Not all exercise is the same, but all exercise can help you grow strong and keep you healthy. Exercise can also help you with your homework and that science project due at the end of the year.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability worldwide. Most strokes are classified as ischemic, meaning they involve blockage of blood supply. There are no effective treatments for ischemic stroke or its complications, but several types of cells naturally produce molecules that can help heal ischemic tissue. These molecules are packaged and released within sacs called exosomes that can deliver them to other cells, making exosomes promising targets for stroke therapy. For example, some exosomes can exert anti-inflammatory effects, promote blood vessel formation, and support the development of new neurons. Beneficial exosomes can also suppress cell death and regulate immune responses. Studies on rat and rabbit stroke models have supported the clinical potential of exosomes to promote healing after stroke and a few clinical trials in humans are currently underway..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students' understanding of how robotic light sensors work is reinforced in a design challenge involving LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots and light sensors. Working in pairs, students program LEGO robots to follow a flashlight as its light beam moves around. Students practice and learn programming skills and logic design in parallel. They see how robots take input from light sensors and use it to make decisions to move, similar to the human sense of sight. Students also see how they perform the steps of the engineering design process in the course of designing and testing to achieve a successful program. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post quizzes are provided.

We are now at an unprecedented point in the field of neuroscience: We can watch the human brain in action as it sees, thinks, decides, reads, and remembers. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is the only method that enables us to monitor local neural activity in the normal human brain in a noninvasive fashion and with good spatial resolution. A large number of far-reaching and fundamental questions about the human mind and brain can now be answered using straightforward applications of this technology. This is particularly true in the area of high-level vision, the study of how we interpret and use visual information including object recognition, mental imagery, visual attention, perceptual awareness, visually guided action, and visual memory.
The goals of this course are to help students become savvy and critical readers of the current neuroimaging literature, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the technique, and to design their own cutting-edge, theoretically motivated studies. Students will read, present to the class, and critique recently published neuroimaging articles, as well as write detailed proposals for experiments of their own. Lectures will cover the theoretical background on some of the major areas in high-level vision, as well as an overview of what fMRI has taught us and can in future teach us about each of these topics. Lectures and discussions will also cover fMRI methods and experimental design. A prior course in statistics and at least one course in perception or cognition are required.

What are the mechanisms by which neurons differentiate to achieve the spectacular complexity of the brain? Join UCSD's Nick Spitzer as he explains what we know about this process. (57 minutes)

Neuroscientist Patricia Churchland explores how the human mind functions in guiding one's decisions. (55 minutes)

In this fascinating presentation, The Salk Institute's Terry Sejnowski explores how by its nature the human brain is susceptible to the effects of addictive substances. (59 minutes)

UCSD's Charles Zuker explores the neurobiology of taste, smell and vision. (88 minutes)

During the past decade, there have been dramatic advancements in the brain and cognitive sciences. For the first time, understanding how the brain works has become a scientifically achievable goal. In this new lecture series, Grey Matters: Molecules to Mind, San Diego's leading Neuroscientists explore the human brain. The first lecture in this series addresses an issue that has often been absent in these discussions: what role do stem cells play in development of the brain? (59 minutes)

Hearing is a familiar and important human sense that is a topic naturally of interest to those who are curious about human biology. This unit will enable you to relate what you read to your own sensory experiences - and indeed many of the questions asked have exactly that function. This unit will be best understood by those with some biological understanding.

Students learn about the anatomy of the ear and how the ears work as a sound sensor. Ear anatomy parts and structures are explained in detail, as well as how sound is transmitted mechanically and then electrically through them to the brain. Students use LEGO® robots with sound sensors to measure sound intensities, learning how the NXT brick (computer) converts the intensity of sound measured by the sensor input into a number that transmits to a screen. They build on their experiences from the previous activities and establish a rich understanding of the sound sensor and its relationship to the TaskBot's computer.

