Lab 1: Gross Anatomy Dissection

Lab 1: Gross Anatomy

• Safety Rules: No eating/drinking, wear gloves, goggles, closed-toe shoes (lab coat recommended), avoid sticking dissection tools into tray wax, clean materials after use, follow all rules and instructor instructions.
• Materials: Brain specimen, dissection tools (tray, scissors, scalpel, forceps, probe).
• Dura Mater Removal: Locate pituitary gland and optic chiasma before removal; carefully peel off dura mater.
• Neuroanatomical Structures: Examine dorsal, ventral, and lateral views; note longitudinal and transverse fissures; identify frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes; identify cerebellum, brainstem.
• Neuroanatomical Directions: Rostral/Anterior (nose/front), Caudal/Posterior (tail/back), Dorsal (back), Ventral (belly), Lateral (away from midline), Medial (towards midline), use superior/inferior for internal structures.
• Midsagittal Section: Position brain dorsal-side up; use scalpel along longitudinal fissure; separate hemispheres with forceps.
• Key Structures: External (surface): Brain lobes, cerebellum, brainstem; Internal (midsagittal): Corpus callosum, cortex, brainstem, cerebellum,
• Learning Objectives: Understand and follow lab safety, neuroanatomical directions, remove dura mater, midsagittal brain section, identify cortical brain lobes, brainstem, cerebellum.
• Test Yourself: Locate corpus callosum, cortical lobes, major brain structures, recall lobe functions (frontal - decision-making, parietal - sensory integration, temporal - auditory processing, occipital - vision). Discuss structural location (e.g., why corpus callosum best viewed medially).
• Lab Assignment: Create an Instagram post explaining a brain concept; include visual, target high school students/teachers/parents, submit editable file on Moodle.
• Grading: Relevance, accuracy, audience appropriateness, engagement, presentation style.

Lab 2: Comparative Neuroanatomy

• Learning Objectives: Compare and contrast 12 cranial nerves, coronal sections, sheep, and human brains.
• Lab Structure: Groups rotate between cranial nerves (back) and coronal sections (front).
• Cranial Nerves (Sheep): Identify nerves on ventral surface of left hemisphere; compare left/right hemispheres or with specimen with intact meninges; use sheep brain atlas to identify location, morphology, size.
• Cranial Nerves (Human Comparison): Compare location, shape, size, and functional differences between sheep and human cranial nerves. Discuss function variation based on species needs.
• Cranial Nerve Testing: Develop a function test for each nerve (e.g., CN I - identify odor).
• Coronal Sections (Sheep): Use right hemisphere for slicing; initial cut 12-18 mm from frontal lobe; avoid corpus callosum; additional slices 3-5 mm apart; compare with human model for analogous structures.
• Identifiable Structures (Coronal): Gray matter, white matter, sulci and gyri, corpus callosum, thalamus, ventricles.
• Lobes (Coronal): Examine which lobes are visible in each section.
• Clean-up: Rinse trays; clean tools; stack trays, return tools to their spots.
• Questions to Consider: Which nerves are visible with/without meninges? How do cranial nerve functions relate to species differences? Which sections show key structures? Similarities between sheep and human brain coronal sections?

Lab 3: Electrical Properties of Neurons

• Learning Objectives: Apply ion channels, electrochemical gradients, Nernst equation, action potentials, design a high school educational tool or activity related to these concepts.
• Lab Activity: Create original (or adapted, with credit) group project for high school students; enhance understanding of electrical properties; options include crafts, games, embodied learning, memory tools, online games; include detailed instructions.
• Audience: Tailor project to high school students; interactive, fun, accessible way to grasp material.
• Submission: Single product per group; same grade for all members; name all members; first uploaded file is graded; decide who submits.
• Grading Rubric: Relevance, accuracy, audience, breadth of information, style, clarity, and visual appearance.
• Key Notes: Focus on high school-level material; integrate multiple Chapter 4 concepts; engaging, visually appealing, free from errors; be creative and collaborative.

Lab 3: Neurons (Microscopy and Modeling)

• Learning Objectives: Visualize multipolar neuron, identify neuron parts, build neuron model, represent different neuron types.
• Microscope Procedures: Examine neuron smear under light microscope; video recording, extract image of neuron, annotate for submission; answer Moodle questions.
• Building a Model: Create multipolar neuron model, evaluate strengths and weaknesses, modify to represent unipolar/bipolar neurons, address structural/functional differences.
• Reflection Questions: Visible neuron parts under light microscopy? Light microscopy limitations in identifying cellular structures? Model's accuracy in representing neuron types? Modifications needed for other neuron types?

Lab 4: Leaky Neuron (Spatial and Temporal Summation)

• Learning Objectives: Understand spatial/temporal summation; recognize potential decay; comprehend threshold at axon hillock; compare summation methods; predict factors affecting threshold (distance, frequency).
• Activity Supplies: Leaky cup w/holes, cups w/o holes, measuring cup, water reservoir, cups of various sizes (different water levels), large tray, data sheet.
• Background Knowledge: Neurotransmitters, synaptic potentials (EPSPs), summation (spatial/temporal).
• General Instructions: Assign roles (Leaky neuron operator, timer, threshold monitor, pourers); procedure for stopping a trial; record data (number of cups, time, water added/lost, percentage leaked).
• Activities: Spatial summation, temporal summation, graded potentials, Effect of Synapse Distance
• Key Data Points: Spatial (simultaneous inputs), Temporal (repeated inputs), Graded (larger EPSPs), Distance (decay/threshold).
• Analysis Questions: How do timing and distance impact threshold? Relation between input frequency and success in temporal summation? Summation method efficiency?

Lab 5: Neurotransmitter-Associated Brain Regions

• Learning Objectives: Identify brain structures related to neurotransmitters.
• Specimen: Sheep brain (left hemisphere).
• Goal: Correlate neuroanatomy with neurotransmitter production.
• Midsagittal Slice Review: Spinal cord, Medulla, Pons, Cerebellum, Cerebral Cortex, Corpus Callosum, Optic Chiasm, Pituitary, Ventricles (lateral, cerebral aqueduct, fourth ventricle).
• Developmental Anatomy: Rhombencephalon (medulla/pons/cerebellum), Mesencephalon (tegmentum/substantia nigra).
• Coronal Slices: Identify septum pellucidum, caudate nucleus, putamen, internal/external capsules, cerebral aqueduct, fourth ventricle, thalamus, third ventricle, substantia nigra, raphe nuclei, periaqueductal gray, ventral tegmental area.
• Neurotransmitter Connections: Dopamine (SN/VTA), Serotonin (Raphe nuclei), Neuropeptides (PAG).

Lab 6: Microscopy, EEG/fNIRS, and Patient Simulation

• Learning Objectives: EEG/fNIRS lab visit, neuron smear investigation, patient simulation critique.
• EEG/fNIRS Lab Visit: Familiarize with imaging techniques; understand EEG and fNIRS methods for capturing brain activity.
• Neuron Smear: Use compound microscope (4X, 10X, 40X magnification); identify visible neuron components (soma, dendrites, axon, axon terminals); record video, extract image, annotate, answer Moodle questions.
• Patient Simulation Critique: Review patient scenario; critique completeness/accuracy/clinical reasoning/communication; submit edits with "Track Changes."

Lab 7: Goggles and Horizontal Slices

• Learning Objectives: Displaced visual input and motor output; review brain structures; identify structures in horizontal slices.
• Displacement Goggles Demonstration: Wear goggles, play bean bag toss game; observe inaccuracy, direction, and visual angle displacement; discuss visual input to visual cortex/motor output.
• Horizontal Slices: Select hemisphere; use pineal/thalamus as reference points for cuts; identify structures (head of caudate nucleus, lateral ventricle, cerebellum, corpus callosum, gyrus/sulcus, cortical gray/white matter, septum pellucidum (Slice 2), thalamus, cerebral aqueduct, LGN/MGN (Slice 2)).
• Key Structures: Pineal body, thalamus.
• Discussion: Visual/motor pathways, LGN/MGN importance, misaligned vision/neural compensation.

Lab 8: Hearing and Somatosensory System

• Learning Objectives: Understand bone conduction hearing; explore cutaneous receptors for thermal grill illusion.
• Bone Conduction Demonstration: Use hanger and string; compare feeling vibrations directly on head with vibration through skin.
• Thermal Grill Illusion: Varying temperatures (18-20 °C & 40-41°C); compare perception on single pipe, adjacent pipes, full hand, comparisons with other areas.
• Key Observations (Thermal): Individual pipes, whole hand, forearm, burning/icy sensation (despite lacking extreme temps.).
• Explanation (Thermal): Low/high threshold thermoreceptors; possible misinterpretations; brain region integration.
• Applications (Thermal): Potential treatments for neuropathic conditions.
• Discussion Points: Areas with high/low receptor density; cause of perceived pain; relation to sensory processing.