The voice of British neuroscience today

elcomeAtheme that seems to run through this edition of the Bulletin isthat of new births and beginnings. BNA has a new logo, a newPresident and a new Chief Executive. For those yet to spot oursleek new logo, see the cover or p21. New President David Nutttakes over from Trevor Robbins in April. Part of Trevor’s legacy, who hasskilfully steered BNA through a critical phase, is the installation of a ChiefExecutive for the Society. Meet Ian Varndell, our new C.E., on p5.Many members may not know how BNA first began; I was intrigued tolearn that its birthplace was a certain London pub (p20). Find out how theneuroscience career of BNA member David McAlpine began, with his ‘lifeon the page’, on p15.Then there is the miracle of birth itself. Comedian Robin Ince describeshow the birth of his son, and watching a baby’s brain develop skills,awareness, and a sense of self, inspired Robin to delve into cognitiveneuroscience (p25).Meanwhile, the neuroscience community is being confronted withunwelcome new challenges. Funding cuts, tuition fees, and the withdrawalof pharmaceutical companies from the UK are pressing concerns for allmembers. BNA is acting on your behalf; find out how on p6.To end on a positive note, BNA’s 2011 national meeting looks set to bethe best ever, and exciting plans are afoot for a new Festival of BritishNeuroscience. I, for one, look forward to seeing BNA initiate and embracethis and many more new beginnings in years to come.Anne CookeBNA-editor@bristol.ac.ukAutumn issue: COPY DEADLINE = 15th July 2011Are you interested in submitting items for the Autumn edition?Are you interested in writing, drawing, doing photography, poetry…or anything else for BNA? Email BNA-editor@bristol.ac.uk - to findout how. All enquiries very welcomeAdvertising in the Bulletin: please contact BNA-editor@bristol.ac.ukfor advertising rates and submission criteria. Printed adverts andinsert distribution both available; special rates for various packages.Events and notices: email BNAoffice@neuroscience.cam.ac.ukPublication and reproductionDesigned by: Heidi Massey, heidimassey1@gmail.comPrinted by: Portishead Press, portisheadpress.co.ukPrinted on paper with Forest Stewardship Council Certification withvegetable oil based inks from sustainable sources. Contains 10%recycled materialWhen you have finished with this copy, please recycle - or pass on toothers.BNA enquiries: The University of Cambridge,Department of Experimental Psychology, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK+44 (0)1223 333178 • bna.org.ukBNA Co-ordinator: Hannah Critchlow, hmc39@cam.ac.ukBNA Administrator: Arciris Garay-Arevalo,BNAoffice@neuroscience.cam.ac.ukOn the cover: How a bundle of neurons develops into the humanbrain has inspired neuroscientists down the ages. Robin Ince andBruce Hood give personal and scientific perspectives on the miracleof cognitive development on p25. Photography Anne Cooke; artworkAndy Doherty; special thanks to Lizzie BurnsAcknowledgements: The Bulletin, as always, would not be possiblewithout its many wonderful contributors - see p 47.Bulletin number 63© the British Neuroscience Association.Extracts may only be reproduced with the permission of the BNA.The Bulletin is available online at BNA.org.uk.ISSN No: 1475-8679The British Neuroscience Association is a registered charity (1103852) and a registered company in England and Wales (4307833) limited by guarantee.The views expressed in the Bulletin are the authors’ own and not necessarily the opinion of the BNA committee.

NEWS & UPDATESFrom the BNA (4): Across the world of neuroscience (8)BNA PEOPLE12 Twenty TweetsWho is BNA and what are they thinking?14 Letter from AmericaBNA’s ‘foreign correspondent’ gets to grips with faith, pharmacyand neuroscience in California15 A Life on the Page (see right)18 Picking Holes in Science (see right)20 The Legend of the Black HorseJoelle Abi-Rached and Professor Steven Rose describe how BNAstarted life in a London pub.The Bulletin,bulleted:Find out• What Ben Goldacrefinds frustrating(p18)• Why BNA is linkedto a London pub(p20)• How PMS might beconsigned to history(p33)• Who to ask to blessyour research (p30)• Which vitamin maystave off Alzheimer’s(p35)SCIENCE22 Cognitive Retail TherapyThe neuroscience of foraging through supermarket aisles.25 The Brains of Babes (cover article - see right)28 Triple Goddess of the NightMythology, creativity and biochemistry of psychedelics.31 Mental WorkoutDoes physical fitness keep our brain healthy too?33 PMS, Prozac, and ConspiraciesWhy Thelma Lovick’s talk at BNA’s ‘Moody Blues’ event stirred updebate in national press.35 From Carrot to ClinicVitamin A in learning, memory, and depression.36 Bluffer’s Guides to:Neuroscience PodcastsTranscranial magnetic stimulationREPORTS & REVIEWSMeeting reports (38); Book reviews - with exclusive offers (43)THE BACKPAGESDiary (44); Gallery (45); Contributors (47); The Node (48)

15A life on the page:Professor David McAlpineHow the son of an Irish shipyard workercombined life in the Murder Triangle, anAustralian upbringing, the influence of JonathanMiller and an Oxford PhD to forge a successfulcareer in auditory neuroscience18Picking holes in scienceThe Bulletin gets to discuss what,exactly, makes bad science badin the eyes of Ben Goldacre, the2010 winner of BNA’s Award forPublic Engagement of Science25The brains of babes(cover article)Robin Ince, well-knowncomedian, writer andperformer, and ProfessorBruce Hood, leading expertin cognitive development,share their wonder for how abundle of neurons generatesa sentient human braino n t e n t s

BNA NEWS & UPDATESFROM THE PRESIDENT Trevor RobbinsWe mark the changingseasons by BNA meetingsAfter the now traditionalChristmas Symposium, thistime on the Neuroscienceof Social Interaction (withthe BNA Award for PublicEngagement going to BenGoldacre), thoughts turn toEaster’s Biennial Meeting.We are pleased, but notcomplacent, about the positivereception to the scientific programme; success for thismeeting will depend on you, the participants – and wehope by the time you read this you will have registeredand are set ready to come.This is not the only BNA event this year, with atremendous one day meeting for September atEdinburgh on developmental and clinical neurosciencealready planned.And inevitably, although still two years before the event,we have to think about the next Biennial Meeting. Theexciting news is that this is likely to be a meeting with allof the major societies, clinical and non-clinical, that havean interest in neuroscience. They have signed-up to theconcept of a Festival of British Neuroscience, to be held inLondon, convened by my successor Dave Nutt.Doubtless, as new President, he will be telling you more inthe next instalment of this column.FROM THE SECRETARY Colin Ingram• The BNA has a fresh new look! Observant ones amongyou will have noticed the new logo and, following there-styled Bulletin, we now have a new look website.Please do submit news, jobs, and events, to keep thesite up-to-date.• Reorganisation of committee responsibilities hasprogressed, with priorities informed by an online surveyof members’ expectations of the BNA.Ian Varndell has been engaged to supportdevelopment (see p5), Trevor Robbins (President)and David Nutt (President-Elect) have taken onmore proactive roles in advocacy, while, underBruno Frenguelli, there has been increasingparticipation of local groups.• As part of the 2010 British Science Festival at AstonUniversity the BNA-sponsored symposium ‘Bliss orBlues; Rapture or Rage’ (p 38) explored moods andemotions, covering happiness at work, hormonedrivenmood swings, and emotional changes as weage; subjects that affect us all, both professionallyand personally.• Aston nicely prepared us for our Christmas Symposiumat the Royal Society: ‘T’is the season to be sociable:The neuroscience behind partying!’ (p 41). Over 220partygoers heard what makes us, birds, and evenrobots act sociably, after which Ben Goldacre gavean amusing insight into what makes ‘bad science’when he was awarded the 2010 BNA Award for PublicEngagement of Science.• The BNA also partsponsoredBristol’sBCNC YoungNeuroscientists’ Day held(p 40). Exclusively for PhDstudents and early-careerresearchers, it includedtalks and posters, sessionson public engagement,careers, and eveningsocial. If you would like toorganise a similar event inyour region, contact BNA foradvice and possible funding.• Plans are underway for a one-day meeting,‘Neuroscience means Business’. If you would like tohost a meeting, on a topical subject of broad interestto members, please do contact us.• Finally it is of course our 21st National Meeting.See you in Harrogate!

NewsEvents, developments, and other news in the world of neuroscience.Wereyou brainaware?Brain Awareness Week(BAW) took place betweenthe 14th and 20th March,with hundreds of eventstaking place across the UKand internationally, rangingfrom Open Days in Oxfordto Brain Camps in Bangkok.BAW is n annual eventorganised by The DANAFoundation and its manyinternational partners to“promote public awarenessabout the progress andbenefits of brain research”.We are keen to hear aboutthe experiences of bothorganisers and attendees atthis year’s events: contact usat BNA-editor@bristol.ac.uk.CMNew proteinprovides insightinto brain disordersA protein crucial formaintaining the health andfunction of the Node ofRanvier, a part of the nervefibre critical for fast nervoustransmission, has beenidentified by researchers atthe University of Edinburgh.Professor Peter Brophy, said:“Knowing more about howsignals in the brain work willhelp us better understandneurodegenerativedisorders and why, whenthese illnesses strike, thebrain can no longer sendsignals to parts of thebody.” Characterisingthe protein - Nfasc186,the neuronal form ofneurofascin - could leadto new treatment for suchdisorders. ACMeasuring musical pleasureHave you ever felt growinganticipation and then euphoriawhen listening to your favouritemusic? Researchers fromCanada used PET scanning techniques todemonstrate that an important componentof these feelings is striatal dopaminerelease (Nat. Neurosci 14:257–262).However, the anticipatory and peakeuphoria were dissociable, showingdifferential activation in the caudate andnucleus accumbens respectively.Writers: Anne Cooke, Anthony Isles, Hanno Koppel, Chris MartinPleasure in music is a notoriouslysubjective phenomenon; for some itis Holst’s Jupiter, for others it is ComeTogether by Primal Scream. The authorscleverly circumvented this problem usingmeasures of the autonomic nervous systemto record ‘chills’ in response to music whenscanning. What became clear from thisfascinating piece of work is that the sameneural systems implicated in mediatingour response to food, drugs and moneyare also involved in the encoding of thepleasure we gain from an abstract stimulussuch as music. AIPioneering neurosurgery treats depressionBristol Neuroscience researchershave carried out a world first,using deep brain stimulationcombined with anteriorcingulotomy to successfully treat severedepression. Dr Andrea Malizia andneurosurgeon Mr Niunj Patel developedthe advanced stereotactic neurosurgicalprocedure, which targets brain circuitsinvolved in emotion and internal drive,transforming the life of their patient, SheilaCook, after a decade with depression, aseverely disabling condition where manysufferers lose their job, home, friends andfamily, and about 15% commit suicide.Sheila said: “Within a few weeks my lifechanged. I felt happy for the first time inyears and began to take an interest in lifeagain.” AC

News and UpdatesPain in the headlinesPainkilling seemed to be all overthe news in February. Whetherit was looking at pictures ofloved ones (Daily Mail, Feb 24;originally Younger et al. in PLoS One)or watching the pain being inflicted(Telegraph, 11/2; originally Mancini et al.in Psychological Science), the newspaperswere very interested in how we mightnumb ourselves during nasty jabs. Infact, most pain studies use heat ratherthan needles - including both of those,and a third widely reported study fromthe lab of Irene Tracey in Oxford (Bingelet al., Science Translational Medicine).Interestingly, Professor Tracey found thatsubjects’ expectations of pain relief playan enormous role; negative expectations,for example, could almost completelyoverride the effect of remifentanil. “It’sphenomenal” she told the BBC. “It’s oneof the best analgesics we have and thebrain’s influence can either vastly increaseits effect, or completely remove it.” JWIn the gene of the fatherAgene has been found wherepaternal and maternalcopies have distinctlydifferent functions;the copy from the fatheris solely expressed in thebrain and regulates socialbehaviour, whereas the copyinherited from the mother isactive in all other parts, whereit is important for foetal growth,metabolism and fat storage.All genes are inherited in pairs, one copyfrom each parent. For most genes bothcopies are active, but for some, one isswitched off – a well-known process calledimprinting. However, for a gene to havetwo very different functions depending onwhich parent each copy is inherited fromhas never been seen before.BuweosmanResearchers from Bath andCardiff Universities workedtogether to untangle theunconventional characterof the gene, calledGrb10. They studiedmice that lacked a copyof paternal Grb10, i.e.the gene was not activein the brain but workednormally elsewhere. They foundmice lacking paternal Grb10 weremore domineering and assertive thanwild-type companions.It seems that, for this gene, the fatherhas exclusive rights on one aspect ofbehaviour. Might we find further genesthat have similar split roles for body andbrain? ACMore than onemetronome ofthe mindBehaviour such as speechand movement requiresprecise coordination, buthow does the brain perceivetime? In particular, howdoes it perceive durationbetween intervals in asequence of sounds, such asrhythms we hear in music?Using Magnetic ResonanceImaging (MRI) researchers atUniversity College Londonand Newcastle Universityhave shown that there aredifferent brain mechanismsdepending on rhythmiccontext; for the timing ofregular sounds, a networkin the basal ganglia isactivated, while a cerebellarnetwork is activated forthe timing of irregularsequences.“The cerebellar networkmeasures absoluteduration of individual timeintervals, like a stopwatch,while the basal ganglianetwork is involved inthe measurement of timerelative to a regular beat orrhythm in the sounds, forinstance, timing relative toa metronome.” explainedSundeep Teki, a UCL PhDstudent.These findings could allowmovement disorders to bedistinguished according tothe nature of their cognitivedeficits in time perception;basal ganglia disorders suchas Parkinson’s disease woulddiffer from ones arising fromcerebellar pathology. ACNews items for autumn edition to BNA-editor@bristol.ac.uk - DEADLINE 15th July11

