The Nervous System (IB Topic C2.2, plus some C3.1 and B2.1)

Ⓛ: Play-doh Modeling – Neurons (💁/ 👭 max 2)

Use playdough to make a model of a motor neuron with myelination. Place your model on a piece of paper, then label: dendrites, cell body, nucleus, axon, synaptic terminus, motor end plates / synaptic buttons, Myelin, Schwann cell, Node of Ranvier. Take a photo of the model from above, then submit to G. Classroom.

ⓟ: Feeling No Pain – A Gift, or a Curse? 👫 (max 3)

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain (CIP) is a condition with a complicated-sounding name, but a simple effect: people who have it can feel little to no pain. Scientists are finding ways to help people with this condition feel pain for the first time. Is this a gift, or a curse? Together with your fellow podcasters, begin by explaining how pain works, including all terms and concepts from this unit. Then, discuss the benefit of pain – why does pain exist in the first place? Would humans and animals be better off without pain? Should scientists try to “fix” those who cannot feel pain?

Ⓛ: Microscope It: Neurons 👭 (max 2)

Grab a microscope and some slides of brain/nervous tissue. Sketch or photograph what you see, and write at least 5 good inquiry questions about the structure. How does its structure help fulfill its role? Answer your own questions, either in writing or in a recorded video. Try to explain using as many terms and concepts from this unit as possible.

Ӕ: YouTube Narrator – The Nervous System 💁

Find a short video on YouTube with nice visuals of the human nervous system (try to find one that covers as much of C2.2 as possible, with visuals of the CNS, PNS, and diagrams of motor/relay/sensory neurons). Mute the audio and instead record yourself using the visuals to teach a brief lesson on how the nervous system works.

Ⓛ: Modeling Resting Potential (💁/ 👭max 2)

Grab a whiteboard marker, and turn your desktop into a model. Draw a line to separate the desk into two halves, and label half inside the cell and the other outside the cell. Draw in a sodium-potassium pump, then use beads to represent Na+ and K+ (draw a key). Put 20 of each color bead on each side of the line, then model the action of the Na/K pump 6 times. Discuss how the pump eventually obtains a resting potential of -70mv, then add sodium and potassium channels to show what happens when an action potential is reached. Record these key details in a video and upload to G. Classroom.

ⓟ/ⓦ: Black Mambas – A Painful Way to Go (💁/ 👭max 2)

The black mamba is one of the most venomous snakes in the world (to add to the fear, it’s also one of the fastest moving ones). Its secret? Mamba venom strongly binds to and blocks potassium channels in motor neurons. Together with your fellow podcasters, discuss (WITHOUT LOOKING IT UP): 1) Predict what the inhibitory effects of black mamba venom would do to nerve cells; 2) Discuss how antivenin might work in the body, and 3) If science really has any advice for people who get bitten by venomous snakes, but can’t make it to the hospital.

ⓡ: A Smoker’s Dilemma – How Nicotine Works (💁)

A drug is defined as “a substance which has a physiological effect when introduced into the body” (Oxford Dictionary). Nicotine is the primary drug found in tobacco plants, and it works by interacting with the acetylcholine receptors described in C2.2.7. Read the article and discuss: 1) What is a neurotransmitter?;  2) The similarities/differences between nicotine and acetylcholine;  3) From inhalation of smoke → action at the synapse, what happens when a person smokes (discuss specifically the action at the synapse, and the effects the smoker feels); and 4) How addiction to substances like nicotine works.

ⓟ: Chemical Weapons – Science’s Dark Side (💁/ 👭 max 2)

Next to nuclear weapons, some people call it the worst invention from science: chemical weapons. Most of them work by attacking neurons. Review this slideshow (from biologyforlife.com) for a side-lesson on how chemical weapons work, then together with your fellow podcasters, explain: 1) What exactly chemical nerve agents (e.g. sarin gas) do at synapses;  2) What those effects (symptoms) are on the body; and 3) What the worst chemical weapons are; and 4) How you feel about the ongoing push/pull between “the good” and “the bad” regarding advances in science. 

Ⓛ: Modeling Neurons with Black-Eyed Peas

Complete the following cookbook lab to model the action of a neuron using black eyed peas. Answer each question at the end (remember that each person must answer their own questions!)

Additional Practice: Drawing the activity of an action potential