Animations about vision - the retina and visual pathways

Fantastic animations about the eye, visual processing in the retina and the pathways that visual information travels in the brain.

Pay close attention to the "center-surround" aspects of retinal processing it this first video.

This animation shows how the photoreceptors, bipolar and ganglion cells of the retina are organized in "center-surround" arrangements that allow "bottom up" processing of visual information to begin in the retina. 

http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/receptivefields.html



If a picture is worth a thousand words, an animation is worth way more. This animation really shows the visual pathway very well. Pay attention to how visual information is split in the Optic Chiasm and how it routs through the LGN of the thalamus as well as other areas specifically related to eye movement and the "biological clock" which controls circadian rhythms.

This excellent animation really explains how the visual information from the left and right visual fields makes its way to the right and left occipital lobes via the LGN of the thalamus. 

http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/visualpathways.html

Some songs and videos relating to the nervous system

Here are links to some songs you might find helpful as you study the nervous system.


This really slick song about the nervous system was sent in by Marilyn R - This should win the Grammy for best use of autotune in the service of neuropsychological knowledge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRwPMICvbT4


Video of the spinal reflex arc - showing afferent and efferent pathways
http://youtu.be/wLrhYzdbbpE

Good video about the action potential - shows lots of detail about how the action potential works to send the signal down the axon of a neuron. You might want to watch it a couple of times while going over your notes.
http://youtu.be/7EyhsOewnH4


Neuroscience for Kids is a site with lots of great stuff, much of which is at a simpler level than AP, but it can still be fun and help you with some of the basics. The Brain Chemical Song is a pretty good review of neurotransmitters (if you don't mind the "Old McDonald" tune.)
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/songs.html

The Neuron Song- Slim Brady ft. Melody Minaj is a rap that goes into some pretty good detail - you have to deal with some pretty bad recording techniques and some voices that could use autotune.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sn9C4G-mJM

You can follow along with the lyrics which were posted on the YouTube page.

Nuron Song by Slim Brady ft. Melody Minaj

CHORUS:
Just gonna stand there and tell you bout Neurons,
So you don't fail the class and become a moron,
Just gonna stand there and tell you bout Dendrites,
Axons, Myelin Sheaths, Synapses and the like,
And all the things alike.
---

I can tell you bout them Dendrites, the branching extensions of a neuron,
The lyrics of this song will tell you bout them and they're dead on,
What do they do? They receive messages from the last one,
Also, they happen to be connected to the Axon!

That's the extension of this whole thing,
I mean, come on, what else could, possibly bring,
The neural impulse, they are so cool, make me wanna sing,
The part that covers it, it is called the Myelin Sheath!

That part's function is to speed things up,
Another interesting things the all or nothing principle,
It basically says when a neuron fires,
It's either on or, there's no in between, I'm not a liar

So what I'm saying is go ahead, try as hard as you want,
Lift up your arm as fast as possible and flaunt,
The fact that when a neuron fires, it's on or off,
Seriously, making a song a bout neurons is tough..

CHORUS

And all the things alike

When you get sick, what do you turn to, is it medicine?
For the neuron the Soma keeps it healthy, and I kid,
You not, it keeps it firing faster than Edison,
The next topic of talk, is the Refractory Period!

Everyone needs breaks, so the neuron does too,
Right after it fires, just a second or maybe two,
Another aspect that just seems really cool,
Is Action Potential, I'll fill you in on the news!

That is what the charge is called, I kid you not,
That even thought the neurons never technically touch,
The signal does not stop, how is this possible you'll ask?
Why simply by the power of all the Synapse-

ses, they just fill in the gaps and,
chillin relaxin, sittin and passin, the charge along,
I really hope this song will let me pass or mom, 
will beat me to a pulp, is that really what you want Demars?

CHORUS

And all the things alike

Blog Assignment #3 - The Shoe/Hair/Height correlation project.

Reading Scatter Plots and Understanding Correlations.

In a comment to this post, please discuss each of the graphs below. Be sure to address the questions under each graph. Please don't copy the questions or number your answers, rather, you should write a paragraph or two in complete sentences so your reader knows what you are talking about. Be sure to sign in as "anonymous" but put your first name and last initial in the post so I know to whom to give the credit. If you have any questions please e-mail me. Review the "how to e-mail a teacher" post on my blog before you send your e-mail.(click on the graphs to enlarge)

I strongly suggest you write the comment in Word or another program and then copy and paste it into the comment section below. This way, if the comment doesn't go through or is accidentally deleted you'll have a record of your work. Please also remember that I have to approve all comments, so it may take a while for it to show up on the blog. You don't need to resubmit it over and over. 

