Thalamostriatal projections revisited - British Neuroscience ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATIONand (3) in the dialogue between the audience and discussionpanelists David Clarke (music theorist), Elaine Perry (aneuropathologists with a deep interest in consciousnessand the effects of medicinal plants), and Sinead Murphy(philosopher). Visual images of brain rhythms, fluorescentdyedneurons, neurosurgical procedures, and kaleidoscopicmemories from Susan’s exhibition helped the participants tocross the disciplinary divide and understand whatconsciousness means to others.The symposium helped to draw out a commonunderstanding of what consciousness is and how it isexpressed, and to explore common beliefs aboutBrain Awareness Weekin SouthamptonJoannne Bailey (far right) with Deji Asuni and Tracy Newmanconsciousness as an entity, whether it is physical,psychological, or elusive. As well as these two main events,a public lecture by Mark Lythgoe on the search for Einstein’sbrain was also scheduled for this week. Unfortunately thiswas cancelled at the last minute when power failure on theEast Coast rail line left Mark stranded for eight hours withdwindling lap top batteries and supplies of refreshment.Perhaps for Mark and his fellow travelers, this also provideda moment to reflect on the way the world can impact on ourconsciousness. Many thanks Network Rail.By Colin Ingram, Institute of <strong>Neuroscience</strong>, University ofNewcastleIn early March this year, a group of enthusiastic volunteersfrom Southampton University took on the task of promotingneuroscience to the general public, from junior schoolchildren to grandparents. Our aim was to strike up a passionfor neuroscience in the potential researchers of tomorrow –not a completely straightforward task! For many people, thebrain is a mysterious structure that is needed for life andoccasionally malfunctions leading to neurodegeneration,such as Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s Disease.To promote the brain as an exciting structure that can bestudied and understood, we designed various interactivegames all with brain related prizes. One game, ‘label yourown brain cap’, used silicon swimming caps with all themajor brain regions printed on it; The children had to nameeach region and describe its function and, in so doing,helped raise their awareness of where each brain region is intheir heads. All the answers were available on posters on thesurrounding display along with information about what aneuroscientist does and what cells the brain is comprised of.The diligence and precision with which some of the childrenlabelled their brain hats was outstanding, truly a verymotivating sight, but whether they were motivated by thethought of winning a walking brain, a brain mould, or agrowing brain I cannot be sure! The hat task also providedmuch amusement throughout the day as various helpersmodelled the hats and helped to promote our cause.Agarose and jelly brains made from brain moulds were usedto illustrate what a whole brain looks like. The agarose braininjected with red food colouring produced a fantastic slimybrain that almost lasted the whole day despite being pokedand prodded by small children eager to put their hand all theway through it to see what it feels like.Manipulating ‘play doh’ into the shape of either an astrocyteor a neuron proved to be another popular interactive gamefor the visitors. Children and parents first viewed the cellsunder a light microscope before being set the task ofmoulding the play doh in a Petri dish into one of the twodifferent cell types. I have never seen so many pink, brown,green and blue neurons perfectly sculpted with a myelinsheath encased axon and tiny little sausage roll shapeddendrites! 150 neurons and astrocytes were carefullyformed and handed over with great pride to be displayed onthe boards behind the stand.Overall the day was a great success; maximum fun was hadby both participants and helpers alike. The children wereinvolved in the tasks and consequently appeared to be reallyenthused and interested in the function, structure and healthof the brain. We hope that some will be inspired to pursueneuroscientific research and help us to progress in ourlearning and understanding of brain function anddysfunction and tackle the increasing problems ofneurodegeneration.Many thanks all the people that supported and helped tomake the day fun, interesting and successful, in particularTracy Newman, Deji Asuni and Catherine Cowen, and toeveryone that helped out on the stand during the day.By Joanne Bailey, University of Southampton25
SCIENCE AND SOCIETYPublicising the FAST campaign to raisestroke awareness in Southampton CityPrimary Care TrustThe Stroke Association Rehabilitation Research Centre at the University of Southampton(http://www.stroke.soton.ac.uk) holds a five-year programme award (2004-2009) from The StrokeAssociation. While the main focus of the Centre is research into ‘Recovery and Rehabilitation afterStroke’, its role also includes finding new and innovative ways to disseminate research findings as wellas supporting the work of The Stroke Association by raising stroke awareness.The current research programme consists of alongitudinal follow-up study and a series offeasibility studies. The longitudinal studyevaluates patients after stroke at regularintervals from stroke onset till three years poststroke. Sub-studies include looking at theeffect of infection post stroke on outcome,examining levels of activity after strokethrough activity monitoring, and evaluatingquality of life post stroke by means of aqualitative approach. The feasibility studiesexplore (1) balance and balance