In this lesson on the brain's neural networks, students investigate the structure and function of the neuron. They discover ways in which engineers apply this knowledge to the development of devices that can activate neurons. After a review of the nervous system specifically its organs, tissue, and specialized cells, called neurons students learn about the parts of the neuron. They explore the cell body, dendrites, axon and axon terminal, and learn how these structures enable neurons to send messages. They learn about the connections between engineering and other fields of study, and the importance of research, as they complete the lesson tasks.

Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.

This lesson highlights the similarities between human sensors and their engineering counterparts. Taking this approach enables students to view the human body as a system, that is, from the perspective of an engineer. Humans have recreated most human sensors in robots – eyes, ears and sensors for temperature, touch and smell. The lesson inculdes a PowerPoint file that is programmed to run a Jeopardy-style game as a fun assessment tool.

Through six lesson/activity sets, students learn about the functioning of sensors, both human and robotic. In the activities, student groups use LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots and components to study human senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) in more detail than in previous units in the series. They also learn about the human made rotation, touch, sound, light and ultrasonic sensors. "Stimulus-sensor-coordinator-effector-response" pathways are used to describe the processes as well as similarities between human/animal and robotic equivalent sensory systems. The important concept of sensors converting/transducing signals is emphasized. Through assorted engineering design challenges, students program the LEGO robots to respond to input from various LEGO sensors. The overall framework reinforces the theme of the human body as a system with sensors that is, from an engineering perspective. PowerPoint® presentations, quizzes and worksheets are provided throughout the unit.

Students learn more about how light sensors work, reinforcing their similarities to the human sense of sight. They look at the light sensing process incoming light converted to electrical signals sent to the brain through the human eye anatomy as well as human-made electrical light sensors. A mini-activity, which uses LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT intelligent bricks and light sensors gives students a chance to investigate how light sensors function in preparation for the associated activity involving the light sensors and taskbots. A PowerPoint® presentation explains stimulus-to-response pathways, sensor fundamentals, and details about the LEGO light sensor, including its two modes of gathering data and what its numerical value readings mean. Students take pre/post quizzes and watch a short online video. This lesson and its associated activity enable students to gain a deeper understanding of how robots can take sensor input and use it to make decisions via programming.

Students learn about how sound sensors work, reinforcing their similarities to the human sense of hearing. They look at the hearing process sound waves converted to electrical signals sent to the brain through human ear anatomy as well as sound sensors. A mini-activity, which uses LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT intelligent bricks and sound sensors gives students a chance to experiment with the sound sensors in preparation for the associated activity involving the sound sensors and taskbots. A PowerPoint® presentation explains stimulus-to-response pathways, sensor fundamentals, the unit of decibels, and details about the LEGO sound sensor, including how readings are displayed and its three modes of programming sound input. Students take pre/post quizzes and watch a short online video. This lesson and its associated activity enable students to appreciate how robots can take sensor input and use it to make decisions to via programming.

Students learn about how touch sensors work, while reinforcing their similarities to the human sense of touch. They look at human senses and their electronic imitators, with special focus on the nervous system, skin and touch sensors. A PowerPoint® presentation explains stimulus-to-response pathways, how touch sensors are made and work, and then gives students a chance to handle and get familiar with the LEGO touch sensor, including programming LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots to use touch sensor input to play music. Students take pre/post quizzes and watch a short online video. The mini-activities prepare students for the associated activity. This lesson and its associated activity enables students to appreciate how robots can take input from sensors, and use that to make decisions to move.

Students learn about how ultrasonic sensors work, reinforcing the connection between this sensor and how humans, bats and dolphins estimate distance. They learn the echolocation process sound waves transmitted, bounced back and received, with the time difference used to calculate the distance of objects. Two mini-activities, which use LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots and ultrasonic sensors, give students a chance to experiment with ultrasonic sensors in preparation for the associated activity. A PowerPoint® presentation explains stimulus-to-response pathways, sensor fundamentals, and details about the LEGO ultrasonic sensor. Pre/post quizzes are provided. This lesson and its associated activity enable students to gain a deeper understanding of how robots can take sensor input and use it to make decisions via programming.