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Marijuana Activity OneReview the way in which marijuana use affects brain regions and structures that control the five senses, heart rate, emotions, memory and judgment. Students then randomly select (for example, draw from a hat) an occupation and are asked to act-out, in front of the class, how marijuana use might specifically affect the performance of a person in that occupation. Examples of occupations can include: an airline pilot, a professional basketball player, a doctor, a defense attorney, a truck driver, a construction worker, a waiter/waitress, a politician, etc. Students will identify the brain regions and structures affected by marijuana use, and describe the link between these structures and behavior.
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Marijuana Activity TwoRead a list of 20 words aloud to the class and then ask students to write down as many as they can remember. Then have several students stand, in pairs, at various points in the room and carry on loud conversations while you read a list of 20 new words to the remainder of the class. Ask students to again write down as many words as they can remember. Compare performance between the two trials. Mention to the students that, like the disruptive pairs of students, marijuana interferes with normal information transfer and memory. Students will identify the areas of the brain and structures responsible for these functions and will be reminded that marijuana alters neurotransmission in these areas. Students can also search the Internet and other sources to research the effects of marijuana on information transfer and memory and then prepare a brief report summarizing their findings.
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Marijuana Activity ThreeExplain that the cerebellum is involved in balance, coordination, and a variety of other regulatory functions. Marijuana affects the cerebellum, resulting in impairments in motor behavior. Students will search the Internet and other sources for more information about the role and function of the cerebellum and will make a list of ways in which damage to the cerebellum would affect their day-to-day behavior.
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Opiates Activity OneRemind students that long-term abuse of opiates, such as heroin, changes the way nerve cells in the brain work. These cells become so used to having the heroin present that they need it to work normally. This, in turn, leads to addiction. If opiates are taken away from dependent nerve cells, these cells become overactive. Eventually, they will work normally again, but in the meantime, they create a range of symptoms known as withdrawal. Have students create visual representations of normal nerve cells, dependent nerve cells, overactive nerve cells, and an opiate. Then have the students use these representations to develop, in comic art format, the process by which opiates change the normal functioning of neurons.
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Opiates Activity TwoNote that opiates are powerful painkillers and are used medically for treatment of pain. When used properly for medical purposes, opiates do not produce an intense feeling of pleasure, and patients have little chance of becoming addicted. Have students search the Internet and other sources for information about pain, pain control, and the way opiates produce their analgesic effect and then prepare a brief summary report.
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Opiates Activity ThreeStudents will solve a crossword puzzle (below) which requires knowledge of the ways in which opiates affect brain anatomy and physiology.
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Across1. Another name for pleasure
6. Opiates act on the _________ cord and brain 7. Pain reliever produced by brain 8. Powerful opiate 11. Space between neurons 12. Ventral _________ area 13. An opiate receptor |
Down2. Pleasure neurotransmitter
3. Opiates come from this plant 4. Controls breathing and heart rate 5. Pain relief 9. Feeling of euphoria 10. Copy genetic material to produce an identical cell |
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Inhalants Activity OneIntroduce this activity by reminding students that inhalants can slow or stop nerve cell activity in some parts of the brain; for example, the frontal lobes (complex problem solving), cerebellum (movement and coordination), and hippocampus (memory). Students will break into small groups and contribute in a round-robin fashion to a story about a fictional student who uses inhalants. The students should be encouraged to include problems (symptoms) in the description that would be associated with inhalant use, as well as other symptoms that would not. These stories can then be shared (either in oral or written form) with the rest of the class, who will be required to identify the inhalant-related behavioral components and then describe the brain areas that are involved in these behaviors. Students will then search the Internet and other sources to obtain information about the way in which activity in the frontal lobes, cerebellum, and hippocampus influences behavior, and prepare a report summarizing their findings.
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Inhalants Activity TwoReview the regions of the brain and structures affected by inhaling solvents, gases, and nitrites. Then divide the class into groups of 4-6, and have each group write a rap music video about the effects of inhalants on brain areas and structures, as well as brain-behavior relationships. When the songs are finished, have each group perform their music video.
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Inhalants Activity ThreeThe students will complete the Inhalant Word Find (below), and the teacher will then review the words and have the students discuss how the terms relate to inhalant use.
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Amygdala
Axon Cell Cerebellum Cortex Fumes Glue |
Inhalant
Kidney Liver Myelin Polyneuropathy Sniff Vapor |
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Hallucinogens Activity One
Have students draw a bull's-eye onto a sheet of unruled white paper. Make a small "X" at the center of another sheet of paper. Now, have the students stare at the bull's-eye for about 20 seconds and then quickly shift their focus to the "X." Students will find that an after-image of the bull's-eye will appear. Explain that after-images are a class of optical illusions, which have some similarity to hallucinations. Have students search the Internet and other sources for information about drug-induced hallucinations and prepare a report summarizing their findings.
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Hallucinogens Activity TwoFill one bowl with warm water, another with cold water, and a third with water at room temperature. First, have the students place the fingers of one hand in the warm water. Wait 60 seconds. Then have them place their fingers in the room temperature water and describe the temperature of the water (feels cool). Then have the students place their fingers of the other hand in the cold water. Wait 60 seconds. Then have them place their fingers in the room temperature water and describe the temperature of the water (feels hot). Remind students that hallucinogens can affect the way we perceive reality.
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Hallucinogens Activity ThreeInstruct the students to complete the Hallucinogen Word Puzzle (linked below).