What can we see from the above scatter plot of hair length vs. height? Is there a correlation? How strong is it? If so, is it positive or negative; strong or weak? What information about the students in our class does this graph give you? Are there a few "outliers" or extreme data points that seem unusual? If you throw them out of the data set what does the correlation look like? What other information would be helpful to interpret the data?

Above is the data we collected about our shoe sizes vs our heights. Can you see a relationship? Is there a correlation? If so, is it positive or negative? How strong is it? What about the person who is 160cm tall and has a foot that is 9cm long? Look at a ruler to see what 9cm looks like and explain what you think happened to cause that outlier. Does shoe size cause height to change? Does height cause shoe size to change? Does correlation imply causality - explain why or why not. 

Data Collection for Shoe Size / Hair Length Correlation Project

Use this form to enter your data.

Welcome to the School Year!

You have until Monday, Sept. 10th to finish the summer assignments. You can read the summer assignment sheet here.

Use your syllabus to make sure you are keeping up with the reading assignments. You should take meaningful Cornell Notes on every psych reading assignment. You can see a copy of the syllabus here. 

If there is a teachers strike you need to keep up with your reading...or even use your free time to get ahead. The AP Exam date will not change just because there is a teachers strike here in Chicago. 

Your Phineas Gage Review - Summer Assignment Part 2: Due Aug. 20

After you have read Phineas Gage and worked on the Phineas Gage Reading Guide Questions you should post your review of the book in the COMMENTS to THIS blog post.    (use the "comment" link below this post) 

Your comment should be a review of the book. A book review is a critical assessment of the book in which you share your opinions about the book and back up those opinions with examples from the book. Be sure to describe the story and the style of the book. 

Some questions you might want to think about as you write: What did you think of the book? What did you find most interesting? What are some new or surprising things you learned from the book? Why do you think Phineas was "lucky" or "unlucky?" Are there other texts (books, movies, etc.) that relate to the story of Phineas? Why or why would you not recommend it to a friend? 

As with the last blog assignment, I will not show the comments until the deadline so everyone has a chance to work on the assignment without being too influenced by other peoples' work. Do not re-send your post multiple times.

Please note: I will be out of town and mostly away from internet access from Aug.10 to Aug. 20 so I may not be able to answer questions you have during that time. Just do your best to follow the instructions. I will check e-mail as soon as I get back in town. If you're having trouble with the blog, just e-mail me your comment so you have evidence you completed it before the deadline. 

2012-2013 Summer Assignment Part 1 Due July 20th

Go to this link about the Ten Most Revealing Psychology Experiments and read through the summaries of all ten of them. 

Select one of the experiments that you think is interesting. Click on the link in the summary to start your research about that experiment. (the link to #3 is broken, but you can use this link to get started.) Read through the information and seek out other information online. There may be good YouTube videos or other sources you should investigate. You can also look up some of the experiments or the experimenters in your textbook. 

In your comment to THIS BLOG POST please do the following to complete the assignment:

1. Summarize the experiment. Include who did it, when they did it, where they did it, and what they did.
2. Explain the importance of the experiment to our understanding of human behavior. Why do you think the experiment is considered a valuable insight into the way people think and/or act?
3. Give one example of how the experiment can be applied to everyday life. You can use yourself or someone you know in the example, or make up an example that you think the experiment might apply to in normal life.
4. At the end of your post include all sources (full URLs, please) and sign the post with your first name and just the initial letter of your last name (for example: Phillip D.)
5. To send your comment please click the "Name/URL" option and put your first name and last initial in the "Name" box. Don't fill in the URL box.  

I suggest that you write your comment in Word or other program first so you can check your spelling etc. and then just paste it into the comments at the end of this post. 

Your post should be 3 to 5 paragraphs long and should demonstrate some original thinking on your part. Do not cut-and-paste or copy any text directly.

Your comment will not show up on the blog until close to the due-date, as I want everyone to approach the project without being biased by seeing the posted work of others in the class. If you aren't sure if your comment went through you may e-mail me and I'll let you know.  

If you have any questions please e-mail me. I usually reply to e-mails within a day or two. Before sending me an e-mail, please read my "How to email a teacher" post from my biology blog ... really. http://cantorsbiologyblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-to-send-e-mail-to-teacher-really.html