TWENTY TWEETSFour more brave BNA members take on the challenge of tweeting ten replies to ten questions andtackling this issue’s Blogbox: ‘Do you agree with students paying much higher tuition fees?’Rochelle Ackerley is an AssistantProfessor at Sweden’s Universityof Gothenburg, where she’s usingmicroneurography to record single axonsin human skin.Whose brain do you most admire?Give me any brain, I admire them all. It istheir inherent variety and difference thatconstitute our behaviour and individuality.Describe a typical day at work Check e-mail, coffee,analysis, sticking electrodes in people (microneurography),statistics – great!What one thing do you value or enjoy most about what youdo? And the least? Most: recording single units firing in awakehumans. Least: that inevitable run of experiments that don’t workand you cannot work out why.What question would you most like to find the answer to inneuroscience? What is consciousness? It is the ultimate questionabout human existence.What else do you wish the human brain could do? Telepathicpowers. Evolution has allowed us to infer so much from oursenses but to read someone’s mind would be much easier!If you could discover a miracle cure for one neurological orpsychiatric disorder, what would it be? Why? Dementia. It isdebilitating disease that takes away what constitutes our self.What one memory would you most like to erase? None. Ourmemories make us who we are and we learn from them all (or atleast try to). Strive for balance: it is the experience that counts.Name one piece of art (visual, aural, literary, anything) that reallytickles your synapses. The Pink Floyd album ‘Meddle’. The song‘Echoes’ is pure musical genius.What do you think you might be doing if not neuroscienceresearch? Astrophysicist. If I didn’t explore our inner world,I would want to investigate outer space. That or a rock star!Do you have an amazing, little known fact about the brainor nervous system, human or animal? 25% of humans aresupertasters. They experience greater intensities of taste,especially bitterness, through having more taste buds.BLOGBOX: No. It means that a university degree is becomingmuch less accessible to those with little money. Universitiesare also turning into businesses these days. Maybe this shouldbe exploited so that ideas from research and technologydevelopment are made profitable.Gareth Evans is a lecturer at theUniversity of York interested in the cellsignalling of development and learning.Whose brain do you most admire?My three year old daughter’s. Watchingbrain development in real time isphenomenal.Describe a typical day at work.Green tea, thinking, emailing,troubleshooting experiments, meetings, teaching, marking,writing, lab work (if I’m lucky) & more green tea.What one thing do you value or enjoy most about what youdo? And the least? Getting paid to do my hobby. Not havingenough time to do my hobby.What question would you most like to find the answer toin neuroscience? That small issue of how consciousness works.What else do you wish the human brain could do?Telekinesis. Not for evil, just for multi-tasking and getting stuffyou can’t reach.What do you think will be the next big thing in neuroscience, inresearch, medicine, technology, or any other context?Therapeutic targeting of mitochondrial dysfunction in ageing,neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders.If you could discover a miracle cure for one neurological orpsychiatric disorder, what would it be? Why?Religious faith. A bit controversial, but as Laplace is supposed tohave said of God, “I have no need for that hypothesis”.What one memory would you most like to erase?Hmm. One of the numerous occasions I’ve opened my mouthand said something I’ve regretted. eg. Q9!What do you think you might be doing if not neuroscienceresearch? Cooking – it’s lab work in the kitchen.Do you have an amazing, little known fact about the brainor nervous system, human or animal? More than 50% of theneurons in the brain are found in the cerebellum, a brain regionthat comprises only 10% of the total volume.BLOGBOX: Yes if we are to sustain 50% of the populationattending university. However, equal access to higher educationfor all social classes will be impossible. In terms of teaching, ifdegrees become consumer products, I can see spoon feedingprevailing over independent study.12

PeopleMatt Jones is an RCUK Senior ResearchFellow in the School of Physiology andPharmacology at the University of Bristol.His lab works on the network basis ofcognition, using tetrode electrodesto record simultaneously from largegroups of neurons, in anatomically andfunctionally related circuits.What’s your favourite bit of the brain,and why? I don’t have favourites – I just want to know how allthose bits work together.Whose brain do you most admire?I’ve not seen many. A composer. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartwill do.What is the key thing that first inspired or influenced yourdecision to go into neuroscience? Drugs (neuropharmacology,that is): psychoactive compounds and their mechanisms of actionfascinate me.Describe a typical day at work Email with a splash of Matlab anda streak of PowerPoint, and hopefully a beautiful new recordingor graph from a lab member.What one thing do you value or enjoy most about what you do?And the least? Variety. Bureaucracy.What question would you most like to find the answer toin neuroscience? Are we right? Is this really how the brain works?What do you think will be the next big thing in neuroscience,in research, medicine, technology, or any other context?India.What one memory would you most like to erase?I already got rid of it.Name one piece of art (visual, aural, literary, anything) that reallytickles your synapses. Hard Times by Charles Dickens.Hard times are timely.What do you think you might be doing if not neuroscienceresearch? Making rubbish music that I’m very proud of.BLOGBOX: No. By allowing common sense, decency and along-term view beyond vote winning to outshine private financialand political agendas? It seems there’s a lack of public money,not a lack of money per se.Dr. Una FitzGerald leads the MultipleSclerosis and Stroke Research groupat the National University of Ireland,Galway studying the role of stress to theendoplasmic reticulum in MS.Whose brain do you most admire?Ramon y Cajal. And the brain of the cat,dog, lizard, pigeon, chameleon, guineapig, rat, mouse, tadpole, magpie, andsparrow he studied.What is the key thing that first inspired or influenced yourdecision to go into neuroscience? My neuroanatomist fatherTurlough FitzGerald. If you ask him how he’s doing, he’ll say ‘myhippocampus is doing very well, thank you!’Describe a typical day at work.Check email. Grading. Meet PhDstudent and postdoc. Admire stained brain sections. Contactcollaborators. Write manuscript. Lecture. Admin.What one thing do you value or enjoy most about what you do?And the least? I love looking at stained sections of human or ratbrain. Hate checking student writing for plagiarism – the resultscan be depressing!What do you think will be the next big thing in neuroscience?Drugs targeting pericytes to open blood-brain barrier, allowingtherapies excluded before from the brain to be used to treatbrain disease.If you could discover a miracle cure for one neurological orpsychiatric disorder, what would it be? Why?Depression. A curse on so many lives.What one memory would you most like to erase? The memory ofmy mother starving to death, because Alzheimer’s robbed her ofher ability to eat. Also, the effect this had on my Dad.Name one piece of art that really tickles your synapses.Slow movement of Shostakovich’s piano concerto number 2.Dreamy.What do you think you might be doing if not neuroscienceresearch? Something to do with music. Didn’t a recent studyshow that the brains of professional musicians age more slowly?Do you have an amazing, little known fact about the brain ornervous system, human or animal? If the human optic nervewasn’t myelinated, it would have to be three feet in diameter toachieve the same speed of impulse conduction!BLOGBOX: No. In Ireland and Scotland there are no tuitionfees. Many countries pay for higher education via normalincome tax. Graduates easily repay the costs of tuition over theirworking lives. Introducing fees will prevent many people fromparticipating in higher educationWant to be a Tweeter? Email BNA-editor@bristol.ac.uk13

LETTER FROM AMERICA:Faith, pharmacy and neuroscience in CaliforniaRobert HalliwellBNA member and ‘foreign correspondent’ Robert Halliwell reports on the world of Americanneuroscience from his lab in sunny California.As the new CaliforniaGovernor, JerryBrown, wrestleswith the first majorchallenge 1 of his tenure toclose the $25.4 billion statedeficit, and universities hereface funding cutbacks andhiring freezes, the numberof pharmacy schools hasdoubled in the last ten yearsand may even treble in thenear future. This is an amazingphenomenon given the current economic trends andforecasts, but perhaps even more interestingly, many ofthese new pharmacy schools are faith-based institutions.In 2002, when I left Durham University to work at theUniversity of the Pacific, School of Pharmacy (the oldestchartered university in California) there were just fourpharmacy schools, namely University of California SanFrancisco (UCSF), University of Southern California (USC),University of the Pacific (UOP) and Western University ofHealth Sciences. These schools trained around 580 futurepharmacists.Since then, four additional pharmacy schools haveopened, including: Loma Linda University School ofPharmacy, a Seventh Day Adventist-based institute;Touro University California School of Pharmacy, aJewish-sponsored college; and most recently, CaliforniaNorth State College of Pharmacy, a for-profit basedcollege. Notably, also due to open in the next coupleof years, is the American University of Health Sciences,a Christian-based, minority serving, pharmacy school,and the California Baptist University School of Pharmacy,an evangelical Christian university affiliated with theCalifornia Southern Baptist Convention. The final twelve orthirteen Californian schools may ultimately train over 1000pharmacists per year.This may be great news for basic and clinical scientistslooking for faculty jobs in the next few years becausemany new academic appointments will have to be madeand, traditionally, pharmacy schools are great, supportiveenvironments for neuroscientists to teach and research.However, the reasons behind the significant increase infaith-based pharmacy schools are unclear; do churchesneed new sources of income to support their ecumenicalmissions? Or is there a demand for pharmacists-of-faith?Is this a West Coast phenomenon or is a similar trenddeveloping in other parts of the world, including the UK?The answers to these questions are not clear.Moreover, what might the impact be of a faith-basedschool or university on the teaching of, and researchin, neuroscience? Will the pineal gland – considered byDescartes to be the seat of the soul - become bigger andmore important again? Will potential staff have to be ofthe same faith as the school or university?I jest (a little) of course. More importantly, will lecturersbe able to teach with complete academic freedom or willthey be encouraged to focus on particular topics, such asspiritual neuroscience and neurotheology? Even morecritically, will researchers be allowed pursue any line ofenquiry, including those into controversial fields, such asembryonic stems cells?Again, the answers to these questions are not yet clear.However, those who might think of working in suchenvironments may need to consider these questions,before making final decisions on their careers.For more information on this, and other Californiaphenomena, watch this space for updates!!1 There are no problems in the Golden State, onlychallenges and opportunities!!Aschaeffer14

PeopleA life on the page:David McAlpineAnne CookeHalf Irish lilt, half Australian twang, anyone hearing David McAlpine speak would be hard-pushed toidentify his hometown. But for many people even hearing his voice is a struggle; hearing impairmentaffects millions worldwide – one of them being David himself. Is this why he now studies audition?Where did he acquire his trans-global accent? How did sheet-metal inspire him to do a PhD? Andwhat’s brought him from the murder triangle to making people laugh?David seemingly contemplating the neuroscience of audition, even though, as an undergraduate in 1987,he didn’t yet know it would be the focus of his career.Surviving the murder triangleSo where DO you come from David?I was born in Belfast, but, when I was seven, my parents,twin brother and I became ‘£10 poms’, taking advantageof an assisted passage scheme to immigrate to Australia.It was very much a working class family - both my parentsleft school at fourteen - and working class in Perthpromised a better quality of life than working classin Belfast.But my parents never settled. At thirteen I found myselfback in Northern Ireland, at a time of great political andeconomic turmoil. We lived in a new housing estate thatwas supposed to bridge between a hard-core Loyalisttown and a Republican community, bringing people outof the ghettoes into harmonious coexistence; in reality, itended up a conflict zone known as the Murder Triangle.It was turbulent on the home front too; starting secondaryschool in an alien education system (uniform! discipline!)with a new baby brother, another on the way and,within a few days, the knowledge we clearly shouldn’thave returned.So at fifteen I was in Perth again. And at eighteen, theday before I started University, my father walked out.I only saw him once again.15

