Download New Brain Information

http://nature-post.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html
Brain Information
Compiled by Peggy Wilber, M.Ed.
March 1, 2011
http://zenpundit.com/?p=3395 http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/biobooknerv.html
Brain Information – size
•Put your fists together –
that is the size of your brain!
•You brain weighs about 3
pounds and is the
consistency of warm butter
or soft yoghurt.
•It has 100 billion cells and
100 trillion connections!
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"Teaching is not just an art
anymore, it's a science."
http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/departments/csd/research/devel
opmental_cognitive_neuroscience/participate/fmri.php
-David Sousa
During the last twenty
years, researchers have
become able to “peek”
inside of active brains.
fMRI—watching a brain at work
Using fMRI and other types
of modern technology,
researchers gather
information while children's
brains are busy performing
cognitive and reading
activities.
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Brain Information – Activity
Myth—You use only 10% of your brain at a
given time.
FACT—Your brain is busy! It is helping
you to sit upright, digesting lunch,
and reading this sentence.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Brain-Facts
Some scientists believe that your brain
activates at over 90% capacity all the
time!
Brain Scan of Brain
Activity
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Brain Information – Connections
http://subrealism.blogspot.com/2010/01/human-connectome-project.html
Myth—Left-brained (dominant) people are more linear
and right-brained (dominant) people are more creative.
FACT—Brain scans show that learning tasks
activate numerous areas in both hemispheres
at the same time.
40% of the brain is made up of grey matter,
and 60% is made up of white matter – axons
that carry messages to neurons located
elsewhere in the brain.
Human Connectome Project –
showing brain connections
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http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2008/06/neurogenesis_drug_clinical_trial_antidepressant.php
Brain Information – New Cells
Myth—You are born with all the
neurons you will ever have.
Fact—In 1999, scientists proved that
human brains grow thousands of new
brain cells every day, throughout life!
Brains create new cells in the
hippocampus – a brain area
important for the formation of
memory. These cells migrate to
other parts of the brain.
Neurogenesis – new cells
grow in human brains
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Brain Information - Plasticity
Research shows that brain cells
physically change during
learning activities.
http://neurosynthesisarchives.wordpress.com/page/4/
-Brain cells respond to the
demands placed on them by the
environment (such as school).
-Nerves that “fire together,”
during practice activities, “wire
together.”
Practice and review makes our
students’ brain pathways get
faster and more efficient.
Brain cells respond to environment
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Brain Information - Intelligence
FACT—Your students’ I.Q. are not static. They can change due
to a number of factors.
http://wilderdom.com/personality/L4-1IntelligenceNatureVsNurture.html
Research shows that the more years that your students stay in
school, the better their I.Q. scores are. (Is that a surprise?)
Also, I.Q. scores have been rising during the last 100 years.
Flynn Effect – I.Q. rates have been rising
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http://magdalenanordh.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/motion-learning-andperformance-chapter-i-brain/
Brain Information - Complexity
Our students’ brains are complex and wonderful!
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http://www.interfaces.com/blog
Join our Round table discussion, on April 22,
to explore more about these topics and how
to best teach our students’ brains!
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