Mount Sinai Makes Studying the Brain Exciting and Fun for Schoolchildren
Neuroscience graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and volunteers from The Friedman Brain Institute at Mount Sinai recently hosted a series of special activities during Brain Awareness Week, part of an annual global campaign each March by the Dana Foundation to...Making Science Exciting at Brain Awareness Fair
Curious New York City schoolchildren who attended the Seventh Annual Brain Awareness Fair in Guggenheim Pavilion on Tuesday, March 12, asked hundreds of questions of Mount Sinai clinicians, scientists, and staff. “With Alzheimer’s, the brain just shrinks?” asked one...Raising Awareness About Brain Science
The Friedman Brain Institute recently joined the Dana Foundation in its global efforts to increase public knowledge of the progress and benefits of brain research by hosting and supporting a number of activities aimed at educating students and the community about...Celebrating the “Art of the Brain”
Nicolas Daviaud, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, neuroscience, explained his work to visitor Shauntay Williams.
To commemorate Brain Awareness Week—a global endeavor showcasing the progress and benefits of brain research—The Friedman Brain Institute sponsored its fourth annual “Art of the Brain” exhibition. Featuring photographs, medical illustrations, and sculptures that celebrate the beauty of the brain as seen through the eyes of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai scientists, the exhibition took place at the Grady Alexis Gallery in East Harlem.
The opening reception, held Monday, March 13, was attended by many of the researchers who displayed their work, which they created by using the latest technological advances in imaging and 3D printing to help them gain a deeper understanding of the brain. During the 18-day run, the exhibition drew Mount Sinai faculty and staff, and the public.
The gallery also hosted PS 171 middle school students for several hours of immersive, interactive brain-related activities, in an event organized by The Friedman Brain Institute in collaboration with the Icahn School of Medicine’s Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE) and Mentoring in Neuroscience Discovery at Sinai (MiNDS).
PS 171 middle school students participated in brain-related activities.
Among the students’ scientific adventures—which they and CEYE staff detailed using Snapchat—was a guided tour of the exhibition by MiNDS volunteers Xin-an Liu, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience; Denise Croote, a first-year PhD student in the neuroscience program; and Eric Rath, a former traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient at Mount Sinai, who is now a TBI and addictions counselor.
Additionally, CEYE teaching assistants helped students view their own brain waves through the NeuroSky® MindWave— educational software that uses an electroencephalogram sensor to detect brain activity. Meanwhile, medical illustrators Christopher M. Smith, MA, and Jill K. Gregory, MFA, brought additional pieces of their work and spoke with students about the rewards and challenges of creating beautiful, yet functional, images to accurately illustrate a scientific topic.
Hands-On Learning at the Brain Awareness Fair
From left: Steven Philemond, Clinical Research Coordinator, Neurosurgery, examines a brain image with Amir Du Bose and Andre Levins, students from the Eagle Academy for Young Men.
More than 100 volunteers from the Mount Sinai Health System and 500 local students and members of East Harlem and surrounding communities participated in the Fourth Annual Brain Awareness Fair on Tuesday, March 15, in The Mount Sinai Hospital’s Guggenheim Pavilion Atrium.
Educational hands-on activities and demonstrations included building neuron models out of pipe cleaners, examining models of brains from different animals, observing monkey brain neurons under a microscope, and learning how the five senses function within the brain. (more…)
June is National Aphasia Awareness Month
June is National Aphasia Awareness Month–an annual national campaign by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association to share information about aphasia , and about those living with aphasia or caring for people with aphasia, to the general public. Aphasia is a language disorder that disrupts verbal communication by interfering with speaking, understanding, reading and writing; it is typically caused by strokes that occur on the left side of the brain. (more…)
Learning about Brain Health
More than 350 children and adults participated in the Third Annual Brain Awareness Fair hosted by the Sinai Neuroscience Outreach Program, in partnership with the Center for Excellence in Youth Education and The Friedman Brain Institute, on Thursday, March 19, during Brain Awareness Week. Forty Mount Sinai volunteers, including faculty, staff, postdocs, and students, shared their expertise for brain health and research. During multiple hands-on activities and exhibits, participants built neuron models out of pipe cleaners, looked at the human brain in 3-D, and examined all types of animal brains. Faculty from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai also fielded questions from adults about addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and mental health.
Brain Awareness Fair
Have you ever had fun getting dizzy by spinning around? Ever thought of what ears have to do with getting dizzy? Ears are for hearing, right?
When you have a stuffy nose, whatever you eat seems bland and tasteless. What does your nose have to do with taste? We taste food with our tongues and our noses are for smelling, right?
These are just a few of the many complex concepts of how the brain and other parts of our bodies coordinate to keep functioning. Through easy-to-understand demonstrations and activities, these and several other complexities of the brain were adeptly simplified and communicated to our young visitors at Mount Sinai by members of Sinai Neuroscience Outreach Program (SNOP) and their volunteers during the first “Brain Awareness Fair” on March 12th, 2013.
Treating Depression More Rapidly & Effectively
The prevalence rate for depression in the United States is nearly 7%, yet standard antidepressants produce full remission in only 30-40% of patients. Even when treatment is effective, patients require 2-4 weeks to achieve the full therapeutic effects. Adding to the problem, there are currently no biological diagnostic tests to predict depression, forcing clinicians to diagnose based upon clusters of non-specific overlapping behavioral symptoms. Thus, in the Russo lab, we are interested in identifying novel biological targets to predict depression and treat it more rapidly and effectively.
Higher Risk of Autism Found in Babies Born Prematurely According to a Definitive New Mount Sinai Study
Premature birth is linked to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in both males and females, with those born earliest carrying the highest risk, according to a large and definitive new study in Pediatrics from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount...Second Episode of Mount Sinai Future You
The second episode of Mount Sinai Future You features a patient who suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage, one of the most devastating forms of stroke, and who shares his miraculous recovery after neurosurgeons saved his life using a new surgical technique called...Stroke Prevention Is Key, but if Stroke Happens – Think Rehabilitation
Each May, we recognize Stroke Awareness Month with much-needed reminders for stroke prevention. According to the National Stroke Association, 80% of all strokes can be prevented. Following the stroke prevention guidelines below may help you lower your risk.