retrainingearly after stroke, (2) functional electricalstimulation during weight bearing activities,(3) strategies to avoid falls post stroke, and (4)implementation of a self-managementprogramme for people after stroke.In addition to publishing and presentingresearch findings, the Centre is alsoorganising a conference with the aim to ‘makethe evidence work for patients and theirfamilies’. The conference aims to makescientific research findings accessible toacademics, clinicians and people affected bystroke, by bringing together key people andleading researchers in the field ofrehabilitation to present current insights intothe rehabilitation of stroke, discuss possibleimplications for clinical practice, and identifyfuture goals for research:(http://www.neurorehab2008.soton.ac.uk)The Stroke Association RehabilitationResearch Centre was awarded a grant toorganise an event during Brain AwarenessWeek (10th-16th March 2008). The grant wasdonated by the DANA Foundation(http://www.dana.org/) via the Federation ofEuropean <strong>Neuroscience</strong> Societies(http://fens.mdc-berlin.de/). It was decided toraise stroke awareness by organising (1) aposter and leaflet campaign to all surgerieswithin Southampton City PCT and (2) a freeinformation afternoon for members of thepublic and stroke survivors where26presentations by members of our team wouldbe held on the topic of stroke, strokeprevention, stroke symptoms, and strokerehabilitation.To raise stroke awareness, we chose to usethe ‘Stroke is a Medical Emergency’ and FASTcampaign developed by The StrokeAssociation. This campaign was launched on6 October 2005 and its main aims were (1) toraise awareness of the symptoms of strokeand if you suspect a stroke to call 999 and (2)to improve the emergency response to stroke,by ensuring that diagnosis and treatmenthappen as quickly as possible. Key messagesof the campaign were (1) stroke should betreated as a medical emergency to ensure thebest patient outcome, and that healthcareservices should be appropriately organisedand (financially) supported to ensure that thiscan happen; (2) you can tell whether someoneis having a stroke or Transient IschemicAttack (TIA) by using FAST – Face, Arms,Speech Test; and (3) if you suspect someoneis having a stroke, act FAST and call 999. The‘Stroke is a Medical Emergency’ campaignhas been successful in terms of raisingawareness of stroke and the symptoms ofstroke, achieving specific policy objectivesand driving stroke up the political and healthagendas. It won the Healthcare and MedicalResearch Category at the prestigious UKCharity Awards in 2006.But what is the scientific value of FAST?‘Does FAST capture enough stroke?’ is aquestion Kleindorfer and colleagues asked ina recent publication in Stroke (2007;38:2864-8). They assessed the percentage ofstroke/TIA patients identified by the FASTmessage by examining presenting symptomsof 3498 stroke/TIA patients presented to anemergency department. The FAST messagewas able to identify a high percentage ofstroke and TIA patients (88.9%), although itperformed much better for ischemic stroke(8.9% missed) and TIA (8.2% missed) than forhemorrhagic stroke (30.6% missed).Kleindorfer et al. also compared thepresenting symptoms of the stroke/TIApatients between the FAST message and the‘suddens’ symptoms. The ‘suddens’ is thecurrent public message adopted by theAmerican Heart Association and lists fivestroke warning signs; (1) sudden numbness orweakness of the face, arm or leg, especiallyon one side of the body; (2) suddenconfusion, trouble speaking or understanding;(3) sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes;(4) sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss ofbalance or coordination; and (5) sudden,severe headache with no known cause. Withthe latter more extensive list of symptoms, itshould not come as a surprise that of the3498 stroke/TIA patients, 11.1% hadpresenting symptoms not included in theFAST message, whereas 0.1% had presentingsymptoms not included in the ‘suddens’. Ofinterest is the symptom ‘numbness’ which isnot part of the current FAST messagesupported by the Stroke Association butincluded in the original FAST messagepublished by Kothari et al. (Ann Emerg Med1999;33:373-8). Without numbness, thepercentage of missed stroke/TIA patientsincreased significantly from 11.1% to 16.8%.Successfully raising public awareness of anymedical condition which requires emergencyservices is of course not solely dependent onthe sensitivity of the message but must alsoconsider how easy the message can beremembered by the public. With that in mind,the FAST message seems to have a clearadvantage over the ‘suddens’ list ofsymptoms but this remains to be proven sinceto the best of our knowledge, no research inthis field has been reported. However, basedon the study by Kleindorfer et al., includingnumbness as a sign of stroke in the FAST
Page 4 and 5: SPOTLIGHT ON FENS SCHOOLSNEUROSCIEN
Page 6 and 7: NEWSBNA NEWSBNA 20th National Meeti
Page 8: NEWSBNA NEWSBNA awardsJohn O’Keef
Page 12: BNA EVENTSPostgraduate Symposium -Y
Page 15 and 16: SCIENTIFIC REVIEW2006). These two m
Page 17 and 18: FOCUS ON...Neuroscience at theUnive
Page 19 and 20: FOCUS ONNeuroscience at theUniversi
Page 21 and 22: SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATIONBrain Awar
Page 23: SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATIONBrain Awar
Page 27 and 28: SCIENCE AND SOCIETYMENTAL CAPACITY
Page 29 and 30: MEETING REPORTS MEETINGThere was a
Page 31 and 32: MEETING REPORTS MEETINGEncephalitis
Page 33: MEETING REPORTS MEETINGThe Art-Scie

Thalamostriatal projections revisited - British Neuroscience ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?