Psychology Department Acquires Plasticized Human Brain
香港六合彩开奖资料 is now one of two schools in the state to have a plasticized human brain for neuroscience education
Have you ever held a human brain in your hands? Thanks to 香港六合彩开奖资料鈥檚 recent acquisition of a real, plasticized human brain, 香港六合彩开奖资料 students will be able to explore the brain鈥檚 anatomy through hands-on experience.
Victoria Heimer-McGinn, neuroscientist and Assistant Professor of Psychology at 香港六合彩开奖资料, is the brains behind the brain. She was inspired to include a human brain in her lessons at 香港六合彩开奖资料 by her work as co-founder and director of the nonprofit .
Heimer-McGinn recently presented the brain at the , which traditionally takes place at 香港六合彩开奖资料 but was hosted virtually this year. In her presentation, Heimer-McGinn introduced participants to the plasticized brain over Zoom with a neuroscience lesson, then opened the floor to questions.
鈥淲hy does the brain have two hemispheres?鈥 鈥淗ow are musicians able to use their brains to precisely keep time?鈥 鈥淗ow much space is there between the skull and the brain?鈥
With the human brain as an impetus for curiosity, the questions flowed, and Heimer-McGinn was ready to answer. We had questions for Heimer-McGinn as well, who recently told us more about the Psychology Department鈥檚 new brain.
What is the purpose of this brain?
It鈥檚 really hard to teach anatomy of the brain with just a book. With a brain in your hand, all of a sudden, the class is really cool. Students want to come to class. They want to explore the brain, look at it, and wonder about the person it belonged to, their memories and their past. It鈥檚 an educational tool and an outreach tool, and I鈥檓 hoping that throughout the years we can use it for many other things.
How else do 香港六合彩开奖资料 students work with brains?
At Brain Week Rhode Island, we have an educational program where we go into schools 鈥 Pre-K to 12th grade 鈥 with human brains, and give the kids a fun anatomy lesson centered on the actual human brain. It obviously is ridiculously cool and we have everyone鈥檚 attention from the age of 5 to 18. We have a team of Roger Williams students that I have trained to go into classrooms and do this. I鈥檓 really excited about the Roger Williams team, because our students are so excited about this. This is a great experience for them to go out and do a lot of community work, which is something Roger Williams really prides itself on.
How is it preserved?
It is plasticized. After it鈥檚 removed, the first step is to put it in a formaldehyde solution that preserves it. This is the typical fixation you think of when you think of horror movies and body parts sloshing around in some sort of toxic chemical. What follows next is they immerse it in liquid resin that enters the cells and solidifies, like shellacking your nails. Have you heard of the show ? It鈥檚 the same technique they use. The great thing about that is you can actually touch the brain without dangerous chemicals getting on your hands, so it really is a great resource.
Is it all in one piece?
Right now, we have a whole brain. These brains are incredibly expensive, which is why it is so exciting that Roger Williams is the second place in the state that has one, actually. The hope is eventually we will get the whole set, but now it is the full brain.
Where did it come from?
You can鈥檛 buy one unless you are an academic institution. Human material is very sensitive and not easy to come by. A lot of brains come from Europe or Asia, and there is a really long waiting time and a very high price. We actually got ours from the United States, which we were happy about, since it鈥檚 a little more local.
What does this mean for the psychology department?
It gives us the opportunity to grow the neurosciences within the Psychology Department. We are thinking of putting together a Bachelor of Science degree in addition to the Bachelor of Arts degree we currently offer in Psychology, which will include a heavier component of sciences, including Neuroscience. It really echoes how important the neurosciences are becoming for Roger Williams, and that is important because there are a lot of students indicating their interest in neuroscience.