Course design and teaching by Neville Sanjana, Emily Hueske, Michael Frank, and Talia Konkle

Synopsis      Sponsors      2006 Class Photos      Handouts & Slides      Links     
2003 Course Website & Pictures      2004 Course Pictures      2005 Course Website & Pictures     

UPDATE April 2007:

Neville and Emily were interviewed on WGBH about SPLASH Neuroanatomy as part of WGBH's coverage of the Cambridge Science Festival.

Synopsis

Once there, we briefly talked about the cerebral cortex and the five senses, emotion and memory in the limbic system, and the unconscious abilities of the brainstem. After a short break, we looked at some coronal and sagittal sheep brain sections to get familiar with the spatial arrangement of the central nervous system. Both Talia and Mike also led excellent pro-sections on the gross anatomical features of the intact sheep brain.

Then, with the help of some interesting patient case studies, we dived into a hands-on dissection of real sheep brains using proper lab safety procedures. We first cut the corpus callosum to separate the cerebral hemispheres and identified many of the structures visible in a mid-sagittal section. Then, we dissected out the hippocampus, a brain area studied by many neuroscientists at MIT due to its prominent role in learning and memory. Lastly, we removed the cerebellum for a fully exposed view of the brainstem.

Make sure to check out all the great photos that we have from Saturday's and Sunday's classes!

Sponsors

• We are very grateful for the generous and enthusiastic support of Prof. Sebastian Seung, who covered the majority of the costs for this program. Prof. Seung has funded the class all four years that it has been taught and, through his financial support, allowed us to present the best possible class every year. (Thanks also to his assistant Amy Dunn for her help in taking care of many funding details, too.) For the past two years, we are also pleased to have the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences join in funding some of the classroom expenses; this funding was facilitated by Denise Heintze and Prof. Mriganka Sur.

• We would also like to thank Prof. Gerald Schneider, who originally taught us how to lead a dissection of the mammalian brain when we were TAs for his Introductory Neuroscience course for MIT undergraduates, and Dr. Sonal Jhaveri, whose has lent dissection tools and manuals to the class every year since its inception.

• Lastly, we want to thank the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for use of their undergraduate laboratories and teaching equipment. In particular, Marie Maloof, who manages the wet lab, was very nice in allowing us to use many of the lab's stock supplies for the class.

• 2006 Saturday class photos
   
• 2006 Sunday class photos (includes photos of SPLASH booth, CNS overview presentation, class members, story readings, and dissections)

• "A 10 minute whirlwind tour of the central nervous system" (updated for 2006!)

• Readings (Split-brain, Capgras' delusion, brainstem survival)
• Neuroanatomy Guide (Labeled sections: mid-sagittal, dorsal surface, hippocampus exposed)

• MIT OpenCourseWare site for 9.01, Introduction to Neuroscience A great resource if you're interested in learning more neuroanatomy
• A wonderful manual and brain atlas for sheep brain dissection from The University of Guelph. Includes hippocampal dissection, too.
• Educational Studies Program which runs SPLASH and other high school programs
• Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences