Essential links:
Watch…
- Video: Suzana Herculano-Huzel and the human brain
- Video: MRI-guided laser ablation surgery for epilepsy
Read…
- PBS: The history of the brain and our understanding of it
- The Guardian, 28•2•2012: A neat summary of Suzana Herculano-Huzel’s “brain-to-soup” method
- Smithsonian: An evolutionary view of the human brain and its development in our prehistory
- Simply Psychology: The mind-brain debate
- Neuroscience for Kids: Neuroimaging
- Database Link (Password: boxhill)
Activities
- Quiz on Suzana Herculano-Huzel’s presentation
- Kahoot on psychology, research and the brain: play with others | play alone | create an account
- Quiz on neuroimaging techniques
Handouts
- PDF: Timeline on the history of our understanding of the brain – note-taking
- PDF: Layout ideas and suggestions for your research investigation
- PDF: Starter ideas for your research investigation
Handy App
«Pocket» lets you save all your articles and studies to one place and revisit them later – like a reference list maker – Apple App | Android App | Mac | Windows & Chrome
The TED talk presented below by Suzana Herculano-Huzel, an eminent neuroscientist, should whet your appetite for our first major unit of study: the human brain.
This creative and determined scientist had heard many times that our brain contained about 100 billion neurons. Rather than take this figure for granted, especially as she had not been able to discover the original source of this assumption, she invented a systematic and innovative way to count the number of neurons in the human brain and indeed in the brains of other mammals. She used her findings to investigate the different kinds of mammalian brains and draw conclusions about what makes our brain different from that of other mammals – and yet similar to that of other primates.
After watching the video, try this quiz, which may jog your memory on the main points and even inspire you to a second viewing of the presentation.
An example of MRI-guided laser ablation surgery:
