1. ♥SLIDE #1 - INTRODUCTION:
Good Morning (Afternoon)!
My name is __________ and I am a Neuroscience student (or you can say you study Neuroscience – or you are a Neuroscientist) at Johns Hopkins University.
Question: Does anyone know or can anyone guess what a neuroscience is (or what a Neuroscientist studies)?
Let’s look at this guy up here.
Question: Do you know what this is a picture of?
This is a cartoon of a brain. This is a brain that is having fun – because this little brain is skate boarding.
Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system - which includes your brain. If you study the nervous system you are a Neuroscientist.
(Next, tells the students why you are visiting them. I usually say something like this…..)
I am here because I LOVE NEUROSCIENCE and I wanted to share some things I know about the nervous system with you.

2. What is your nervous system?
♥SLIDE #2: NERVOUS SYSTEM
Question: OK - so what is the nervous system?
The nervous system is made up of your brain, your spinal cord, and all of your nerves.
Here is a drawing of what your nervous system would look like if we removed all of your skin, muscles, bones and organs.
Your nervous system is connected to every part of your body. It is what makes your body work.
There is so much to know about the nervous system…..

3. Neurons ♥SLIDE #3: NEURONS
Inside of your brain are little pieces – like a puzzle. These little pieces are called neurons.
Neurons talk to each other by sharing chemicals with one another. One throws their chemical, and another one catches it. Then they become friends and make a connection. They tell your brain what it needs to know, and then your brain tells your body what it needs to know.

4. Processing the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Sight & Sound
♥SLIDE #4: TODAY’S TALK
Today I am going to talk to you about your hairy senses. I’m not talking about the hair on your head!
Question: Does anyone have any idea what I am going to be talking about?
The first “hairy” sense is letting you listen to me talking…..hearing – right. That is also called your auditory system.
The other “hairy” sense that I am going to talk to you about is a sense that you probably don’t even know you have…..
Question: What happens to you when you spin around in a circle?
You get dizzy, right. But, how do you know you are dizzy? That is your sense of balance, which is also called your vestibular system.
So today we are going to get a little hairy and talk about your auditory system and your vestibular system, which is why I have titled my presentation, “YOUR HAIRY SENSES: HEARING AND BALANCE”.
Processing the Electromagnetic Spectrum

5. What is the Electromagnetic Spectrum???
♥SLIDE #5: LIGHT ENERGY
Light is actually an energy source that is in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Another energy in this spectrum includes x-rays.
If we had Superman’s eyes, we could not only see other people – but we could also see their bones inside them!!!

6. Sensory Receptors Transduction Got it!!! Chemicals
Rod
Cone
Chemicals
Hair Cell
SLIDE #5: TRANSDUCTION
In order for your nervous system to get information about sounds in the world and where our bodies are while we are moving around – we need to change that information into something the nervous system can understand. This process is called transduction.
Inside of our bodies we have special cells in charge of the transduction…these are hair cells.
Both the auditory system (your hearing sense) and the vestibular system (your sense of balance) use hair cells to change the information into something the neurons can understand.
Transduction

7. Our visual system detects light energy…..
♥SLIDE #5: LIGHT ENERGY
Light is actually an energy source that is in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Another energy in this spectrum includes x-rays.
If we had Superman’s eyes, we could not only see other people – but we could also see their bones inside them!!!
…in the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

8. Our eyes are designed to focus light on our retina.
♥SLIDE #6: RETINA
Our eyes are designed to focus light on the retina.
Your retina is in the back of your eyeball.
Things that you see get turned around and flipped upside down before they reach the retina.
This is because of all the stuff that is in front of the retina, like your cornea, lens, and the fluid that fills up your eyeball – the vitreous humor.
Our retina is in the back of your eye.

9. rhod opsin “cone” opsin }
Rods & Cones transduce electromagnetic energy…
Rod
Cone
rhod
opsin
“cone”
opsin
♥SLIDE #7: RODS AND CONES
In the retina are special cells that catch the light.
These special cells are called rods and cones – aren’t they cute!!!
The rods tell our brain about light and dark and the cones tell our brain about colors.
Color
- “cone”opsin
Light
Dark }
rhodopsin
…using a photopigments.

