How Alcohol Alters the Brain Overview and Standards
Overview of How Alcohol Alters the Brain Laboratory
In this lab exercise, students explore how the volume of the hippocampus varies between teens who drink and those who don't.
The "How Alcohol Affects the Brain" lab requires approximately 1-2 hours and is suitable for Grades 9-12 Biology or Microbiology students who have already taken human anatomy classes. Background and review materials on brain anatomy, cognitive testing, and imaging techniques are also included.
An online glossary defining neuroscience and imaging terms is also available.
Your students can best visualize and investigate this brain tumor with volumetric, or three-dimensional, imaging. A 3D viewer has been developed especially for this lab.
This lab serves as an opportunity for students to act as scientists and participate in the process of science as they extend their knowledge of how brain structures and functions can change depending on substance use.
Your students should keep in mind that
as intricate and varied as the volumetric brain images are, the insights into anatomical functions and the risk assessment decisions the students make are more important.
research into volumetric brain imaging is relatively recent and therefore rarely mentioned in textbooks. While working with these authentic images, students are closely following the footsteps of cognitive and imaging scientists.
National Science Education Standards (NSES) Met by this Lab
Science As Inquiry, (Content Standard A), Understandings about Scientific inquiry:
Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used.
Physical Science (Content Standard B), Structure of Atoms:
Radioactive isotopes are unstable and undergo spontaneous nuclear reactions, emitting particles and/or wavelike radiation. The decay of any one nucleus cannot be predicted, but a large group of identical nuclei decay at a predictable rate. This predictability can be used to estimate the age of materials that contain radioactive isotopes.
Physical Science (Content Standard B), Interactions of Energy and Matter:
Electromagnetic waves result when a charged object is accelerated or decelerated. Electromagnetic waves include radio waves (the longest wavelength), microwaves, infrared radiation (radiant heat), visible light, ultraviolet radiation, x-rays, and gamma rays. The energy of electromagnetic waves is carried in packets whose magnitude is inversely proportional to the wavelength.
Life Science (Content Standard C), The Cell:
Cell functions are regulated. Regulation occurs both through changes in the activity of the functions performed by proteins and through the selective expression of individual genes. This regulation allows cells to respond to their environment and to control and coordinate cell growth and division.
Science and Technology (Content Standard E), Understandings about Science and Technology:
• Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.
• Science and technology are pursued for different purposes. Scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural world, and technological design is driven by the need to meet human needs and solve human problems. Technology, by its nature, has a more direct effect on society than science because its purpose is to solve human problems, help humans adapt, and fulfill human aspirations. Technological solutions may create new problems. Science, by its nature, answers questions that may or may not directly influence humans. Sometimes scientific advances challenge people's beliefs and practical explanations concerning various aspects of the world.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives (Content Standard F), Personal and Community Health:
The severity of disease symptoms is dependent on many factors, such as human resistance and the virulence of the disease-producing organism. Many diseases can be prevented, controlled, or cured. Some diseases, such as cancer, result from specific body dysfunctions and cannot be transmitted.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives (Content Standard F), Science and Technology in Local, National, and Global Challenges:
• Science and technology are essential social enterprises, but alone they can only indicate what can happen, not what should happen. The latter involves human decisions about the use of knowledge.
• Individuals and society must decide on proposals involving new research and the introduction of new technologies into society. Decisions involve assessment of alternatives, risks, costs, and benefits and consideration of who benefits and who suffers, who pays and gains, and what the risks are and who bears them. Students should understand the appropriateness and value of basic questions—"What can happen?"—"What are the odds?"—and ''How do scientists and engineers know what will happen?"
Surgery Practice Overview and Standards
Overview of Surgery Practice Laboratory
In this lab exercise, students explore the intersection of medicine and imaging science by locating and diagnosing a brain tumor. They then virtually rehearse the needed surgery while assessing the risk of damaging critical adjacent structures to determine whether the operation is the indeed best option for the patient.
The "Surgery Practice" lab is divided into two parts. The first is this online tutorial, requiring approximately 50 minutes or one class period and suitable for Grades 9-12 Biology or Microbiology students who have already taken human anatomy classes. Background and review materials on brain anatomy and cancer are also included.
A glossary (PDF) is available here. [no, not yet -- almost done!]
Your students can best visualize and investigate this brain tumor with volumetric, or three-dimensional, imaging. Once they've worked through this tutorial, you can download the XX Neuronalyze software and instructional PDF so that your students can do the actual measurements shown in the tutorial and pursue inquiries and hypotheses that either you or they develop. These materials are available from the Science Approach store ( xxx ) for a small fee.
Both forms of the module serve as an opportunity for students to act as scientists and participate in the process of science as they extend their knowledge of the digestive and nervous systems.
They should keep in mind that
as intricate and varied as the volumetric brain images are, the insights into anatomical functions and the risk assessment decisions the students make are more important.
research into volumetric brain imaging is relatively recent and therefore rarely mentioned in textbooks. While working with these authentic images, students are closely following the footsteps of surgeons and imaging scientists.
National Science Education Standards (NSES) Met by this Lab
Science As Inquiry, (Content Standard A), Understandings about Scientific inquiry:
Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used.
Physical Science (Content Standard B), Structure of Atoms:
Radioactive isotopes are unstable and undergo spontaneous nuclear reactions, emitting particles and/or wavelike radiation. The decay of any one nucleus cannot be predicted, but a large group of identical nuclei decay at a predictable rate. This predictability can be used to estimate the age of materials that contain radioactive isotopes.
Physical Science (Content Standard B), Interactions of Energy and Matter:
Electromagnetic waves result when a charged object is accelerated or decelerated. Electromagnetic waves include radio waves (the longest wavelength), microwaves, infrared radiation (radiant heat), visible light, ultraviolet radiation, x-rays, and gamma rays. The energy of electromagnetic waves is carried in packets whose magnitude is inversely proportional to the wavelength.
Life Science (Content Standard C), The Cell:
Cell functions are regulated. Regulation occurs both through changes in the activity of the functions performed by proteins and through the selective expression of individual genes. This regulation allows cells to respond to their environment and to control and coordinate cell growth and division.
Science and Technology (Content Standard E), Understandings about Science and Technology:
• Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.
• Science and technology are pursued for different purposes. Scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural world, and technological design is driven by the need to meet human needs and solve human problems. Technology, by its nature, has a more direct effect on society than science because its purpose is to solve human problems, help humans adapt, and fulfill human aspirations. Technological solutions may create new problems. Science, by its nature, answers questions that may or may not directly influence humans. Sometimes scientific advances challenge people's beliefs and practical explanations concerning various aspects of the world.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives (Content Standard F), Personal and Community Health:
The severity of disease symptoms is dependent on many factors, such as human resistance and the virulence of the disease-producing organism. Many diseases can be prevented, controlled, or cured. Some diseases, such as cancer, result from specific body dysfunctions and cannot be transmitted.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives (Content Standard F), Science and Technology in Local, National, and Global Challenges:
• Science and technology are essential social enterprises, but alone they can only indicate what can happen, not what should happen. The latter involves human decisions about the use of knowledge.
• Individuals and society must decide on proposals involving new research and the introduction of new technologies into society. Decisions involve assessment of alternatives, risks, costs, and benefits and consideration of who benefits and who suffers, who pays and gains, and what the risks are and who bears them. Students should understand the appropriateness and value of basic questions—"What can happen?"—"What are the odds?"—and ''How do scientists and engineers know what will happen?"
Student assessment
Some suggestions for additional and alternative student assignments include:
Write a patient case study. Include a description of the patient, the diagnosis, the prognosis before surgery, your justifications for doing/not doing the surgery. Be sure to describe the role that volumetric imaging played in your decision.
Make a either a static illustration or an animation showing the tumor and adjacent structures that would be affected by the surgery. Be sure to include the function of each structure.
Write a research paper on the consequences of a XX brain tumor.
Write a report on available career possibilities relevant to brain surgery and medical imaging.
ENFF Overview and Standards
Overview
In this lab exercise, students explore the nervous system that controls digestion, and, in particular, the form and function of neurons in the gut. The enteric nervous system (ENS), which is the “brain” for the digestive system, consists of a vast number of diverse neurons whose functions are determined by their form.
The lab is divided into two parts. The first is this online tutorial, requiring approximately 50 minutes or one class period and suitable for Grades 9-12 Biology or Microbiology students who have already encountered the digestive process and the central nervous system. Background and review materials on the digestive process and neuron structure are also included.
A glossary, in PDF form, is available.
Students can best visualize and investigate these neurons with volumetric, or three-dimensional, imaging. Once they've worked through this tutorial, you can download the Neuronalyze software and instructional PDF so that your students can do the actual measurements shown in the tutorial and pursue inquiries and hypotheses that either you or they develop. These materials are available from the Science Approach store ( xxx ) for a small fee.
Both forms of the module serve as an opportunity for students to act as scientists and participate in the process of science as they extend their knowledge of the digestive and nervous systems.
They should keep in mind that
as intricate and varied as the volumetric neuron images are, the insights on neuron function that can be inferred from their structure are more important.
research into the enteric nervous system is relatively recent and therefore rarely mentioned in textbooks. While working with these authentic images, students are closely following the footsteps of neurogasteroenterologists and imaging scientists.
For more advanced, Honors, or AP students, the Further Exploration [not yet available] section includes opportunities for deeper analysis and investigation of more images.
Science Standards - National National Science Education Standards
Science As Inquiry, (Content Standard A), Understandings about Scientific inquiry: Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used.
