All input to your brain originally comes from your five
sensesbut then what?
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The vast majority of your sensory input gets filtered out
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Your brains first filter allows you to focus Without this, you
would be constantly be bombarded with EVERY piece of information
about the outside world! SENSORY OVERLOAD!
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Brain Anatomy 1. Reticular activating system (your first
filter) 2. Amygdala (emotion processor) 3. Prefrontal cortex
(conscious thinking)
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Reticular Activating System (RAS) -This filtering system is
part of your lower brain and does not involve conscious thought.
-You dont choose what makes it through the filter.
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Reticular Activating System (RAS) -Sensory input that is
threatening or novel makes it through your RAS filter
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Reticular Activating System (RAS) -input that the RAS does not
think is novel will enter the lower brain, but will not make it to
complex, conscious thought
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The Amygdala the Emotion Processor When the amygdala is in a
state of fear, stress, or frustrated overload, any new sensory
input from the RAS does not go to the Prefrontal Cortex for complex
thought and processing It acts as a second filter of
information
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Sensory input in an average brain
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What will happen when each input enters Homers brain? Will it
reach the PFC (PreFrontal Club neuron party)?
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PFC (PreFrontal Club Party where every input wants to go!) RAS
(Ralph Arnold Schwarzenegger) the Bouncer of Boring Amy G. Dala
(the good feeling guardian)
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Our first contestant The Journal of Neuroscience
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Write your prediction on your whiteboard! H for Hasta la Vista,
Baby N for No Problemo
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Our first contestant The Journal of Neuroscience
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Hasta la Vista, Boring The journal did not pass the Reticular
Activating System!
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Our second contestant a tiger
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Write your prediction on your whiteboard! T for Terminated N
for No Problemo
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Our second contestant a tiger
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No Problemo, Tigers are Novel (and maybe threatening to some)
The tiger passed the Reticular Activating System!
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Our second contestant a tiger
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Write your prediction on your whiteboard! A for AHHHH! So
scary! I cant process this! B for Boop Boop Be Doo
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Our second contestant a tiger
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AHHH! So scary! I cant process this! The tiger caused the
Amygdala to register fear and wouldnt allow the information to
enter the Prefrontal Club
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Our last contestant a doughnut
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Write your prediction on your whiteboard! G for Get Out M for
Mmmdoughnut
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Our last contestant a doughnut
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MmmmDoughnut The novel pink doughnut passed the Reticular
Activating System!
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Our last contestant a doughnut
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Write your prediction on your whiteboard! S for Sprinkles cause
me stress M for Mmmdoughnut
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MmmDoughnut Amy G. Dala stayed in her positive mood and allowed
the information to enter the Prefrontal Club!
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PreFrontal Cortex Party All kinds of conscious thought and
memory encoding
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To summarize If the sensory input is threatening or novel, it
will make it through the Reticular Activating System If the
Amygdala is in a positive emotional state, the input will make it
to the Prefrontal Cortex In the Prefrontal Cortex, the brain
performs conscious tasks and makes strong memories
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Slide 35
Amy G Dala blocks entry to the thinking brain (PreFrontal Club)
in response to Negative Emotions. These are processed in the lower
brain.
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When students are experiencing NEGATIVE EMOTIONS F EAR S TRESS
from frustration S TRESS from boredom, they can not engage in and
remember the lesson.
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No learning here!
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Or here!
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Stress can be produced quite inadvertently. Learning is easily
sidelined.
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Even small facial cues determine students learning Images of a
threatening face or friendly face viewed before memory task.
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Reading: Students who first viewed the smiling face, were able
to recall a greater number of the originally seen vocabulary words
on average 17% more effectively than those who viewed the frowner.
Math: Similar results occurred for those solving math
problems.
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What the brain looks like solving academic problems under
stressed and unstressed conditions B: Stressed subjects show
heightened activity in the amygdala and much less cortical activity
A: During the unstressed state, increased activity in prefrontal
cortex and memory storage regions.
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The effect of stress A chemical TMT (trimethyltin) is released
into the brain; TMT disrupts brain cell development; STM and work
efficiency are impaired; With extended periods of stress, LTM is
impaired; (Kato & McEwen in Willis 2006) In a hypermetabolic
state, information can not pass from sensory awareness into the
memory connection and storage regions of the brain, and learning
does not occur
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Stress on Students Looks like: fatigue anger fear boredom
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General strategies to calm your emotions and counteract stress:
visualize a place where youve felt happy; this increases dopamine
and brings pleasure to the amygdala; write down your distracting
thoughts on a piece of paper to deal with them later; take short
syn-naps to give your synapses time to recharge-do something
different & active - toss a nerf ball to a classmate while
reciting lesson-related vocabulary with each toss.
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More General Strategies to Quell Stress Practice. To master a
basketball shot, you shoot it 1,000 times. In the same way,
practice multiplication facts or science vocabulary. When you do
this, dendrites actually grow between the nerve cells in the
network that holds that memory. Each time you review, the memory
becomes stronger. Relax. Practice deep breathing as you enter a
situation you know to be stressful.
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Even More Strategies Visualize content. If you are studying
history, imagine how the people were dressed and the appearance of
the buildings and land. For vocabulary, visualize the words and
network what you know about it & similar words to it.
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Counteract Stress to Increase Neurotransmitter production-
Develop Positive Emotions act kindly towards others; laugh; listen
to someone read to you; interact with friends; recognize your
progress; take pride in what you do. use your skills to do projects
you enjoy; and
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Of course Get plenty of sleep - dendrites grow and become
stronger while you are sleeping.
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Signing off from the PFClub Amy G Dala, guardian of good
feeling RAS, Ralph Arnold Schwarzenegger And your buds - Mike,
Linda, and Beth