NW NOGGIN: Neuroscience outreach group (growing in networks)

Noggin @ Oregon Youth Neuroscience Conference!
2022-10-15 10:00 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Oregon Episcopal School, 6300 SW Nicol Road, Portland, OR, 97223, United States
WHAT: Noggin presents @ Oregon Youth Neuroscience Conference
We did it!
Neuroscience for Oregon Youth!

WHERE: Lincoln High School, 1750 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR 97205
WHEN: Saturday, October 15, 2022, 10:00am – 1:30pm

This is a free, public event for ALL middle and high school students!

MAKE YOUR OWN: BRAIN CELL GEL PRINTS

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Tiara Freeman, PSU
4. Austin Schubert, OHSU
5. Bella Showerman, PSU
6. Kaya Burd, PSU
7. Josie Borden, PSU/Rosenbaum Scholar
8. Bharani Nallamala, PSU
9. Natalie Partipilo, PSU
10. Selah Monsef, PSU
11. Martin Lembke, PSU
12. Conner Corbett, PSU
13. Amanda Jones, PSU

Thank you Tara Subramaniam and Catherine Zhang for organizing this conference!

“Thank you so much for coming! The pictures are fantastic, and everybody I talked to (even the parents) really enjoyed the activities. It was so cool to touch and feel the brains and the volunteers were so engaging. I’m planning to put a display of gel prints and pictures in my school.”
-Tara Subramaniam

Noggin + p:ear!
2022-10-20 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | P:ear, 338 NW 6th Ave, Portland, OR, 97209, United States
WHAT: Noggin @ p:ear!
We did it!

WHERE: p:ear, 338 NW 6th Ave., Portland, OR 97209
WHEN: Thursday, October 20, 2022, 10:00am – noon
Contact: Jessica Kain, Education Coordinator, p:ear

NOTE: Noggin is visiting p:ear on October 6, October 13, and October 20!
NOTE: All volunteers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 & wear a mask.

Noggin is returning to P:ear, a remarkable Portland nonprofit aimed at building positive relationships with homeless and transitional youth through education, art and recreation to affirm their personal worth and help them create more meaningful and healthier lives.

We are excited to communicate science through the extraordinary volunteer efforts of our talented graduate and undergraduate Noggin participants from Portland State University, Oregon Health & Science University, the Pacific Northwest College of Art, and other collaborators.!

Learning about brains and behavior, and genuine, evidence-based structural and functional aspects of who we are is powerful and actionable information for everyone, including those who are experiencing anxiety, depression, drug use disorders, bias, chronic stress, insomnia – as well as poverty, isolation, racism, homophobia and our region’s extreme lack of affordable housing.

LEARN MORE: Noggin @ p:ear
Come join us!
This fall we’re collaborating with students and Biology teachers at Fort Vancouver High School! Fort students are coming to listen, learn and act to create bags of essential and useful supplies for youth without access to safe, secure housing. They join us on October 6, and then again on October 20 to distribute the items they organize and prepare.

Please RSVP to bgriesar@nwnoggin.org and jleake@nwnoggin.org
COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin, PSU, OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin, PSU
3. Brooke Searle, PSU
4. Mackenzie Wang, PSU
5. Alex Heinrich, PSU
6. Britta Harbury, PSU
7. Anna Traylor, PSU
8. Roman Cimkovich, PSU
9. Kassidy Fitzgerald, PSU
10. Bella Showerman, PSU
11. Kaya Burd, PSU
12. Danny Leister-Gray, PSU

TextileX: Noggin + PLACE Gallery
2022-10-21 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | PLACE Gallery, 735 NW 18th Ave, Portland, OR, 97209, United States
WHAT: Stitching Networks @ PLACE Gallery for Textile Month!
We did it!
How to embroider your brain cell

WHERE: PLACE Gallery, 735 NW 18th Ave, Portland, OR 97209
WHEN: Friday, October 21, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
(Noggin arrives 6:00pm for set up)

TextileX and the Portland TextileX Month Festival are part of a social enterprise founded and organized by Textile Hive to build community and foster cross-pollination among textile enthusiasts, artists, businesses, schools, and cultural organizations.

PLACE is a Portland-based landscape design firm. The exhibition is held at their studio. It is an artist-in-residence and production is open to the public.

Noggin will bring brains and offer a hands-on art project creating a network of neurons using fabric and sewing textiles. We’ll explore brain cell regeneration to complement this year’s TextileX theme of Regeneration.