10. The photopigments help to trick us by making you “see” things that are not there!!!
♥SLIDE #9: AFTER-IMAGE DEMO
The photopigments help to “trick” our brain by making us see things that are not there.
DEMO: After-image
I am going to show you a picture and then I am going to make it disappear.
I want everyone to stare at the yellow cross in the middle of the blue box.
When it disappears, I want you to stare at the white screen.
Question: What did you see?
(If they do indeed stare at the yellow cross, they should see a blue cross in a yellow box.)

11. This is called an after-image, and it happens because your cones get “tired”.
opsin
♥SLIDE #10: AFTER-IMAGE
If you did see a blue cross in the middle of a yellow box, you saw an after-image. This happens when your cones get “tired”.
When you stare at something, you put that light energy onto one part of your retina.
The light breaks apart all of the photopigments in the rods and cones in that part of your retina.
So….those rods and cones are “tired”, they don’t have anymore photopigment – so they can’t send information to your brain.
BUT….the rods and cones for the other color – still have photopigments and they send the wrong information to your brain.
“Tired” really means you have broken all your photopigment.

12. The info is brought to our occipital lobe…
Rod
Got it!!!
Chemicals
♥SLIDE #14: VISUAL CORTEX
Information from our optic nerve is carried from our eyes to the back of our brain by cells called neurons, to a place called the occipital lobe.
The occipital lobe is also part of our visual system.
On the way to the occipital lobe, the information stops and is passed to other neurons.
rhod
opsin
…after making a few stops along the way.

13. Our auditory system detects energy…..
1.7 centimeter and 17 meters or 20 – 20,000 Hz (waves per second).
…in the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

14. The hair cells are in the inner ear.
Our ears are designed to catch moving air molecules which causes fluid in our inner ear to move.
Inner Ear
The hair cells are in the inner ear.

15. …and it pulls on the tip links.
When the fluid in the inner ear moves the cilia on the hair cells bend...
♥SLIDE #9: TIP LINKS
The cilia are connected by tip links. When the cilia bend they pull on the tip links.
DEMO: TIP LINK
Show how bending the “cilia” open up the tip links channel.
…and it pulls on the tip links.

16. Pulling on the tip links…..
♥SLIDE #10: TIP LINKS
Opening up the tip link allows ions to flow.
This sends a signal from the hair cell to other cells – called neurons – that are in the nervous system.
…opens the “door” for chemicals.

17. Bending the “hair” on the hair cells…
Got it!!!
Chemicals
Chemicals
♥SLIDE #11: COMMUNICATION
So…bending the cilia on the hair cells tells the neurons about sounds and about our sense of balance.
BUT…..
…lets the hair cells “talk” to the brain .

18. The brain then gets the info…
♥SLIDE #23: AUDITORY PATHWAY
The information from the hair cells then goes to the brainstem and finally in the cortex of the temporal lobe.
When it reaches the cortex, you “know” about the sound – perception occurs.
… about the sounds.

19. Sight
???

20. Sound =
Dogs Rule!!!
…People & Chickens Drool!!!

21. Processing the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Sight & Sound
♥SLIDE #4: TODAY’S TALK
Today I am going to talk to you about your hairy senses. I’m not talking about the hair on your head!
Question: Does anyone have any idea what I am going to be talking about?
The first “hairy” sense is letting you listen to me talking…..hearing – right. That is also called your auditory system.
The other “hairy” sense that I am going to talk to you about is a sense that you probably don’t even know you have…..
Question: What happens to you when you spin around in a circle?
You get dizzy, right. But, how do you know you are dizzy? That is your sense of balance, which is also called your vestibular system.
So today we are going to get a little hairy and talk about your auditory system and your vestibular system, which is why I have titled my presentation, “YOUR HAIRY SENSES: HEARING AND BALANCE”.
Processing the Electromagnetic Spectrum