A life on the page:David McAlpine continuedPearls ofwisdomAllow yourself to bewrong. It gives you thefreedom to find out whatis true.A firm grounding ingeneral physiology isessential.Work with people whoshare your belief toenjoy doing scienceSeek good supervisorsand mentors.When starting out,create a warm, friendlylab, and enjoy thecamaraderie. Recogniseit’s the only time inlife you’ll get to dointeresting work withpeople of similar ageand outlook to yourself.Ultimately, you can’tmake students writeup their PhD; it’s theirresponsibility.Get lucky!Having a laughoutside the labIn the unlikely event thatDavid switches fromscience, his fall-backcareer will bring plentyof laughter; in his sparetime he does a meanturn as a stand-upcomedian, riffing onhearing loss, music andthe army. The nextchance to catch him inaction will be wheneverhe next persuadessomeone to give hima gig!Thespian inspirations - and expirationsIt doesn’t sound like an upbringing toencourage academic ambition.What led you into science?In Australia I was in The Gould League’s nature club forkids, but it was watching Jonathan Miller on the BBC’sThe Body in Question, back in Ireland, that really inspiredme. I remember him giving a dramatic demonstrationabout why we need to breathe by slowly depleting hisown oxygen levels until hecollapsed. In hindsight, knowinghis thespian talents, it wasprobably greatly exaggerated– but it had the desired effectof making me interested in howthe body works.Education inIreland openedmy eyesto scienceI did the wrong subjects in mylast years at school – this was back in Australia– and didnight school in order to get onto a science course at theUniversity of Western Australia. Even then, it wasn’t plainsailing. After my dad disappeared, my mum went back toDublin, and I found myself living alone on a campus where60% of students had, unlike me, been privately educated.I left after a term.But I knew I loved science. The insurance office job I gotonly emphasised that science was everything economicswas not; exciting, interesting, stimulating. After a year Irestarted University, and this time I thrived.Why neuroscience, and why hearing?My dad and uncle were both deaf from working onshipyards without ear protection, and I have tinnitus,but I ended up studying hearing by accident.I did summer projects with Ian Winter on cisplatinum, ananti-cancer agent which happens to damage outer haircells in the ear, and with Brian Johnstone in his cochlearmechanics lab. However, the following summer hadMy dad anduncle were deaffrom workingon shipyardsperhaps greater influence; Itook a hard labourer’s job ina sheet metal factory wheretemperatures rose above 50°C.I felt like I had a choice betweenmy dad’s working class life, or acareer in science. When I walkedback onto campus I knew that this was what I wanted.It felt like home.After that it was a PhD with David Moore in Oxford,followed by research at Nottingham’s Institute ofHearing, and now London, where I am Director of theUCL Ear Institute.16

PeoplePivotal people and placesWhat has been key to your neurosciencecareer?I’ve always been self-motivated but that isn’t enoughif you don’t have any knowledge of what’s out thereto direct it towards. Being exposed to the disciplined,structured education in Ireland opened my eyes to sciencein a way that I didn’t experience in my more laid-backPerth schools.The importance of working in an amazing, supportivegroup of people, and enjoying life to the full. Withineleven months of graduating in Perth, I had got married,moved to the other side of the world, started my PhD andbecome a father! Oxford was tough; standards were highand I wasn’t sure I was good enough. But David Mooreran a warm, sociable lab, and I got into sport. I’m notsure how, but by the end I could do research, and knewwhat I wanted to study.Wearing an invisible wrist-band saying, “What would AlanPalmer do?” He is a seminal figure for me; everything Ilearnt in his group in Nottingham informs how I now work.And a great postdoc in Alan’s group, Dan Chang; wereally bounced off each other. It was phenomenallyproductive - fourteen papers in three years. It made mycareer.Having said that, if you want ‘A Career’, don’t do science.If you want to do science, do science. I simply couldn’tlive any other way.1 Joint author of seminal paper on basilar membranein 1967Clockwise from top left: As a baby in Ireland, 1968; With histwin brother (unsure who’s who!) With family and friends at theUniversity of Western Australia, 1987; David today; In Australia,1986; David (possibly right?!) with twin brother, around 1977.17

PICKING HOLES INBAD SCIENCEBecky McCallScience thrives on objective criticism of findings and analysis of the evidence, yet media coverageoften portrays an over-hyped or distorted version of the truth. Ben Goldacre, author of Bad Science,and winner of the 2010 BNA award for Increasing Public Understanding of Science, tells us whyhe is so driven to expose where science and its communication to the public gets it wrong.You’ve received the BNA Award ‘Increasing PublicUnderstanding of Science’, in honour of yourscience communication efforts, which encouragepeople to question claims and media reports.What motivates you in this respect?Firstly, I find it frustrating that the media so often getsthings wrong on the most basic things in science, so it’snice to have an outlet for that [frustration], to put therecord straight. But more than that, pointing out wheresomething has been misinterpreted, or over-interpreted,or badly analysed, is an opportunity to talk about the rightway to do things. In some respect, writing about ‘BadScience’ is just a gimmick for normal straight-up sciencecommunication work.It’s also a good way to show people how real scienceworks - by critical appraisal, by reviewing and criticallyanalysing the evidence for someone’s position. Pickingholes in someone’s case isn’t a mean thing to do, or aweird aberration, it’s what science is all about.Do you think the general public is too willing tounquestionably believe science they read about in themass media?I’m not so sure: I think everyone reads newspapersdifferently. If anything, one problem now is that peopleknow the media have misled them on so much, that somepeople are disinclined to believe anything they read, andhave a kind of undifferentiated cynicism. I can absolutelyunderstand where that comes from. The response toit is to think about what good alternative sources ofinformation there are to mainstream media.How do you choose which piece of science is next in thefiring line?A mix of things. It has to be something that’s not justwrong, but interestingly wrong: there has to be theopportunity to explain a point of science, whether it’ssomething simple like cherry picking, or something a bittrickier like Bonferroni’s correction for multiple statisticalcomparisons. I don’t worry about whether things aretopical; I see my role as more to write about things thatother people don’t write about.How should journalists communicate science in lay termswithout sacrificing scientific accuracy?There is not a one line answer to that. One important thingis to have a high opinion of your audience; not everythinghas to be dumbed-down. Sports coverage is technical,and there for people who are interested in sport. I thinkit’s OK for science coverage to be like that sometimes too.There are a lot of people - technically I’d refer to them asmorons - who hear you suggest that, and fantasise you’resuggesting there should never be any accessible material.Obviously that’s foolish. What you need is diversity.18

PeopleYour ‘Bad Science’ career has naturally been builtupon exposing rogue science, but can you highlight anexample of science in the public arena which you feel iswell-communicated and as a result has enhanced publicunderstanding of the topic?I think the closer a piece of science reporting gets tosomething relevant to people’s everyday lives, the morelikely it is to be reported misleadingly: gender relations,health, personal psychology, or whatever. In general, thereally abstract, pure science things tend to be reportedstraight.Do you see yourself as more of a media personality or adoctor these days?God, neither. Just like we say, “a person with diabetes”rather than, “a diabetic”, I don’t think it’s helpful to labelanyone by a role. It’s actually something you have to bereally careful about: once you get known for writing andbroadcasting about things, people start to ask you on toradio and telly to talk about everything under the sun.I think it’s important to resist that: you can see peoplewho haven’t, and I’m sorry to say they’re not a hugelyadmirable spectacle.How would you like to see communication of science withthe public improved?The most important thing is to get academics doing moreunmediated direct public engagement. Start a blog, writea post about an interesting presentation, get someoneto make a 5 minute video of you rambling on about yourfavourite paper out this month (by someone else, it feelsweird talking about your own...)If you have a story to tell to the public, put it out thereyourself.Ben Goldacre’s book Bad Science is widely available,ISBN-10: 000728487X; his website can be found at:badscience.netBen Goldacre explains ‘bad science’ throughpublic talks (above left) as well as via hisbest-selling book (above right), work thatthe BNA acknowledged by presenting himwith the prize for public understanding(above, with Trevor Robbins, David Nuttand Richard Morris)19

THE LEGEND OF THE BLACK HORSEOr how the BNA contributed to the birth ofneuroscience over a pint in a London pubJoelle M. Abi-Rached, Anne Cooke and Steven RoseJoelle Abi-Rached 1 , a History of Science PhD student at Harvard, and Steven Rose, well-knownresearcher, broadcaster, author, political activist and one of the founding fathers of the BNA,recount how its birth marked a key moment in time for neuroscience worldwideFree love, the moon landing,and the assassination of JohnF. Kennedy all mark the 1960sas a decade of change. Andsignificant change was also afoot in thelong history of brain science for, in the1960s, a new type of interdisciplinaryscience gained an official name:neuroscience.Neuroscience first saw the day of light under the name ofthe ‘Neurosciences Research Program’ or NRP. Foundedin 1962 by American biophysicist Francis O. Schmitt,the NRP was predecessor to the American Society forNeuroscience, the world’s largest organisation dedicatedto neuroscience today.In Britain, meanwhile, the first organisation that could layclaim to being dedicated to neuroscience was the BrainResearch Association (BRA) formally founded in Londonin 1968. Although not, yet, neuroscience by name, theBRA shared the ethos of the American NRP, namely topromote multidisciplinarity and collaboration across thebrain sciences.Yet the BRA came from very humble beginnings. It startedas an eclectic group of like-minded scientists – not yetneuroscientists – who would gather at the Black Horsepub in Rathbone Place, London, to discuss topics thatcut across different disciplines in brain science (see box).During the mid-1960s this ‘London Black Horse Group’actively promoted neuroscience in the UK, organizingconferences and workshops, acting as a lobby group,promoting new courses, degrees, centres and chairs in theneurosciences and gradually engaging in the ethical andsocial implications emerging from this new fieldof research.It wasn’t until three decades later, in 1996, that BRAbecame the British Neuroscience Association. Thelinguistic mutation from ‘brain’ to ‘neuroscience’ is anilluminating moment in the history of the BNA (andbrain research more broadly) for it reflects the rise ofneuroscience in both scientific and popular imaginations.Indeed the new century, on the cusp of which thismutation took place, was heralded as ‘the century ofneuroscience’. 2And now? Fifteen years on, the BNA is again makingsignificant change. Outwardly this can be seen in the newlogo. As for more... come to Harrogate 2011 to find out!1 Joelle has written the much fuller, fascinating account:From brain to neuro: the BRA and the making of Britishneuroscience, 1965-1996 in the Journal of the History of theNeurosciences. jabi@fas.harvard.edu2 Kandel, E.R. 1999. Biology and the future ofpsychoanalysis: a new intellectual framework for psychiatryrevisited. Am J Psychiatry 156(4): 505-24; Jacob, F. 1998. OfFlies, Mice and Men Cambridge, Mass, Harvard UniversityPress.20

PeopleIt was back in the dark ages of themid 1960s. The word neurosciencewas almost unheard of – we wereneurochemists, neurophysiologists,neuroanatomists, scattered throughthe various departments of the Londoncolleges. We were well used to thetechnical seminars in our own specialistdepartments, each on a highly specificmicrodetail of some brain process, structure or molecule.But somehow the grander picture – the reason why wehad chosen to study brains and not livers or toenails– was lacking.A group of us – some half dozen postdocs and younglecturers - decided we could do something better.Between us we assembled a mailing list of all the brainscientists and departments in the London area and calleda meeting to plan a London-wide seminar series. The ideawould be that we would choose a broad topic such asmemory, or pain and invite three or four speakers fromdifferent disciplines to approach it each from their ownperspective. There were to be two rules; eschew technicaljargon so that disciplinary divides could be bridged; andno professors or heads of department so we would notfeel intimidated.If I remember rightly the first meeting was held in a lecturetheatre in UCL, where it was immediately apparent that weneeded a third rule – to meet in a more convivial place.We chose a meeting room in a pub in Rathbone Placejust off Oxford Street, with beer on tap, and the meetingsgrew wings and flew.Soon similar groups took off in other university cities, andfrom the London discussion group we became the BRA.Our informality was only marginally affected when themuch lamented Pat Wall joined us, just back from the USin protest against the Vietnam war and the controller ofa small grant intended to foster communication amongstneuroscientists.Of course we became more established, though wefobbed off an attempt to turn us into a subsidiary of theInternational Brain Research Organisation. But we knewwe had finally become respectable when a group ofyounger women published a spoof article in New Scientistproposing a rival outfit to the BRA, with the acronymJOCKSTRAP.In due course the young postdocs and lecturers becameprofessors in their turn, and in even due-er course grewold and retired.Our legacy is the BNA. Santé!Founders of the Black Horse groupSteven RoseJohn LagnadoJohn Dobbing (1922-99) Robert BalázsLater joined by:Chris R. EvansPatrick (Pat) WallTop right: the BNA logoold (l) and new (r)Right: The Black Horse pubin Rathbone Place, London,where the seeds of BNAwere sown.21

Cognitive retailFrancis McGloneHaving recently returned to academia from a job in industry, Francis McGlone describes how thosewishing to pursue their own passions in basic brain research can do so - with impact – by workingalongside industry.The company I workedfor was in the FastMoving ConsumerGoods (FMCG) sector,a term used to describeconsumer products that areused day-to-day by most ofthe ~6.8 billion Homo sapienson our planet. It had avisionary approach to R&D inthat it separated a portion ofits global R&D budget (~£30Mper annum) away from thedirect control of the business, allocating it instead to grownew fields of research. As such, it provided a fantasticopportunity to ‘think big and think long’.Previously, I had been senior neuroscientist at thePain Research Institute in Liverpool, where basicscientists worked alongside clinicians to understandchronic neuropathic pain. Pain research demands amultidisciplinary approach, from molecular neurobiologyall the way through to systems of belief; it is only byaddressing mechanisms of sensation, perception andbehaviour, neuronal signalling, synaptic plasticity, andintegrative aspects of nervous system function that wecan begin to understand the neuroscience behind it.This taught me the power of converging methodologiesand interdisciplinarity. I didn’t realise it at the time,but the experience I gained in Liverpool provided themodus operandi for how I went on to build a cognitiveneuroscience group in an FMCG company.After leaving Liverpool it took a few months, and manyhours playing patience on my PC, to discover the raisond’etre for my existence in this strange environment ofindustry research. My eureka moment was to bringan interdisciplinary, systems-approach to studying theubiquitous human consuming behaviours that lie at theheart of an FMCG company - grooming, feeding andforaging (shopping). As I saw it, these neurosensory,perceptual, cognitive and affective processes underpinnedand sustained the company’s global business.I reasoned that the products people purchase (foragefor) to groom with and to feed with are not selectedsolely on the basis of their functional properties, butbecause of their rewarding properties – they are bothwanted and liked! Traditionally, the company had tried tomeasure ‘liking’ by way of focus groups, consumer panels,questionnaires, market research etc. To my mind, this wasarchaic, flawed and largely pointless. What was neededwas evidence-based ways of understanding why peoplelike/dislike the things they purchase. My focus thereforeshifted from understanding the mechanisms of pain, tothose of pleasure.Building a new science-base required establishing,and funding, a global network of academic researchcollaborations so that high calibre science couldaddress the complex neurobiological and behaviouraldrivers of the aforementioned behaviours. This relianceon ‘orchestrating’ across disciplines in brain andbehavioural sciences in pursuit of a common goal furtherreinforced my experience of, and belief in, the power ofinterdisciplinarity and convergence.An example of how this model operated is research wecarried out into mechanisms of positive skin sensations– the surface where grooming products are applied. Senseof touch (touch, temperature, pain/itch) is now recognisedas important in affective, affiliative and social aspects ofsocial communication. Through research funded thanksto grooming products, we provided a significant scientificcontribution to understanding social communication; westudied the taxonomy of cutaneous c-fibres, characterisinga population that are not nociceptors or puriceptors, butrespond optimally to low force and velocity (stroking/caressing) stimulation, inducing a state of pleasure- hedonoceptors. They code for the pleasant aspectsof affiliative and social touch – the reason grooming ispleasurable…Much of this research required the skills of academicinstitutions (and there are many more examples of howwe as neuroscientists have transferable knowledge forindustry). Nurturing links with industry in this way canprovide much needed research funding that has a ‘doubleimpact’– we, as academics, get to do original research,and industry gets to innovate new products.My task was to find why people consume products evenif they don’t know why they like them – they just do. Byassessing cognitive behaviour underlying the joys of retailtherapy I found my research not only helped understandconsumers, but also understand the brain.22

SciencetherapyThe cartoon above shows how neurosciencecan be used to design products that peoplereally like by understanding the underlyingbrain and behavioural processes, from initialproduct selection, to final use. Artwork byNick AndersonPET imaging (left) shows the difference inbrain activation between the sight of thearm being touched by an experimenter’sfinger,vs the sight of the arm not beingtouched (in that the experimenter’s fingerwas moved, inverted, and 1 cm above theimage of the arm, as shown in photo).(See McCabe,Rolls,and McGlone.SCAN (2008) 3, 97–108)23

How did you celebrateBrain Awareness Week 2011?Neuroscientists from Bristol Neuroscience usedswimming hats and model brains, plus excellentfacilities in the new All about us exhibition at sciencecentre At-Bristol, to describe how different parts of ourbrain do different things.Send your photos to:BNA-editor@bristol.ac.ukfor inclusion in the next editionof the Bulletin.24

ScienceTHE BRAINS OF BABESHOW A CHILD’S BRAIN DEVELOPS A SENSE OF SELFRobin Ince and Bruce HoodWhen stand-up, television, radio and theatre star Robin Ince (Mock the Week, The Office,The Infinite Monkey Cage, amongst many others) - became a father, he found himself entranced;what astonishing transformations take place in a baby’s brain to create a sense of self, personality,free will? Here Robin’s thoughts are followed by those of Professor Bruce Hood, expert in cognitivedevelopment, and equally captivated by the amazing human brain‘Real human brain from At-Bristol’s All About Us exhibition.’Just as I startedmulling over themedulla oblongata,hippocampus andcorpus collosum inmy skull a suitableexperimentalsubject becameavailable: my son.Robin InceAfter some years of exuberantly frittering awaymy life in the arts, or at least the lowly version ofthem that is embodied by TV and comedy clubs,I became excited by science again. Initially it wasthe science of outer space; the wonders of the cosmos,pulsars, black holes and dark matter. After reading CarlSagan’s Dragons of Eden, I became inward looking. Istarted wondering about our brains. It seemed strange tome that, having been conscious for the majority of my life Iwas only just beginning to think about consciousness.Just as I started mulling over the medulla oblongata,hippocampus and corpus collosum in my skull a suitableexperimental subject became available: my son. I think theearly part of the twentieth century had enough childrenhaving fear of fluffy animals instilled in them byintrigued psychologists and my wife wasn’t too keen onme manufacturing a fearsome wire mesh version of her, soI’ve made do with the joy of watching his mind developwithout experimental intrusion or control group.I am always astonished by parents who shout at theirchildren as if their brains are fully developed with altruismand empathy when they’ve only just realised the reflectionin the mirror is them. They seem like a Las Vegas magicianbelieving he can teach a tiger love and respect and arethen surprised when it tries to eat them.As he grows I wonder how his inner monologue isbabbling. How much dialogue remains in his skull andwhat comes out of his mouth? When did our planning andplot hatching spend most of its time inside? If I am upsetwhen he says, “I don’t like you”, I soon realise that he is25

THE BRAINS OF BABES continuedjust at the honest stage of existence. As we grow older,we let our feelings fester inside our head, attempting torid ourselves of ill-feeling with aggressive gardening orthe kicking of an inanimate object.I worry about when self-consciousness teeters into anembarrassed self-awareness and knowledge of shame thatcan hamper you for the rest of your life. Does blushingcome with empathy? At two and a half he can sit in themiddle of a room on his potty, surrounded by familymembers, and eat crisps while enjoying Numberjacks,this reckless gregariousness will go with a blush.I wonder if it would it be an improvement to be a lowlybeast, hard-wired to fight for survival, without reason orself-awareness? Does a lowlier mind take away the painof existence?Parents experience a joy when they see their child lookingin a mirror and realising for the first time that it is seeing itsown reflection. For sometime the mirror is a plaything, butwhen does the child see its reflection and no longer laughat it, but instead see every possible imperfection and sag?I ask myself what difference my interaction with my sonmakes. The old Jesuit maxim of the first seven years ofexperience creating the adult, though perhaps not exact,holds some truth. In the world of comedy, I know enoughpeople whose early childhood experiences have scarredthem enough to spend the rest of their lives showing offto a load of strangers who they hope will like or evenlove them. Will teaching him to recognise Charles Darwinand Tycho Brahe when he was two years old lead to himhaving psychosomatic stomach aches or having an intensewish to have a gold nose (astronomer Tycho Brahe lost hisoriginal nose in a duel)?Should I excuse some of his more hideous behaviourbecause I have decided that free will is an illusion afterscant reading of Benjamin Libet? At what age is it correctto bring up with your child the possibility of free will beingan illusion, is it about the same time you bring up manyworlds theory and inform him that he is just one self ofa staggering many living in a multitude of universes thatare slightly different? In one of these universes his fatherdecided not to bring up free will being an illusion, but wecan’t be sure what the outcome was.Perhaps I’ll just wait until his fifth birthday to explain,with a précis of Frances Crick, that he’s just a bundle ofneurons and then we’ll take it from there.Bruce (left) and Robin at The Amazing Meeting, London 2010.Bruce Hood is directorof the Bristol CognitiveDevelopment Centre andthe author of SuperSense:From superstition toreligion – the brainscience of belief andthe forthcoming TheSelf Illusion: How thedeveloping brain createsthe ‘you’ inside your head.You can catch Robin onhis Bad Book Club Tour,extended to the endof April, and the UncagedMonkeys NationalTour 2011, when the‘finest names in sciencebroadcasting… talk ofdark matter, black holes,Bonobo apes, the bigbang and anythingelse they can craminto two hours.’ - seerobinince.com.26

ScienceBruce HoodWhere does the self come from? I have beenpondering that question for some timeand trying to consider the answer froma developmental cognitive neuroscienceperspective. Of all the different animals on this little bluedot of a planet, humans are the one species that spendthe longest proportion of their lives as children dependenton adults. This long period of child rearing enables usto transmit informationfrom one generation tothe next but ultimately,I believe, to provide thesocial environment where webegin to construct the self.We used to describe young children as solitary littlescientists testing out the world around them, but thepast 30 years of research have shown that children aremore like apprentices, eager to learn from others. Thisnew pedagological stance to understanding cognitivedevelopment considers how learning is best achievedin a social context.Much of this social learningis facilitated by mechanismsthat optimize the amountof attention young childrenpay to adults and viceversa. At the neuronal level,two complimentary processes are at work to shape thedeveloping brain. The first is a constructive process thatexpands the connectivity and communication betweennetworks of neurons providing the potential scaffolding forexperience to impact on our nervous system. The secondis a destructive pruning process that cleaves away thoseconnections that are not reinforced by excitation. In thisway, experience sculpts the architectureof the brain in a neuronal “use it, or lose it” struggle.At the neuronal level, two processeswork to shape the developing brain.Of all animals, humans spend thelongest proportion of life as childrendependent on adults.One recent account of social learning highlights the roleof a special class of spindle neurons, called Von Economoneurons. Spindle neurons consist of a very large bipolarneuron that is found only in the frontoinsular and anteriorcingulate cortex and may provide the interconnectionbetween brain regions that are activated by sociallearning. Spindle neurons are thought to work by keepingtrack of social experiences, leading to a rapid appreciationof similar situations in thefuture. They provide thebasis of social learningas part of a mirroringsystem when we watchand copy others.So far, humans seem to have the biggest population ofspindle neurons located in the frontoinsular and anteriorcingulate cortex areas but they have also been found inspecies that are particularly social, including all the greatapes, as well as whales and dolphins – species that alsospend relatively prolonged periods rearing their young.In humans, it may be nocoincidence that the densityof spindle neurons increasesfrom infancy to reachadult levels somewherearound the fourth birthday,a time when most childdevelopment experts agree that there is noticeablechange in social skills. Our “self” may be substantiatedin a developing neural architecture of the brain, but it isone that is dependent on an environment of other brainsto survive.A recent account highlights the roleof a class of spindle neurons,Von Economo neurons.27