LEARN MORE: Embracing Connections Workshop with Northwest Noggin
Join artist Kindra Crick and NW Noggin in the gallery for a delightful workshop exploring brain cell regeneration to complement TextileX’s 2022 theme. NW Noggin will bring brains and offer a hands-on art project creating a network of neurons using fabric and sewing textiles. Regeneration and learning reestablish and creates new connections in our minds.

The human mind with its 86 billion neurons is a resilient force for adaptation and regeneration through its ever-changing landscape of connections. In magnifying and re-imagining these hidden molecular structures, multimedia artist Kindra Crick aims to evoke wonder and offer an imagined vision of the spectacular biological machinery which comprises the very core of our memories, sensations, thoughts and our essential sense of self.

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS

Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
Marc Chenard, PSU
Anna Traylor, PSU
Josie Borden, PSU
Martin Lembke, PSU
FULL

Noggin @ King Elementary!
2022-10-28 09:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School, 4906 NE 6th Ave, Portland, OR, 97211, United States
WHAT: Noggin visit with K-5 students in Portland Public Schools!
We did it!
King Cortex!

We met with every student in the school – 13 classes of K-5 students!

WHERE: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School, 4906 NE 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97211
WHEN: Friday, October 28, 9:00am – 3:00pm

CONTACT: Teresa Seidel, Principal, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School

“At Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School, we believe in the unlimited potential of everyone in our diverse community. We believe that a caring well-balanced student will be motivated to become a global citizen who is inspired to take action.”

Noggin volunteers are excited to hear from K-5 students at this Northeast Portland public school in October! We’ll bring some extra noggins for exploring student questions and interests, and make more pipe cleaner brain cells too.

Please join us! Email griesar@pdx.edu and jleake@pdx.edu to learn more.
COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Roman Cimkovich, PSU
4. Mackenzie Wang, PSU
5. Abigail Zoske, PSU
6. Brooke Searle, PSU (9:00am – noon)
7. Marc Chenard, PSU
8. Aaron Eisen, OHSU/PSU/NW Noggin
9. Conner Corbett, PSU
10. Alex Phanphackdy, PSU
11. Kass Fitzgerald, PSU (11am – 3pm)
12. Natalie Partipilo, PSU

“I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you! I have two children of my own and all they could talk about Friday evening was the brains! And I went to a soccer game over the weekend and several MLK Parents approached me asking about the brain activity and how cool they thought it was. They mentioned that their kindergartener was explaining at home that ‘there is a line that runs from my toes to my head and my brain makes my toes work!'”
I am surprised and overjoyed at the response to your visit. I sincerely hope you consider returning to Dr MLK Jr again next fall. TO all of the students, I wish you the best in your studies!”
Sincerely, Teresa Seidel, Principal, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School

Society for Neuroscience Conference!
2022-11-12 - 2022-11-16 | San Diego Convention Center, 111 W Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA, 92101, United States
WHAT: Society for Neuroscience conference 2022
We did it!
2000+ miles there and back again with #brains #art #volunteers!
LEARN MORE:
Observing Art & Brains @ SfN
Brains Beyond SfN

WHERE: San Diego Convention Center, 111 W Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101
WHEN: November 12 – 16, 2022

From their website: “The Society for Neuroscience is the world’s largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system.”

NW Noggin volunteers include neuroscience undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs and artists, and both individually and collectively we present and attend local chapter meetings and international conferences for the Society for Neuroscience (SfN).
LEARN MORE: Noggin @ Society for Neuroscience
We’re excited to return to San Diego this fall to present our poster and visit local institutes and public schools!

BRAIN OBSERVATORY PUBLIC OUTREACH
Saturday, November 12, 10:00am – noon (aim to arrive @ 9:45am)
We did it!
Observing Art & Brains @ SfN

The Brain Observatory, 725 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101

LEARN MORE: The Brain Observatory Open House
The Brain Observatory, founded in 2005 by Dr. Jacopo Annese, started as a research lab at The University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Today it is an independent institute bringing neuroscience knowledge and tools into the community. The Observatory is home to an exclusive neuroimaging data set relative to the most important brain in the history of neuroscience, that of the amnesic patient H.M.!

