MUSEUM HOSTS FIFTH ANNUAL "BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK"

More than 200 middle school students and senior citizens, separated by three generations, came together from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to learn about the brain and meet neuroscientists at the fifth annual Brain Awareness Week at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, held March 18-19, 2004. They were able to discover the various functions of the brain by visiting a variety of stations set up throughout the museum.

The stations were designed and operated by collaborating institutions called Partners In Education. This year's Partners In Education included Georgetown University, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., museum director, welcomed participants on both days, and introduced the program's three speakers.

"This program is a great opportunity for people of all ages to get a first-hand look at how the brain works," Noe said. "We are happy to host this program each year and hope that all participants leave with a greater knowledge about the brain and neuroscience as a field of study."

On the first day of the program, participants included more than 100 students from Takoma Park Middle School, located in Takoma Park, Md., Capitol Hill Day School and Ideal Academy, located in Washington, D.C., and 24 senior citizens from the Vienna, Va. community center. Participants visited seven stations that focused on particular aspects of and influences on brain function.

These stations were staffed by neurologists from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Museum staff also operated a station that focused on the museum's neuroanatomical collections.

Dr. Andrea Sawczuk from NINDS showed participants the relationship between the brain and eating at a station called "Eating: It's a Brain Thing." Sawczuk gave the seniors and kids strawberries, garlic, candy, and vegetables to demonstrate that smell and taste are both brain functions. "The brain lets us know what it likes and what it doesn't," said Sawczuk. "The relationship between the brain and eating is just one example of this. We hope that participation in activities like this will spark kids' interest in neuroscience as a future profession."

Another station allowed participants to simulate the effect of alcohol on the brain. Participants were given distortion goggles that altered their perspective and made it almost impossible to walk in a straight line. The students and seniors struggled to correctly answer questions about the brain's structure and function at a station called "Who Wants to Be an NIDA Neuroscientist?" A station called "Welcome to Roger's Party" allowed participants to see the effect of different kinds of lighting on the brain.

Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum's neuroanatomical collection, helped participants put on latex gloves and to handle sheep, horse, and human brains at a station called "Brain Museum." He also showed the students and seniors slides documenting brain disease and damage, and gave out calendars and tote bags as prizes for correctly answered questions. Other stations that explored brain function included "The Wonders of the Brain" and "Does Alcohol Really Affect the Liver and Brain."

Participants also listened to lectures given by Richard Nakamura, Ph.D., deputy director of NIMH and Donald R. Vereen, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., special assistant for medical affairs at NIDA. Nakamura gave a morning presentation called "Your Squishy Brain," in which he gave a brief overview of the different components of brain function, explained the process of neuron regeneration, and encouraged kids to wear protective head gear when riding their bikes.

"There are more cells in one person's brain than there are people on the earth," said Nakamura. "Even to duplicate the work of one brain cell, you'd need to have several computers. However, a brain can fall apart very easily when it doesn't have a skull to protect it. That's why you need to wear protective head gear when engaging in sports and athletics to make sure nothing damages it." Likewise, Vereen explained how different parts of the brain work together to create a cognitive whole. He also discussed the physiological aspects of addiction and recovery in an afternoon presentation called "The Science of Addiction." He stressed that understanding the scientific path to addiction is a necessary step to treating it.

"Years of research have taught us a lot about drug abuse and drug addiction," Vereen said. "Drug abuse limits complex activities inside the brain and translates to substandard cognitive activities. We need to understand what drugs do to the body instead of looking at addiction as a moral and embarrassing problem that should be ignored by society."

More than 50 students from St. Paul Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. participated during the second day of the "Brain Awareness Week" program. The students visited eight different stations that were staffed by Georgetown University, museum staff, Howard University, the Defense Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

A station called "Do You Remember" explained how a person is able to commit information to memory, while "Gross Anatomy and the Brain" illustrated how the different parts of the brain fit together. The DVBIC operated a station that focused on brain injuries and treatments commonly seen during times of war.

Kebreten Manaye, M.D., assistant professor of physiology and biophysics at Howard University, showed the students how the amount of sleep a person gets affects the brain at a station called "Sleep and Brain Disorders." Other stations included "Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound," "The Amazing and Adaptable Brain," "Alcohol and the Brain," and "Museum and the Brain."

The students also listened to a presentation given by Warren Lux, M.D., medical director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Lux explained the different parts of the human brain and compared human beings' cognitive capabilities with those of other animals.

"Unlike animals, humans are able to contemplate the future, even 10 or 15 years in advance," Lux said. "It's important to note this difference, because this ability makes the human brain and the study of it much more complicated. Studying the human brain allows for a much better understanding of why we feel and behave the way that we do."

"The Brain Awareness Week program allows younger and older people to learn more about the brain and how it works," said Janet Melson Burns, the museum's public programs coordinator. "Our goal in hosting the program is to foster interaction with scientists and other neurological professionals that ideally might inspire a greater interest in brain science. At the very least, everyone who participated learned something and had fun while doing it."

The museum is open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For information, call 202-782-2200 or visit the museum's website at www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum.