Neuroscience 2003 Abstract
| Presentation Number: | 27.12 |
|---|---|
| Abstract Title: | Tipping your ticker: translating neuroscience for the public. |
| Authors: |
Cameron, W. E.*1
; Morrison, S. F.2
; Doyle, M. W.1
; Andresen, M. C.1
1Dept. Physiology & Pharmacol., Oregon Hlth. & Sci. Univ., Portland, OR 2Dept. Behavioral Neurosci., Oregon Hlth. & Sci. Univ., Portland, OR |
| Primary Theme and Topics |
History and Teaching of Neuroscience - Teaching of Neuroscience |
| Session: |
27. Teaching of Neuroscience: Pre-college Students, General Public Poster |
| Presentation Time: | Tuesday, November 11, 2003 11:00 AM-12:00 PM |
| Location: | Morial Convention Center - Hall F-I, Board # YY15, YY16 |
| Keywords: | BARORECEPTOR, AUTONOMIC, REFLEX, POSTURE |
Autonomic reflexes are not as easy for the public to understand as, for example, the knee jerk. However, diseases associated with autonomic dysfunction have profound impact on the quality of life. We have developed an exhibit for educational purposes that links cardiovascular autonomic regulation with postural challenges experienced everyday and the function of the baroreceptor reflex. Although most people can feel light-headed after standing rapidly from a reclining position, they are not aware that the brain compensates for these changes in position through the baroreceptor reflex. Our exhibit incorporates several key techniques to attract an audience and give them a hands-on experience. First, the audience becomes the subject. Changes in body position (head up to head down) were accomplished by locking the subject’s ankles in a commercially available tilt table (Hang Ups, Teeters). Subjects were moved from head up to horizontal to head down positions. Second, the subjects could hear the changes in their heart rate via speakers connected to a touch plate ECG amplifier (specially-designed by CWE, Inc.) and a Doppler flow sensor over the radial artery. After establishing a baseline heart rate, the subject was tilted and the difference in rate of heartbeats or blood flow pulses. Finally, a simple poster described the carotid and aortic baroreceptors and the reflex circuit underlying this response. This exhibit has stimulated audiences at a state science museum during Brain Awareness Week, at a rural science fair and in courses of undergraduate biology and first-year medical school.
Sample Citation:
[Authors]. [Abstract Title]. Program No. XXX.XX. 2003 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. New Orleans, LA: Society for Neuroscience, 2003. Online.
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