We almost ran out of pens at the world’s biggest neuroscience conference! This year’s Society for Neuroscience (SfN) was the first in-person meeting since 2019. And we’re really happy that it happened. Firstly, we’ve so missed the nerdy vibes of sci-comm bustle. Secondly, taking a stroll under palms in sunny San Diego feels really nice in November! Last but not least, it would have been downright impossible to sign copies of our new book online.
Because that’s right, our new book, “How Your Brain Works: Neuroscience Experiments for Everyone” written by our co-founders, Drs. Greg Gage and Tim Marzullo, has just been released by MIT Press! It’s a lengthy volume yet easy to digest, and even easier to keep open as you fiddle with electrodes, insects or your own nervous system in your classroom or home lab.
The book contains over 50 experiments you can do anywhere you want if you have one of our SpikerBoxes. But even if you don’t, you can always flex your engineering abilities and DIY one using our open-source schematics!
The classroom-ready, open-ended experiments include:
- What does our brain do when we exercise or hold our breath?
- How do our brains tell our bodies to jump, dance, or sing?
- How fast do signals travel down a neuron?
- Can we really enhance our memories during sleep?
- How does the brain get your attention?
- How do brain stimulators (used in treating Parkinson’s disease) really work?
- How long does it take the brain to decide?
- And many more!
But it’s not just about the human brain. You’ll also get to learn (or teach!) neuroscience by doing carefully designed experiments with our good old friend the cockroach, as well as cricket, earthworm, silk moth, bee, and/or other invertebrates.
After all, take a look for yourself in this downloadable excerpt featuring our experiment on electroencephalography (EEG).
True to our motto “Neuroscience for Everyone,” this 320-page volume is enriched with 259 artwork drawings. But it’s not just for beauty or ease of digesting. Some of these illustrations will show you how to hook up electrodes. Others will break down complex bodily processes into fun, humorous scenes and scenarios that are intuitive and easy to understand. (Try to not understand the role of hippocampus after you see it acting as a hotel clerk. Or the behavior of a silk moth transfixed by the smell of sex pheromones that make him sound like Shakespeare.)
Also, each of the 24 chapters ends with a set of carefully thought-out follow-up questions that will help you break every experiment open and branch it out into myriad directions!
Have you got the book already? If yes, feel free to send us your thoughts on social media!
Oh, and if you haven’t got your copy, we have good news. Through January 31, 2023, our publisher is offering 20% off ALL titles published by them. All you need to do is enter promo code MITPHoliday22 at checkout. Note that this applies to US audiences only!