Life Science (Content Standard C), The Cell: Cells have particular structures that underlie their functions. Every cell is surrounded by a membrane that separates it from the outside world. Inside the cell is a concentrated mixture of thousands of different molecules which form a variety of specialized structures that carry out such cell functions as energy production, transport of molecules, waste disposal, synthesis of new molecules, and the storage of genetic material.
Life Science (Content Standard C), The Behavior of Organisms: Multicellular animals have nervous systems that generate behavior. Nervous systems are formed from specialized cells that conduct signals rapidly through the long cell extensions that make up nerves. The nerve cells communicate with each other by secreting specific excitatory and inhibitory molecules. In sense organs, specialized cells detect light, sound, and specific chemicals and enable animals to monitor what is going on in the world around them.
Understandings about Science and Technology (Content Standard E): Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.
Student assessment
Some suggestions for additional and alternative student assignments include:
Write a screenplay for the musical "Neurons Go To Broadway." Assign roles, and be sure to design costumes whose form is closely related to the character's role. Include a list of needed props (food items as they move through the system, labels/costumes for the players, etc.). Perform the play.
Write a report on “The role of the enteric nervous system in digestion.”
Make a drawing showing how these neurons interact.
Write and sing a song about the enteric nervous system to the class.
Draw a timeline showing the events of digestion listed on page 15 and which neurons are affected.
Write a research paper on the consequences of a malfunctioning ENS. Students could consider an incomplete or damaged ENS. Examples: Hirschsprung’s disease (megacolon), Chagas’ disease. A valuable resource is Michael Gershon’s book, A Second Brain.
Write a report on available career possibilities relevant to neurogastroenterology.
Data Providers, Advisors, and Developers of Neuronalyze
• Joseph Szurszewski, Ph.D. and laboratory staff, Department of Physiology and and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn.
• Richard A. Robb, Ph.D., Scheller Professor in Medical Research, Professor of Biophysics and Computer Science, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
• Dennis Hanson, Biomedical Imaging Resource, Mayo Clinic
• Alan G. Larson, Biomedical Imaging Resource, Mayo Clinic
• Philip Schmalz, Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic
• Simon Gibbons, Ph.D., Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic
Expert Reviewers
Content/Pedagogy Advisors
• Frances Coleman, Ph.D. - Phase I
Commercialization Advisor
• David Heller, Carolina Biological Supply Company
Evaluation
Judy Kelley - Evaluator - WTER
Consultants
Bill Beaver - Programmer
Pilot testing, review - Phase I
Don Adams, Vail High School, Vail, AZ
Sandy Cherniss, South Texas Rural Systemic Initiative
Anil A. Chopra, Latin School, Chicago
Brad L. Dalton, Astoria High School, Astoria, OR
Deb DeYoung, Mayo High School, Rochester, MN
Sonia Ellsworth, Century High School, Rochester, MN
Rebecca E Huot, North Eugene High School, Eugene, OR
Cheryl Moertel, Century High School, Rochester, MN
Dayna E Wilhelm, Lackey High School, Indian Head, MD
The VISION modules will be offered to students via short-term subscriptions to online e-learning modules.
The modules are hosted on Scence Approach’s e-learning site. Two modules, "Exploring Neuron Form and Function" and "Surgery Practice," will be offered in a hybrid presentation: a free online introductory tutorial followed by an inquiry-based, hands-on analysis of the topic that can be accessed for a nominal fee per student. The remaining three modules will feature online, fee-based hands-on inquiry and analysis. Payment of the fee to Science Approach or, for example, a university book store, would allow the student to access the materials for four months (the length of a typical semester).
The VISION modules are integrated with Grades 9-12 science standards.
Formative and summative assessments are built into the structure of the online materials, providing students with immediate feedback regarding the content of the module and their progress in understanding the material. Essay, short answer, multiple choice, true-false, image quiz, and open-ended numerical items are included. Responses to graded assessments can be e-mailed to faculty. Instructors who acquire a classroom license will have the option of keeping a gradebook. A moderated subscription option, with grading of course attempts and live interaction with students, is being considered.
VISION will be offered in Moodle, a course management system used by nearly 50,000 sites worldwide. Moodle is based on constructivist and constructionist pedagogical philosophies. These philosophies propose that people actively construct new knowledge as they interact with their environment and learn best when constructing something for others to experience. Accordingly, the VISION materials will be more than passive tutorials. They will support active creation of knowledge with tips, hints, and scaffolded accomplishment of complex analysis tasks.
Instructors will have the option of using the modules as standalone activities or, if a module is being used with 30 or more students, in “course mode.” As a stand-alone module, students’ results will be e-mailed to the instructor. In course mode, the module can be run as a Moodle course. The instructor will have access to the gradebook, forums, and other standard Moodle functionality.
The VISION modules will be offered to students via short-term subscriptions to online e-learning modules.