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Steroids Activity OneAsk students to imagine a time where they experienced, very suddenly, either intense rage or aggressiveness. Those who would like to can share some of these experiences with the class. Reinforce that the limbic system was likely involved in these reactions and that steroid use directly increases the likelihood of such episodes. Mention that neuroscientists have long known about the important role the limbic system plays in emotions and have conducted animal research in which stimulating certain limbic system structures produces a rage reaction in a normally docile animal, while stimulating other structures makes a normally vicious animal calm and relaxed. Have students conduct research using the Internet and other sources to learn more about the role of the limbic system.
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Steroids Activity TwoIndicate that steroids affect the function of several neurotransmitters, adding that each neurotransmitter communicates different types of messages. For example, glutamate communicates excitement, acetylcholine tells the heart to beat slower and commands memory circuits to store or remember thoughts, serotonin controls emotions and mood, and dopamine affects feelings of pleasure. Students will select a neurotransmitter and search the Internet and other sources for additional information. They will prepare a brief report summarizing their findings and create a comic art rendition of their neurotransmitter.
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Steroids Activity ThreeRemind students that despite their dangerous side effects, anabolic steroids are used by some high school, college, and professional athletes to give them the "edge" they feel they need to out perform the competition. Discuss with the students the short- and long-term dangers associated with the use of steroids for enhancing performance. A useful example for this discussion might be Lyle Alzado, a former professional football star who died from cancer attributed to steroid use.
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Cocaine Activity OneRemind students that cocaine activates the brain's pleasure center, which involves the brainstem, limbic system, and frontal cortex. Students will then produce colorful diagrams of the system, labeling important parts, and provide a brief written description of the different structures.
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Cocaine Activity TwoDescribe how cocaine ultimately reduces pleasure by interfering with dopamine re-uptake. Students will be assigned to groups and will first script and then act-out this process. They will then perform their skits with students assuming roles such as neurons, cocaine, transporters, receptors, dopamine, pleasure, and addiction.
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Cocaine Activity ThreeDivide the students into three groups (cocaine, amphetamines, and caffeine), and assign each group the task of researching their assigned drug in order to develop a "Did You Know" poster for each type of drug. Encourage each group to discover some "surprising" information to include on their poster, and ask that each poster contain a minimum of 10 new and/or unusual facts. Students will use the local public library, the Internet, other multimedia materials, and any other sources to obtain this information. They will then work together to develop the graphics and text. Display the finished posters.
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Nicotine Activity OneThe students will complete the Nicotine word find and the teacher will then review the words and have the students discuss how the terms relate to tobacco use. A copy of the Word Find and Word Find Solution is included in the guide.
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Nicotine Activity TwoThe students will call local hospitals to obtain the names of physicians who provide treatment to people trying to stop their use of tobacco products. The students will then compose a letter to one or more of these physicians inviting them to come and speak to the class on the difficulties associated with quitting smoking or the use of other tobacco products. Prior to the visit by the physician, the students will prepare a list of questions that they would like to ask. These questions might include the following: 1) How many people succeed the first or even second time they try to stop smoking? 2) How many people try repeatedly to quit smoking without success? 3) Do people still smoke even when they have a life-threatening illness, such as heart disease or lung cancer?
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Nicotine Activity ThreeThe students will conduct the following experiment:Materials needed: cigarette, transparent plastic syringe, cotton balls, matches or lighter
Fill the syringe with the cotton balls. Insert the end of the syringe onto the filter of the cigarette. Light the cigarette and pull back the plunger to draw smoke into the barrel of the syringe. Have the students watch the cotton balls turn black as the smoke particles are deposited. Discuss with the students what they have observed. Students might consider what the effects of smoking several cigarettes a day for many years would have on the lungs if only one cigarette can turn a cotton ball black. |
Emphysema
Neurotransmitter Cigar Dopamine Addiction Reward |
Smoking
Withdrawal Cigarette Cancer Drug |
Brain
Bloodstream Receptor Nicotine Tobacco |
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Methamphetamine Activity One
The students will complete the methamphetamine Word Find. The teacher will then review the words and have the students discuss how the terms relate to methamphetamine abuse. A copy of the Word Find and Word Find Solution is included in the guide.
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Methamphetamine Activity TwoReview the effects of methamphetamine on the brain, paying particular attention to its effects on the neurotransmitter dopamine. Have students break into small groups. Ask each group to write and perform a play that demonstrates how methamphetamine changes the normal functioning of neurons that contain dopamine. Discuss with students how these changes can result in long-term impairment of dopamine function and the implications of this impairment (e.g. inability to feel pleasure, symptoms of Parkinson's Disease).
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Methamphetamine Activity ThreeReview with students the function of various brain areas (e.g. amygdala, hippocampus, cerebellum, etc.). Have students break into small groups and assign each group one brain area. Ask the students to discuss how methamphetamine or other drugs might affect their brain area. Then have students discuss the function of this brain area and how changing it through drug use might change how a person feels, acts, remembers, learns, etc. Have each group present a summary of their discussions to the entire class. For extra credit, have students discuss and present how brain imaging techniques (such as PET or Positron Emission Tomography) help researchers to examine how drugs act in the brains of living humans subjects.
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Methamphetamine
Crystal Speed Paranoia Dopamine Synapse Stimulant Brain Axon Receptor |
Crash
Hallucinations Serotonin PET Neuron Stroke Dendrite Drug Ice Chalk Injected |
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Unifying ActivityStudents will use reference materials to create three brain maps: one which shows the different regions of the brain, one which shows the areas within the cortex, and one which displays different brain structures. For all of the drugs discussed, students will "mark" their maps (for example, using stickers or colored markers) to specify the areas affected by substance use. [Note: If materials such as molding clay or plaster are available, have groups of students also create three-dimensional brain models, and use small, separate strands of Christmas lights to "mark" the areas affected by drug use.]
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