Triple goddess of the nightAnna Ger and Dmitri GerDespite being banned in the 1960s, open-minded scientists always saw the potential of usingpsychoactive compounds in neuroscience research. One of them, Alexandr Shulgin, inspired Annaand Dmitri to carry out the work described to Bulletin readers below.What do we know about the application ofpsychoactive drugs in modern neuroscience?We believe that their potential is beingoverlooked. Partly, this is historic;psychoactive substances such as 5-HT receptor agonists(see glossary) stopped in the 1960’s after the USgovernment announced that the nation was becomingaddicted to LSD. Now, however, there is increasinginterest in applying such substances to treat anxietyand depression. And we should not underestimatethe potential benefit of using them in neuroscienceresearch, too.To make chemical synthesis more interesting,sophisticated and accessible, and help people see thebeauty of chemistry art, we have linked synthesis of a newcompound with Greek mythology.Selene, Hecate and Artemida are, in Greek mythology,goddesses of The Moon. Selene is the bright side whileHecate is the dark, chthonic side. Together, they are acomplete whole - The Moon - but they are different sidesof the same coin, antagonistic in nature.While researching homologues of 2,5-Dimetoxy-4-methylphenylisopropylamine (DOM) Shulgin drewinteresting analogies. There are nineteen hydrogen atomsin DOM. Nine hydrogen atoms are uniquely identifiable:they have strict spatial position in the molecule. Theremaining ten atoms appear to be ‘duplicates’ of theunique nine (fig 1).Shulgin decided to prove the uniqueness of each of thenine hydrogen positions by substituting each hydrogen fora methyl group in turn. As a result, nine new compoundswere produced, which Shulgin then baptised with tenclassical women’s names:1 1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminobutane– Ariadne2 N-Methyl-1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane – Beatrice3 1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-amino-2-methylpropane – Charmian4. threo-1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-1-methyl-2-aminopropane - Daphne5 erythro-1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)- 1-methyl2-aminopropane – Elvira6 1-(2-Ethoxy-4-methyl-5-methoxyphenyl)-2-aminopropane – Florence7 1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-3,4-dimethylphenyl)-2-aminopropane– Ganesha8 1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylphenyl)-2-aminopropane– Hecate9 1-(5-Ethoxy-4-methyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-2-aminopropane – Iris10 1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4,6-dimethylphenyl)-2-aminopropane- JunoFigure 1: 2,5-Dimetoxy-4-methylphenylisopropylamine (DOM)Figure 2: Jelena28

ScienceGlossarySerotonin: CNSneurotransmitterInvolved in mood andsleep regulationAgonist: chemicalwhich mimicsendogenoussubstances (e.g.neurotransmitters),acts on receptors andtriggers intracellularresponses5-HT: 5-hydroxitryptamine(another name forserotonin)LSD: Lysergic aciddiethylamide,psychoactive substanceknown as ‘acid’Alexandr Shulgin:American chemist andpharmacologist, authorof ‘TIHKAL’, ‘PIHKAL’.Homologue: chemicalcompound belongingto specific series ofcompounds that usuallydiffer by just 1 unit(usually CH2)Isomer: chemicalsubstance with thesame chemical formulabut different orientationof atomsHecate, the Greco-Roman goddess of the dark side of the moon, was often depicted as a threefacedfigure and was associated with many things including protector of medicine and drug design.29

Triple goddess of the nightcontinuedFigure 3: Hecate to Selene: and from Selene to JelenaBut why are there ten compounds, and therefore ladies,when there are only nine unique hydrogens?Our suggestion is that Shulgin’s approach is not strictlyscientific, but also creative. Ten compounds wereproduced because he put one substance in form of twooptical forms of isomers: Daphne-Elvira. Probably he didit to keep beauty and balance, choosing to ignore thatalmost all these compounds (except Charmian) might bepaired by optical isomers (doing so would be chaotic, notthe “ten classical ladies” he aspired to create).The real list, therefore, includes only nine compounds:Ariadne, Beatrice, Charmian, Daphne, Elvira, Florence,Ganesha, Hecate, Iris.We decided it was time to re-establish the balance, anduse our own methods to bring a tenth lady back to thegroup.Our resultant new compound has an isopropyl ‘tail’on the fourth position, making 1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-isopropylphenyl)-2-aminoethane. This new tenth lady alsohappens to be structural isomer of all other nine ladies.Our tenth lady has never been mentioned anywhere as itnever previously existed. We cannot keep our compoundwithout a name. We got rid of Juno, and it will be logicalto use J, so let us call it Jelena (fig 2).This work isdedicatedto Alexandr Shulginon the occasion ofhis 85th birthday.Back to mythology. If Selene and Hecate are twoantipodes of the Moon we could apply this to thechemistry and find an antipode of the Hecate molecule(Shulgin’s eighth lady). For this purpose let’s remove themethyl group from Hecate, the propyl ‘tail’, and placeit on the opposite side: on the ethyl ‘tail’. As a result wehave a compound which was mentioned in Shulgin’s“PIHKAL” as 2C-P. It would be logical to call 2C-P Seleneas it is chemical analogue and contrast to Hecate.In some sources Jelena is mentioned as the root of thename Selene, therefore Jelena is Selene’s derivative.Let’s apply some shamanism and turn Selene’s 4-propyl‘tail’ into 4-isopropyl Jelena’s ‘tail’ - the new molecule isproduced (Fig 3).Try looking at psychoactive substances from anotherperspective; people perceived psychedelics as absoluteevil but, by looking from a different point of view, theyare now discovering the intrinsic usefulness and beautyof these substances. Hecate was always treated as a darkcursing goddess. Look closer and you will see the beautyof Selene and mystery of Jelena too.It is worth mentioning that our work was also guidedby Hecate; as protectress of medicine and drug designher presence is a benign blessing for much of today’sneuroscience research.With thanks to Oleg Golubev for assistance with chemicalstructures in figs 1-3.Jon Hanna30

ScienceMental workoutJemma RansomPounding away in the gym, Jemma Ransom found herself pondering on exercise and the brain.Why do we get an ‘exercise high’? Does physical fitness keep our brain healthy too?Mike BairdIn the midst of Christmas over-indulgence I expectmany of us considered what New Year resolutionswe would set for 2011. I was one such person,and my chosen goal was fitness. So it was that Ifound myself at 6:30am, in the dark cold of a Januarymorning, with gym membership card in hand and newtraining shoes in tow, bounding energetically towardsthe nearest exercise bike.To my surprise, I was not the only one to be foundworking out at such an unreasonable hour; several aspiringLinford Christies were limbering up on neighbouringtreadmills. So what is it that keeps more seasoned fitnessenthusiasts as keen as new-comers like me? What keepsmotivation high throughout the year?The mood enhancing effects of exercise have long beenreported anecdotally; the so-called ‘exercise high’ is byno means a new phenomenon. How do these effects ofexercise relate to what goes on in the brain? Could abetter understanding of the link between physical fitnessand the brain have therapeutic value?The most robust change that occurs in the brains ofphysically active individuals is in an increase in the volumeof the hippocampus, a region associated with learning andmemory. Recent imaging studies have found a positiveassociation between the volume of the hippocampus andaerobic fitness. In elderly subjects, higher fitness levelswere found to correspond to larger hippocampal volumes.Furthermore, in these individuals, hippocampal volumealso correlated with greater spatial memory performancecompared to individuals with lower fitness levels 1 . A similareffect was found amongst a cohort of preadolescentchildren, suggesting that exercise is of benefit to learningand memory across the human life span 2 . Results fromhuman brain imaging studies have been backed up31

Mental workout continuedunequivocally in rodent models. Wheel-running, aparadigm considered to mimic voluntary exercise inhumans, increases cell survival and neurogenesis in thedentate gyrus region of the hippocampus 3 .Given the effect on the structure and function of thehippocampus, many researchers have asked whetherexercise may have therapeutic potential for depressionand Alzheimer’s disease, conditions in which thehippocampus atrophies as part of the pathologicalprocess. Here the evidence is more controversial.Several authors have found mild positive effects ofexercise in clinically depressed populations 4 5 . In theelderly, a positive effect comparable to that achieved withantidepressant treatment has been observed in groupexercise classes 6 . However the physiological mechanismsby which these effects occur, and the type and ‘dose’ ofexercise required, are unknown.It is widely reported that people who are more activein early and mid-life are less likely to develop dementiain old age. Moreover, physical activity in the elderly isassociated with a reduced rate of cognitive decline 7 .Elderly individuals who engage in physical activity havelower levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, includingtau protein and ß-amyloid, in their cerebrospinal fluid 8 .Additionally, in a transgenic mouse model, treadmillrunning was found to alleviate learning and memorydecline, an effect paralleled by an enhancement inlong term potentiation 9 . It is likely that aerobic exercisethroughout life reduces the risk of developing dementia inold-age, and guidelines given by the National Institute forClinical Excellence (NICE) recommend physical activity asa parallel intervention in Alzheimer’s disease.Exercise has benefits for the whole body, andwhilst its therapeutic potential in psychological andneurodegenerative diseases remains controversial, it isclear that physical fitness has a positive effect on ourbrains in both improving our mood, and enhancinglearning and memory.So, as I rejoin my fellow athletes in the gym tomorrowmorning, I can rest assured that the early start to my day iswell worth the effort.1 Erickson K.I.,et al. (2009) Hippocampus. 19: 1030–10392 Chaddock L., et al. (2010) Brain Research. 1358: 172-1833 Clark P.J., et al. (2011) Genes, Brain, and Behaviour4 Mead G.E., et al. (2010) The Cochrane Collaboration.Issue 15 Sjösten N., Kivelä S.L. (2006) International journal ofGeriatric Psychiatry. 21: 410-4186 Blumenthal J.A., et al. (2007) Psychosomatic Medicine. 69:587-5967 Lautenschlager NT et al. (2008) JAMA. 300:1027–10378 Liang K.Y. et al. (2010) Annals of Neurology. 68: 311-3189 Hui-li Liu, et al. (2010) Behavioural Brain ResearchUniversity of Bristol32

PMS, PROZAC, AND CONSPIRACIESHanno KoppelScienceAmongst the ‘moody blues’ discussed at BNA’s symposium at the British Science Festival 2010(see p 38) , pre-menstrual syndrome - or PMS - and its treatment with Prozac stirred up strongopinions in national press. Could popping a pill spell the end for ‘that time of the month’?it with Prozac, the universal panacea 3 for our time, itis understandable (though probably not acceptable)why some relegate Lovick’s work to addressing trivialcomplaints of the worried well.Actually, PMS is not trivial. It does not make you ‘quitemiserable’ nor is it confined to ‘a lot’ of people. Millionssuffer from PMS, often in debilitating and even frighteningways, and anything that may reduce the causes is worthyof serious consideration.The symptoms of PMS seem to arise when levels of asteroid, allopregnanolone (ALLO), drop. This is becauseALLO is involved in inhibiting the activity of emotioncircuitry. Levels of ALLO fall premenstrually, and so, inthe absence of its inhibiting effects, emotions - especiallyanger, aggression and irritability - rise.The effects of fluoxetine (the active ingredient of Prozac)on ALLO levels have been known for some time 4 . WhatLovick and her team report 5 is that in their rat model forPMS, low levels of fluoxetine (a tenth that used to treatdepression), administered for a very short time, reversedthe signs of anxiety, increased pain and heightenedsensitivity shown by rats in their equivalent of thepremenstrual stage.Thelma Lovick speaking at the BNA’s ‘Moody Blues’ eventat the British Science Festival in BirminghamWhen a report proposing a biologicalmechanism behind pre-menstrual syndrome(PMS) and its treatment with Prozac waspublished by Dr Thelma Lovick 1 and her teamat the University of Birmingham, it caused a commotion inthe press.Why the controversy?Perhaps the quote by Tim Kendall, Deputy Director ofResearch at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, goes someway towards an explanation; his comment that, “PMSmakes a lot of women quite miserable…” 2 implies it ismerely a trifling, female concern, not worthy of seriousresearch. Secondly, with the proposal to treatProfessor Nikolas Rose, a sociologist at the London Schoolof Economics, believes that the dose levels of Prozac usedin this way, “sits badly with what is known of the mode ofaction of these drugs,” 6 and Dr Kendall is concerned thatwomen who choose to self-medicate with fluoxetine arelikely to suffer from its side-effects; sexual dysfunction,lowered libido, impotence, poor sleep anxiety andappetite loss. Moreover fluoxetine, particularly used bypeople under the age of thirty, has been reported astriggering suicidal thoughts and self-harm 7 .However, Dr Kendall’s concerns do not relate to thelow dose and very short-term use of fluoxetine for thetreatment of PMS as suggested by Lovick, and selfmedicationis not a common problem with prescriptionmedications.A conundrum that does not seem to have been exploredis the effects of the higher, antidepressant, dose offluoxetine on PMS; after all, there will be a very largenumber of women in the population who already takefluoxetine for depression. It would be interesting to seeif this group has less PMS than a similar group not takingthe antidepressant – although, as the dose and regime aredifferent, there may be no connection.33

