity from Your Muscles! (backyardbrains.com)
Dr. Cheyenne Tait: Brains and Metamorphosis
Caterpillars dramatically turn into butterflies – but both the caterpillar and butterfly had a functional nervous system. What happens to it during metamorphosis? We’ll consider this question while observing developmental stages of two organisms that go through metamorphosis: the fruit fly and the nudibranch sea slug. We will observe them with various microscopes, seeking to identify differences in their brain, nerves, and neurons as they develop.
Kelly Rutherford and Gretchen Prather: Neuroanatomy from a Neurorehabilitation Perspective
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Participants will explain the concept of neuroplasticity and describe how rehabilitation strategies support brain recovery and reorganization.
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Participants will describe how specific neurological disorders affect brain function and behavior, using clinical reasoning to trace symptoms back to affected brain regions.
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Participants will collaboratively solve case-based problems that integrate anatomical, functional, and rehabilitative perspectives on neurological injuries.