PMS, PROZAC, AND CONSPIRACIEScontinuedThe most numericallysignificant responseto Dr Lovick’s work hasbeen generated by theconspiracy theorists (who willnot be graced by references here,although an online search will yieldthousands for you). The overall tenor of theirargument is that fluoxetine is not an effectivemedication for depression, but a scam controlledby the pharmaceutical giants to generate fortunes; inother words, it is snake oil. If that were not bad enough,they also claim that peddling fluoxetine as a new curefor PMS, a very widespread condition, is just a way ofre-invigorating the market for a medicine that is, perhaps,losing its popularity as an antidepressant.Yes. Quite. And I am Constance Spry, and you have beenreading my article on “Macassar and anti-macassar” in“Women’s Own”.1 birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2010/09/17sept-PMS.aspx2 The Guardian, 17 September 20103 Elizabeth Wurtzel, Quartet Books, 1996, ISBN-10:0704380080, ISBN-13: 978-07043800804 Pinna G, Costa E, and Guidotti, A. PNAS 101 6222-6225(2004)5 birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2010/09/17sept-PMS.aspx6 britishscienceassociation.org/web/News/FestivalNews/_TheendofPMS.htm7 bnf.org/bnf/bnf/current/3294.htm34

ScienceFrom Carrot to Clinic:Vitamin A in learning, memory, and depressionJemma RansomFreeimages.co.ukVitamin A is the dietaryprecursor of retinoicacid (RA), a powerfulmorphogenRA is important inembryonic braindevelopment, and inadult neurogenesisin regions includingthe hippocampus andhypothalamusRA may play a role inpsychiatric disease,e.g. depression, wherereduced hippocampalneurogenesis isobservedWhat links a polar bear to the humble carrot?Early explorer Sir Douglas Mawsondiscovered the answer to catastrophic effectduring his 1911 Antarctic expedition. UnlikeScott, who raced to the South Pole, Mawson set out withhis colleagues Xavier Mertz and Belgrave Ninnis to explorethe Antarctic in a scientific and methodical way.Three hundred miles from base camp, disaster: Ninnisfell to his death through an ice covered crevasse, takingall the team’s food with him. With no rations left Mawsondecided to race back using the remaining sled. In orderto sustain them back to safety their only option was to eatthe huskies that collapsed from exhaustion.However, just days into their journey, the pair becameprofoundly ill. Mertz, in particular, suffered delusions andbouts of severe depression until he fell into a coma anddied. Mawson also suffered, but made it back to camp.So what mysterious illness killed Mertz? Many authorshave argued that both Mawson and Mertz suffered vitaminA poisoning. Animals at the top of the food chain suchas huskies and polar bears concentrate high levels of thisvitamin in the liver, more than enough to kill a human.Not only does this story highlight the dangers of vitaminA poisoning, it also gives an intriguing insight into itsfunction in the brain. Recent work in our lab has shedlight on its role in a region termed the hippocampus. Thisstructure is located in the centre of the human brain and isbelieved to be vital for learning. The hippocampus shrinksin volume during depression, and lesions to this arearender individuals unable to form new memories. A similarshrinkage is observed when retinoic acid, a metabolite ofvitamin A, is applied, suggesting that the hippocampus iscapable of responding to vitamin A signalling, and hintingat a role in adult neurogenesis (the birth of new neurons),a process peculiar to this region.Excitingly, recent research indicates that a lack ofretinoic acid may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. Thisdebilitating condition, characterised by memory loss andcognitive impairment, is associated with senile plaqueformation in neurons. Cell culture experiments havesuggested that retinoic acid may reduce the formationof these plaques. It is hoped therefore that newtreatments based on vitamin A will be clinically relevantto Alzheimer’s disease.We are all taught as children that vitamins are essential forgood health. Whilst this is obviously the case, too much ofa good thing is nearly as bad as too little.35

Bluffer’s guide to…neuroscience podcastsUna FitzgeraldWho knew that the daily commute could beso interesting?! So I discovered when, latein 2009, I hooked up my new iPod to the carspeakers, browsed iTunes, and tuned into thevast range of neuroscience-related podcasts out there onthe net.I soon stumbled across the superb Brain Science, hostedby Ginger Campbell, MD. Ginger is an emergency doctorwho, as a hobby, has put together a great series of overseventy podcasts, for ‘everyone who has a brain’. Eachone lasts sixty minutes and may consist of an in-depthinterview with a neuroscientist or a detailed discussionof a neuroscience topic. The excellent thing aboutGinger’s podcasts is that transcripts for each episodeare downloadable from the Brain Science Podcast (BSP)website and links are provided to twenty other sites onneuroscience.Nature’s Neuropod series is one of Ginger’srecommended links. Neuropod episodes last forty minutesand are hosted by the very talented Kerri Smith. Ratherthan focussing on a single theme, these monthly podcastsfeature around four of the latest research findings inneuroscience and, helpfully, they are ‘enhanced’ sothat listeners can easily skip to topics of interest. Wellworth a listen.Then there is Neurapod, supported by healthcarecompany Teeva Neuroscience. Clinically oriented,the series focuses on major neurodegenerativedisorders including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’sand Alzheimer’s disease.Another worth a mention is Neuroscene, hostedby Stephen Hernon, which covers a vast range offascinating topics.The striking thing about all of these podcasts is the sheervolume of information they contain, communicated byresearchers whose passion and commitment is bothimpressive and inspiring. I have returned to favouriteepisodes repeatedly and information I’ve gleaned hasbeen incorporated into some of my lectures.When stuck in traffic on the school run, or negotiatingpot-holed bog roads in the west of Ireland, thesepodcasts are a great way to pass the time!RECOMMENDED LISTENING:Brain Science PodcastEpisode 71: summary of themes covered during BSP’s 4thyear, along with personal reflections from GingerEpisode 28: Dr Edward Taub about his revolutionaryapproach to stroke rehabilitation (constraint inducedmovement therapy)Episode 68: fascinating discussion following publicationof ‘The Myth of Alzheimer’s: What you aren’t being toldabout today’s most dreaded diagnosis’ (Whitehouse andGeorge, 2008)Nature NeuropodOct 2010: research on the blood-brain barrier, controllingimages with your thoughts, Parkinson’s pathways, andcochlear implantsNeurapod12 Sept 2008: Scott Zamvil (California) explains the roleof T and B cells in multiple sclerosis, and how differenttreatments affect these cellsNeuroscene1 Nov 2010: interview with Karen Wager-Smith about herwork on the pathophysiology of depression and how itmay be related to an inflammatory response in the brain36

ScienceBluffer’s guide to…Transcranial Magnetic StimulationEmma Ross and Rosie TwomeyTranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is asophisticated, non-invasive method of activatingthe cerebral cortex of human brain. The firstmodern TMS system was established in 1985 byProfessor Anthony Barker in Sheffield 1 and its use has sincebeen explored in a diverse range of experimental researchand clinical applications. Being relatively risk-free 2 andpainless, it has major advantages over direct electricalstimulation.In TMS, the brain is activated by rapidly changingmagnetic fields over the intended site of stimulation(Fig 1). The magnetic fields are produced by passinga current through a coil held lightly on the scalp. Thisinduces a weak electrical current in the brain, which cantemporarily excite or inhibit cortical areas and allow thestudy of brain function.Depending on the purpose, TMS can be applied either insingle or double pulses, or in repetitive trains of pulses ata given frequency (rTMS).An example of using single pulse stimulation is activatingprimary motor cortex to produce a muscle twitch withan associated excitatory electromyography response- a motor evoked potential (MEP). The site for elicitinga twitch in a specific muscle is found by changing thecoil position on the scalp and observing the resultingMEP. Corticospinal neurons projecting to muscles in thebody are represented at specific sites across the motorcortex (the well-known motor homunculus, Fig 2) helpinginvestigators optimise coil placement and subsequentneuromuscular assessment.Single pulse TMS has been used to study damagedpathways between brain and muscle, e.g. those manifestin multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and motorneuron disease. Characteristics of the response, suchas MEP amplitude or latency (the time elapsed betweenthe stimulus and the resultant MEP), allow s pathwayintegrity to be assessed. In addition, this technique hasallowed quantification of a specific component of fatigueconcerned with a sub-optimal output from the motorcortex; supraspinal fatigue 3 .Repetitive TMS can achieve sustained modulation ofcortical activity. This represents a tool with therapeuticpotential. rTMS was approved by the FDA 4 in 2008 asa treatment for major depression, and recent researchalso has examined its use in stroke patients 5 and variousneurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease 6 andepilepsy 7 with promising results.Future research with TMS will no-doubt provide valuableadvances in many aspects of neuroscience and, it ishoped, further ways to alleviate disease.1 Barker, A.T., Jalinous, R., & Freeston, I.L. (1985).Lancet, 1:1106–11072 Wassermann, E.M. (1998). Electroen Clinical Neuro, 108:1–163 Gandevia, S.C., et al. (1996). J Physiol, 490(2): 529-5364 U.S. Food and Drug Administration5 Khedr, E.M., et al. (2010) Acta Neurol Scan, 121, 30-376 Chen, R. (2010). Mov Disord, 25(14): 2311-2317.7 Baea, E.H., et al. (2011). Epilepsy Behav. 20(2):355-9.Figure 2Figure 1Anne CookeFigure 1. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motorcortex in action!Figure 2. Artist’s representation of the brain’s ‘motorhomunculus’ (left) where each area of motorcortex corresponds to a specific part of the body,with the size of cortical area directly proportionalto the complexity of the associated body part’smovements. This can be mapped with TMS,enabling subsequent targeted stimulationof specific muscles. An equivalent ‘sensoryhomunlucus’ is found in the somatosensory cortex(right) where the amount of of cortex reflects nervefibre density in the associated region of the body.37

Meeting reportsTEARS, FEARS AND CREATIVITY:Anne Cooke reports on the British Science Festival at Aston University, 17 September 2010As Dolly Parton once put it, “Those not afflictedwith it are affected by it; [the] PMS blues...” andPMS - or premenstrual tension - was just one ofmany emotions at Bliss or blues; rapture or rage,the BNA session at the 2010 British Science Festival.Highs and lows are part of life, but what creates emotions?Why do people suffer depression? Is there such a thing asmid-life crisis?Happiness at work; an oxymoronic statement to some,but a research topic for Andrew Oswald who studiesmood at societal level. Plotting a population’s lifecourseof happiness, for instance, shows a characteristic invertedcurve - bad news for those in their thirties, who have 20+years in the doldrums before increased happiness in oldage. Teenagers aren’t immune to low mood however, asdiscussed by KAH Mirza, who examined factors includingstress, cannabis, and genetics.Whether ‘her hormones make her feel like this’ wasaddressed by Thelma Lovick. Yes, they do; Thelma’sresearch shows that sustained low progesteroneassociated with that time of the month altersneurotransmitters in part of the ‘emotional brain’, theamygdala. Could PMS therefore be counteractedpharmacologically with Prozac? A world free of PMS?Would we recognise it?Whilst the amygdala is emotional, the prefrontal cortexreasons whether the emotion is appropriate or not. Incontrast to counteracting mood with pharmacology,Carien van Reekum uses brain imaging to see howtreatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy mightallow your ‘pragmatic precortex’ to be harnessed instead.For someone talking about anxiety, Daniel Freemanseemed to have a remarkably un-anxious audience.Deftly manipulating levels of anxiety, relief and laughterhelped illustrate how anxious thinking can exacerbatefears and create paranoia.With such passionate speakers, plus Lizzie Burns’emotional workshop ‘Out of our Heads’, festival-goers nodoubt felt filled with feelings. One of them certainly feltsatisfied, “this bit was my favourite of the festival- all week!”38

Reports & ReviewsTHE MOODY BLUES OF NEUROSCIENCEDO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?Alison Brindle, Ifat Yasin and Karen Walshe run unique, collaborative event between UCLNeuroscience and the British Library, 11th October 2010Afeast of auditory trickery awaited 250+ visitorsat a stimulating and interactive evening ofscience, music and fun at the British Library,the first collaborative venture between UCLneuroscientists, the British Library, and the charityDeafness Research UK.An energetic and humorous lecture, co-presentedby Stuart Rosen and Ifat Yasin (both UCL), Tobin May(Deafness Research UK), and Rebecca Smith (Orchestra ofthe City), described how the brain interprets sound, usingauditory illusions including a live Bach performance and anexpletive-laced episode of The Clangers!Audience members had the chance to mingle withUCL neuroscientists and ‘play’ with a variety of auditoryinteractive experiments. Some tested their ears usingspeech-based illusions, some watched a live brainelectroencephalography demo whilst listening to Congodrumming, and others modified their voices electronicallyto hear how they sounded if a different sex, age or weight.Glamorous retro group, The Harmonettes, performed forthe audience, being joined, at one point, by an impromptubeat-boxer!This successful partnership enabled members of the publicto question neuroscientists directly about their research.With people queuing round the block for tickets there’scertainly an appetite for science that’s both engagingand fun.9

Meeting reportsTHE BRISTOL-CARDIFF NEUROSCIENCECOLLABORATION YOUNG NEUROSCIENTISTS’ DAYSuzi Gage reports on the third BCNC-YND, 4th November 2010David Nutt with the YND10 Organising CommitteeOnce again over 200 early career neuroscientistsfrom across the UK converged on Bristol asthe Bristol-Cardiff Neuroscience Collaboration(BCNC) – a joint initiative of BristolNeuroscience and the Cardiff Neuroscience and MentalHealth Research Institute - put on another fabulous event.The day was bookended with talks by invited speakers.First, Dr Jonathan Evans and Mark Stanford (one of hispatients) gave a fascinating insight into bipolar disorder.But the day’s highlight was the final, plenary lecture givenby Professor David Nutt - as he put it, “from science tomedicine, alcohol to hard drugs, and from politics to thepopular press”.Although Professor Nutt began by talking about his earlyresearch on the GABA receptor, it wasn’t long beforepolitics, and his recent high-profile sacking from theGovernmental Drug Advisory Board, was mentioned.That same week he had published a paper in Lancetcontroversially showing that alcohol and tobacco aremore dangerous than almost all illegal drugs, whenconsidering harm caused by the drug to both theindividual and to others.Occasionally righteously indignant, Nutt is not one tobe downbeat or maudlin, giving reason to be optimisticrather than simply giving up in frustration. It was inspiringto see Professor Nutt talk, and hopefully the room fullof the neuroscientists of the future can learn from hisexperiences.The rest of the day’s program included poster sessions,research talks, breakout sessions on specific areas ofneuroscience and workshops offering interactive adviceon pursuing academic careers, alternative careers, orpublic engagement. The evening gave a chance to carryon conversations with conviviality with sit-down dinner,professional caricaturist, cash bar, and fun pub quiz.All in all an amazing day for all delegates, who willreap the benefits as they make their first, early stepsinto their careers.Supported by: British Neuroscience Association; BCNC;Bristol School of Experimental Psychology; HarvardApparatus; Bristol Research and Enterprise Development(RED); Tocris bioscience; Cardiff MRC Centre forNeuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics; QIAGEN;Bristol Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences; BritishPharmacological Society; Cardiff Graduate Centre;Digitimer; New England Biolabs; Severnside Alliance forTranslational Research (SARTRE) and Ascent Scientific40

Reports & ReviewsT’IS THE SEASON TO BE SOCIABLEKatherine Button at the BNA Christmas Symposium, 15th December 2010On a cold December afternoon three hundredneuroscientists, clinicians and journalistsgathered in the grandeur of the Royal Societyto grapple with the neuroscience of sociality.From the evolutionary origins of the ‘social brain’ throughto designing robots capable of pseudo-human interactionthe BNA 2010 Christmas Symposium proved to be asociably entertaining affair.Humans are inherently social. We live in mindbogglinglycomplex societies, and our globe-spanningcommunication technologies are testament to our driveto stay socially connected. But what is it to be social?Well it seems a prerequisite is the ability to mentalise(that is to take the perspective of another, also knownas Theory of Mind; ToM). In these changing economictimes with politicians attempting to ‘nudge’ us towardsbehaviours fit for a ‘Big Society’ the fascinating insightsprovided by social cognitive neuroscience have perhapsnever been so timely.Professor Robin Dunbar got things underway with a crossspecieslook at the relationship between encephalisationand the size of a species’ social network. A proponent ofthe ‘gossip theory of evolution’ Dunbar made a convincingcase for the huge computational demand of socialfunctions, such as ToM, in driving neocortex evolution.Forming and maintaining complex social relationships,it seems, requires extensive brain power and even ushumans with our chart topping neocortex/bodymassratio are limited in the number of acquaintances (150according to Dunbar’s famous number)we can cope within our social networks.Comparative studies provide evolutionary insights into thesocial brain but they also tell us something of the natureof our sociality. In a series of elegant behavioural studiesNicola Clayton demonstrated the mentalising ability ofcorvids and the striking parallels with humans. Corvidsare social birds which like to cache food. Nicky Clayton’steam at Cambridge noticed that this caching behaviourwas dependent upon whether or not it was conductedin the presence of others. If fellow corvids were present,the caching bird would come back later to move thestored food. Intriguingly, this re-caching behaviour wasonly observed in those birds with a history of stealing.The moral of the story: it takes a thief to suspect a thief!Something to bear in mind the next time accusations ofstolen staplers circulate the office...From a developmental view, we know disrupted socialfunctioning is related to poor mental health. Kevin Fone’swork showed that rearing rats in social isolation leads todisordered cognitive and social functioning, potentially bydisrupting dopaminergic function. Sarah Jane Blakemorethen continued the developmental theme examiningthe neural correlates of social brain development duringhuman adolescence. We all know the teenager stereotype:spotty, socially awkward and excruciatingly selfconscious.Well it seems this stereotype has some basisin neuroscience. Changes in cortical thicknessto areas of the social brain, suchas the medial prefrontalcortex, are still occurringwell into the teenage yearsand functional brain imagingsuggest that during socialcognition tasks activity in thisregion decreases betweenadolescence and adulthood.As well as elucidating the neuralcorrelates of individual socialstereotypes, neuroscience is alsoshedding light on wider socialphenomena such as housing‘bubbles’ and economic cycles of‘boom and bust’. In this uncertaineconomic and political climate,Ben Seymour’s insights intodecision neuroscience seemedparticularly timely. The science behind market trends nowsupports what we’ve known anecdotally for some time; wewant what everyone else wants, and the more they want41

T’IS THE SEASON TO BE SOCIABLEcontinuedit the more we want it irrespective of whether it’s the bestchoice for us or not! Bad news for first time buyers, but asnoted by Seymour, perhaps worse news for patient-ledtreatment choice in the NHS? As politicians increasinglyturn to social science for inspiration of how to influenceour behaviour through public policy the discipline ofdecision neuroscience seems set to flourish over thecoming decade.From explaining current social trends to a vision ofsocial care in the future, Chris Melhuish fascinated theaudience with work from his Bristol Robotic Laboratory.Melhuish’s vision is to develop humanoid robots capableof safe robot-human interaction to help meet societiesrapidly growing demands for social care. To this endthe need to understand the communication of sharedgoals, perception and understanding of intention, socialcognition, and active and passive compliance will nodoubt offer fascinating insights into how these processesoperate in humans.The session culminated with a speaker-panel discussionopened to the floor. My overwhelming impression wasjust how incredibly driven by our social brains we are.Our ability to mentalise is so well developed that weinfer mental states on pretty much anything, evident inBlakemore’s widely used ToM task, where two trianglesjittering on a computer screen are typically perceivedas excited. By the age of 5 years normally developinghumans perform at ceiling on virtually any measure oftheory of mind available and adults regularly operate at4 th or 5 th order ToM (that is , I know that Sue knows, thatJack knows that Jeff knows, that Ben knows ...).Yet one question from the floor got me thinking aboutall this seemingly unfathomable complexity. Perhapsmentalising and sociality seems so complex because weobserve them in humans at their complex extreme. Butperhaps, like the weather, great complexity emerges fromthe interaction of relatively simple processes. As Melhuishnoted the rich and diverse social organisation of antsarises from incredibly simple neural machinery and simplestimulus-response rules. His work in developing roboticants suggests the difficulty is in identifying the rules. Thecross-talk between neuro- and robotics scientists seemsa tantalisingly exciting avenue of research well placed toaddress some of the key issues of sociality.The day finished with a wine reception, during whichDr. Ben Goldacre, the award-winning writer, broadcaster,and medical doctor, received the 2010 BNA Award forIncreasing the Public Understanding of Science. TheAward was presented by Professor R G M Morris, FRS.Royal Society/Wolfson Professor of Neuroscience, Centrefor Cognitive and Neural Systems, and MRC Centre forCognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, TheUniversity of Edinburgh.FUNCTION AND ORGANISATION OFTHE PEDUNCULOPONTINE NUCLEUSJuan Mena-Segovia reports on BNA-sponsored symposium, 7th December 2010The symposium, ‘Function and organisation ofthe pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN): fromanimal studies to therapeutic interventions inhumans’ gathered together, for the first time,some of the leading scientists in PPN research. Held inOxford, presentations ranged from the anatomy andfunction of the PPN, to the impairment of PPN activityduring neurodegenerative diseases and the therapeuticinterventions to restore normal function.The PPN, a brainstem structure that is highlyinterconnected with many other neuronal systems inthe brain, is involved in the regulation of wakefulnessand arousal, reward, locomotion and posture, but thecellular substrates underlying these diverse functionsremains largely unknown. During day one, the complexneuronal organisation of the PPN was discussed, includingthe heterogeneity of its cell types and the functionalcompartmentalisation of the nucleus. Most of the secondday was dedicated to the involvement of the PPN inParkinson’s disease (PD), including changes in activity ofneurons that occur in models of PD, the use of deep brainstimulation of the PPN for treatment of PD, and recordingsobtained from the deep brain stimulation electrodes inpatients.This symposium represented an unprecedentedopportunity for interaction between basic and clinical PPNresearchers and has paved the way for future interactions.42

Reports & ReviewsBook ReviewsDELUSIONS OF GENDER Cordelia FineISBN 978-184831-220-3Reviewed by Kaz PasiecznikCordelia Fine’s first book, the highly acclaimed A Mind ofIts Own, had as a general theme the foundation-shakingnotion that you hitherto haven’t had nearly as muchcontrol over your opinions as you thought. In Delusionsof Gender, she turns this scholarly bulldozer on scientificclaims of inherent differences between female and malecognitive abilities.Fine examines, in scrupulous detail, many publishedstudies claiming to have found physical differencesbetween male and female brains, and presents a strongcase challenging each of them. In contrast to otherpop-neuroscience books, her format is not to beginwith a ‘Psychology 101’ chapter, but instead to explainmethodologies and concepts (for example, statistical pvalues, and stereotype threat) when they crop up in herdiscussion. This refreshing approach makes Delusions ofGender accessible to the much wider audience merited bya book this hard-hitting.Fine’s discussion is about much more than justneuroscientific studies of gender differences – forstarters, it contains an excellent introduction to thescientific method in general. The style is reminiscent ofBen Goldacre’s Bad Science; at times sardonic, at othersfantastically funny. Perhaps mindful of preaching only tothe converted, Fine cleverly presents most of her vastquantity of evidence in a humbler, non-directive manner,allowing the reader to come to their own mind-openingconclusions. Delusions of Gender also touches on majorcontemporary areas of debate within cognition and brainscience, such as the validity of imaging techniques to mapcognitive functions in the brain, and the extent to whichthe brain is hard- vs. soft-wired.As well as neuroscience and psychology, this bookwould not be out of place in social science and culturestudies libraries. Fine digs deep for the roots of genderstereotypes and oppressive inequality, quoting texts from1900 onwards. A sprinkling of primary sources of sexismagainst women is enough to remind the reader why themessage is so important.Delusions of Gender looks not only at the culturalhistory of gender bias, but also its influence on thedevelopmental process of the impressionable human,from foetus to teenager. From children’s book charactersto tick-boxes on forms (which nearly always list ‘Male’ first),it is surprisinghow insidious andpervasive genderstereotyping canbe. Fine’s notionof “half-changedminds” describeshow egalitarianismhas won onlythe battleagainst explicitbias, leavingunchallenged thedarker force ofimplicit prejudice– opinions youmay deny having,yet which arerobustly inheritedby your children.Fine’s discussionis for those withan ability to reason for themselves rather than be toldthe answers; you might like to consider having a cup ofcoffee to hand whilst reading. With what must be almosta quarter of the book taken up by footnotes and thelengthy bibliography, this isn’t a text to be wolfed downin a weekend. But, once you’ve nibbled your way to theend, prepare to be a relative expert on the subject, andto consider dressing your son in pink and naming yourdaughter John.Fine herself notes that it’s hard to convince anyone thatthere is much new to say about gender, but she has metthat challenge, bringing the paradigm shift of GermaineGreer’s The Female Eunuch to the scientifically-mindedaudience of the 21st century. Not for the scientificallyor politically faint-hearted, this important message isnonetheless delivered in an accessible and enjoyable way.SPECIAL OFFER FOR BNA MEMBERSDelusions of Gender (ISBN 978-184831-220-3) byDr Cordelia Fine is available, in paperback, for just £6.99(RRP £8.99) + FREE P&P (UK only) by calling TBS on01206 255800 and quoting Delusions of Gender offer.43

Diary12 - 13 APRILThe Social Brain - Evolution, development,psychopathology and future directionsMRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge.Small and interactive workshop on social neuroscience,making translational and theoretical connectionsbetween human brainimaging, comparative research, andneuropsychiatric disorders.tinyurl.com/cn-socialbrain12 - 15 APRILWiring the Brain: Making ConnectionsPowerscourt, Co. Wicklow, IrelandExplore how brain connectivity is established, whathappens to circuit and network functions when underlyingprocesses go wrong, and how this can lead to disease.wiringthebrain.com17 - 20 APRILThe 21st British NeuroscienceAssociation MeetingHarrogateSee you there!18 - 21 MAYnAChRs 2011Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, CambridgeCovers the spectrum of nicotinic acetylcholine receptorresearch, from molecular, cellular and genetic aspects tobehavioural studies.tinyurl.com/wt-nachrs19 - 22 MAYCortical development: Stem cells toneuronal circuitsChania, Crete, GreeceInternational meeting covering neural stem cells,neurogenesis, neuronal migration and differentiation,circuit formation, and cortical disorderscorticaldevelopment.org3 - 5 JULYBritish Society for NeuroendocrinologyAnnual MeetingDowning College, Cambridge, UKThis year’s meeting welcomes the joint participation of theTurkish Neuroendocrine Societyneuroendo.org.uk4 - 7 JULYThe Third Annual Summer School in BrainDisorder ResearchMRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics,Cardiff UniversityLectures, interactive sessions and informal discussion ona range of approaches to studying brain disorders, andopportunities available to pursue a career in research.tinyurl.com/braindisorders4 - 7 JULY11th ESNI Course - European Schoolof NeuroimmunologyUniversity of GlasgowAn eclectic view of cutting edge neuroimmunologicalresearch, showing how new techniques provide insightsinto disease. For postgrads and postdocs.tinyurl.com/esni11Answers for the Nodes on p48. Look sharp: RELAX, CONCENTRATE, FOCUS, SLOW DOWN, ORGANISE, WRITE, REPEAT, VISUALISE, ASSOCIATE.Why do reptiles have such good memories? Because they have turtle recall. Anatomical Antics: Occipital horn44

13 - 15 JULYThe 2011 Bristol Magnetic ResonanceSummer SchoolUniversity of BristolMR techniques and applications in research; open toresearchers, clinical fellows and consultants, from medicalimaging, neurology, radiology, cardiology, neuroscience,physics & engineering.brmr.psy.bris.ac.uk/index.php18 - 20 JULYHuman Brain Anatomy Course (3-day)Department of Anatomy, University College LondonSuitable for undergraduate / postgraduate students inmedicine and biomedical sciences, neuroscience andpsychology. Includes dissecting room sessions.neurocourses.com5 - 6 SEPTEMBERCambridge Neural Stem Cell SymposiumSt John’s College, CambridgeJointly hosted by Cambridge Neuroscience and theCambridge Stem Cell Initiative to highlight recentadvances in this field, encourage collaboration, andenthuse young scientists working in this area.tinyurl.com/cn-stemcells10 - 13 SEPTEMBER15th EFNS Congress, Exploring Breakthroughsin Neurology.Budapest, HungaryJoin over 5,000 colleagues for presentations, the latestresearch, current clinical practices and treatments,up to 24 hours of CME credits, focused workshops,and teaching courses.tinyurl.com/cn-stemcellsThe gallery:Sharing and enjoying thewide and varied talentsof British neuroscience.Quoc Vuong, from Newcastle’sInstitute of Neuroscience, describesthis issue’s Gallery:“Diffusion tensor imaging is usedto visualise white matter fibre tractsconnecting different regions of thebrain. This image shows the arcuatefasciculus, a tract that plays a rolein speech and communication.Being able to visualize tracts inthree dimensions provides insights intobrain networks, a key part ofmy research.”Calling all closet artists, designers, poets, and any other BNA members with any sortof talent for a 2D-medium hidden in the creativity centres of their brain; The Galleryawaits your submissions. Any topic email BNA-editor@bristol.ac.ukt h e g a l l e r yWhat artistic talents are being kept in the closet in BNA? Gallery submissions welcome: any topic, any medium

The BackpagesThis issue’s CONTRIBUTORSAnna Ger is doing BSc Pharmacology at Bristol,working with husband Dmitri to study psychoactivesubstances and business. Plans for the future? -psychopharmacology. al9702@bristol.ac.ukDmitri Ger studied chemistry in Estonia and is nowworking on a few interesting synthesises in organicchemistry. Dream? - freedom of chemical art andconstant developing.Joelle Abi-Rached is a PhD student in the History ofScience at Harvard University and author of recent paperon the history of the BNA. jabi@fas.harvard.eduRochelle Ackerley is an Assistant Professor atSweden’s University of Gothenburg, where she’s usingmicroneurography to record single axons in human skin.rochelle@physiol.gu.seAlison Brindle is UCL’s Neuroscience StrategyAdministrator and plays a lead role in developing andcoordinating UCL Neuroscience public engagementactivities. a.brindle@ucl.ac.ukKate Button is mid-way through a PhD at Bristol, whereshe investigates the role of biased social cognition insocial anxiety. kate.Button@bristol.ac.ukGareth Evans is a lecturer at the University of Yorkinterested in the cell signalling of development andlearning. gjoe500@york.ac.ukUna FitzGerald leads the Multiple Sclerosis and StrokeResearch group at the National University of Ireland,studying the role of stress to the endoplasmic reticulumin MS. una.fitzgerald@nuigalway.ieSuzi Gage is a 1st year PhD student at the University ofBristol, investigating associations between cannabis use,psychosis and depression. suzi.gage@bristol.ac.ukRobert Halliwell is Professor of Neuroscience and ClinicalPharmacology at the University of the Pacific’s School ofPharmacy in California, USA. rhalliwell@pacific.eduBruce Hood is director of the Bristol CognitiveDevelopment Centre, and author of books includingSuperSense: From superstition to religion – the brainscience of belief. bruce.hood@bristol.ac.ukStand-up comedian, television, radio and theatreperformer Robin Ince (e.g. The Infinite Monkey Cage,Just a Minute, Dead Ringers) has just published RobinInce’s Bad Book Club. robinince.comAnthony Isles is a Senior Lecturer investigatingepigenetic influences on brain and behaviour at theNeuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute,Cardiff University. islesar1@Cardiff.ac.ukMatt Jones is a Research Fellow at the University ofBristol. His lab works on the network basis of cognition.matt.jones@Bristol.ac.ukPreviously a neuroscientist and anatomy lecturer, HannoKoppel is now an NHS psychotherapeutic counsellorworking with asylum seekers and ethnic minorities.hannokoppel@googlemail.comResearch Fellow Chris Martin is a neuroimagingneuroscientist at Oxford University, studing how toimprove non-invasive imaging to understand brainfunction and disease. chris.martin@rob.ox.ac.ukBecky McCall is a freelance science and medicaljournalist for print and online publications, who alsodabbles with audio and TV. beckyoktar@hotmail.comFrancis Mcglone works at Liverpool John MooresUniversity & Nottingham’s Sir Peter Mansfield MagneticResonance Unit, using microneurography combined withfMRI. francis.mcglone@liverpool.ac.ukJuan Mena-Segovia is an Investigator Scientist at theMRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit (Oxford)studying neuronal circuits in the brainstem.juan.mena-segovia@pharm.ox.ac.ukKaz Pasiecznik is a neuroscience and neuropsychologygraduate currently studying for a PhD at the University ofBristol. kaz.pasiecznik@bristol.ac.ukJemma Ransom is a second year PhD student at theUniversity of Aberdeen studying retinoid biochemistry inthe adult brain. r01jsr9@abdn.ac.ukSteven Rose is director of the Brain and BehaviourResearch Group at the Open University, author, politicalcampaigner, and well-known from lectures, TV and radio.s.p.r.rose@open.ac.ukEmma Ross is a lecturer in human physiology atThe University of Brighton. E.Z.Ross@brighton.ac.ukRosie Twomey is studying for a PhD at Chelsea School,University of Brighton, investigating neurophysiologicaldeterminants of exercise tolerance in hypoxia.Karen Walshe is Biosciences Research Officer at theBritish Library, leading projects, activities and events forthe Science, Technology and Medicine team.Jonathan Webb recently interrupted a DPhil (Oxford)to work at London’s Science Media Centre. He alsoacts, sings, runs a website and podcast (nerd-alert.net)JWebb@ri.ac.ukIfat Yasin is a Senior Lecturer in auditory psychophysicsat UCL Ear Institute and was the scientific lead for theUCL-British Library event described in Meeting Reports.Quoc Vuong, from Newcastle’s Institute of Neuroscience,uses psychophysics, computer graphics, computervision, eye tracking and functional brain imaging tostudy visual cognition47

The Node: taking a break in the myelin of lifeIgNobel NeuroscienceTwenty years strong this year, the IgNobels mark ‘achievements that first make people LAUGH,and then make them THINK.’ The wooden spoon of science, or an honour greater than the Nobelsthemselves? You decide…COGNITION (2008):Slime molds can solvepuzzles. (Nakagakiet al. Intelligence:Maze-Solving by anAmoeboid Organism- Nature, 407: 470)*AUDITION /PERCEPTION (2008):Modifying the soundof a crisp influencesthe cruncher’s perception of freshness.(Zampini and Spence The Role of AuditoryCues in Modulating the PerceivedCrispness and Staleness of Potato Chips - JSensory Studies 19, 347-63)LANGUAGE (2007): Rats can’t tell thedifference between someone speakingJapanese backwards and someonespeaking Dutch backwards. Sometimes.(Toro et al. Effects of Backward Speechand Speaker Variability in LanguageDiscrimination by Rats - J Exp Psychol[Anim Behav]: 31, no. 1, 95-100)*ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY (2006):Monitoring brain cell activity in a locustwhile it watches highlights from Star Wars.(Rind and Simmons Orthopteran DCMDNeuron: A Reevaluation of Responses toMoving Objects - J Neurophysiol 68, no. 5,1654-66)*LEARNING AND NEUROPLASTICITY(2003): Brains of London taxi driversare more highly developed than thoseof fellow citizens. (Maguire et al.Navigation-Related Structural Change Inthe Hippocampi of Taxi Drivers – PNAS 97,no.8, 4398-403)GUSTATION (1997): People’s brainwavepatterns whilst chewing different flavoursof gum. (T. Yagyu, et al. Chewinggum flavor affects measures of globalcomplexity of multichannel EEG -Neuropsychobiology 35, 46-50)ADDICTION (1996): Nicotine is absolutelydefinitely one hundred per cent notaddictive. (Senior executives of U.S.Tobacco, Liggett Group, AmericanTobacco Company, and Brown andWilliamson Tobacco Co., as testified to theU.S. Congress)COGNITION (1995): One-sided nostrilbreathing and cognitive prowess (Buebel,Shannahoff-Khalsa and Boyle The Effectsof Unilateral Forced Nostril Breathing onCognition - Int J Neurosci 57, 239-2)Why not submit a nomination? Emailmarca@chem2.harvard.eduimprobable.com/ig*UK winners.Anatomical Antics:What bit of the brain doesthis figure allude to? p46ACBrain BitesRod photoreceptors in thehuman eye can respond toa single candle viewed fromone mile away.Single axons extend theentire length of a giraffe’sneck; 4.5m from top to toe.Schizophrenic patients useas much brain to performsimple tasks, as controls dofor complex ones.A sodium pump transports200 Na + and 130 K + ionsper second. A small neuronhas 1million pumps.Look SharpThese jumbled words are skills to help keep your memory sharp. Once solved, unscramblehighlighted letters to answer: “Why do reptiles have such good memories?”“Because they have ”XEARLRENNECATCOTCOSFULSWO NOWDNAOSIGREWITREPETREAIUSAVISLEICESTAASOThe Dana Foundation has free Brain Awareness tips and material, such as this puzzle, free to downloadat dana.org/brainweek - Logon next year and use for your own BAW events.We tend to look top rightwhen picturing a 3D object,top left when recalling aword or phrase.Electroconvulsive therapy,or ECT, was first used totreat mental illness in 1755.Itching results fromhistamine, released fromwhite blood cells, bindingto nerve endings in theskin.Babies do not develop fullability to taste saltinessuntil 6 months in age.Answers on page 44.48