COMMITTED VOLUNTEERS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW/PSU
3. Denesa Lockwood, OHSU
4. Monique Smith, University of San Diego
5. Tonia Bautista, PSU
6. Dan Jang, PSU Neuroscience Club
7. Bee Conn, PSU Neuroscience Club
8. Savanah Gipson, PSU Neuroscience Club
9. Ben Bolen, PSU Neuroscience Club
10. Julia Johnson, University of San Diego
11. Cali Boustani, University of San Diego
12. Egemen Tangun, University of San Diego
13. Katarina Matic, University of San Diego
14. Erin Jones, University of San Diego
15. Christiana Torres, University of San Diego
16. Randall Olson, OHSU
There will be an evening social gathering with art and artists at The Brain Observatory too!
Details here.

POSTER PRESENTATION
Saturday, November 12, 1:00pm – 5:00pm session

UP CLOSE: SFN San Diego poster 2022
BRAIN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN EVENT
Saturday, November 12, 2:30pm – 4:00pm session, Room SDCC 16
We did it!

JOIN US: We’re bringing the brains!
NIH BRAIN INITIATIVE EVENT
Sunday, November 13, 6:30 – 9:30pm, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, 1 Park Blvd

Tools, Tech & Theory: A BRAIN Initiative Alliance Social
SCHOOL VISITS
NOTE: ALL VOLUNTEERS FULLY VAXXED, BOOSTED, WITH MASKS.
Monday, November 14, 9:00am – 2:30pm (aim to arrive @ 8:45am)
We did it!
Brains Beyond SfN

Webster Elementary, 4801 Elm Street, San Diego, CA 92102
COMMITTED VOLUNTEERS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW/PSU
3. Savanah Gipson, PSU Neuroscience Club
4. Bradley Marxmiller, PSU/OHSU
5. Ben Bolen, PSU Neuroscience Club
6. Kim Engeln, OHSU
7. Leigh Wilson, Kings College London
8. Alfredo Zuniga, The College of Wooster (9 – 12)
9. Denesa Lockwood, OHSU
10. Dan Jang, PSU Neuroscience Club
11. Bee Conn, PSU Neuroscience Club
12. Sandeep Kishore, NIH BRAIN Initiative (9 – 12)
Tuesday, November 15, 9:30am – noon (aim to arrive @ 9:15am)
We did it!

Freese Elementary, 8140 Greenlawn Dr, S.D., CA 92114
COMMITTED VOLUNTEERS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW/PSU
3. Egemen Tangun, University of San Diego
4. Bradley Marxmiller, PSU/OHSU
5. Sophia Weber, OHSU
6. Ben Bolen, PSU Neuroscience Club
7. Sally Horton, Kings College London
8. Rachel Williams, Kings College London
9. Morgan Wirthlin, Allen Institute for Brain Science
10. Denesa Lockwood, OHSU
11. Alex Henry, University of Minnesota
12. Anita Randolph, University of Minnesota
13. Yasmin Kloth, NIH BRAIN Initiative

See what we’ve done before with San Diego Public Schools!
Synapsing in San Diego @ SfN!

Cortical Connections in San Diego Schools!

NW Noggin Poster Abstract
NOGGINFEST: A free public celebration of music, art, brains and neuroscience research
GRIESAR, W.S.* ** *** ****, LEAKE, J.* ** ***
* Department of Psychology, Portland State University; ** NW Noggin (nwnoggin.org); *** Department of University Studies, Portland State University; **** Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University

Science needs investment, and engaging the public communicates discoveries and builds support for education and research. Integrating the arts, including painting and music in STEM (STEAM) fosters interdisciplinary engagement, and draws in more people not currently overrepresented in the academic study of neuroscience.

Nonprofit NW Noggin (nwnoggin.org) organizes undergraduates and graduates to collaborate, build community networks and inspire people about neuroscience and art. We bring diverse students excited by research and their own arts-integrated study of the brain and behavior into K-12 public schools, correctional facilities, Congress, houseless youth centers, coffee shops and pubs to hear to what people already know and what they’d like to know, and to see where our stories and discoveries from labs and classrooms intersect. We’ve talked with over 55,000 people since 2012!

NW Noggin is volunteer and free. Many science organizations in the Northwest are paywalled, and require you to come to them, excluding many, and largely serving those with existing resources and privilege. Yet despite minimal budgets, we successfully raised funds to bring accomplished outreach participants to SfN conferences to present posters and visit K-12 students in Chicago, San Diego and Washington DC public schools.

In 2017, through the efforts of undergraduate members of the Portland State University Neuroscience Club, we presented our first NogginFest, a free public celebration of music, art, research and brains! We offered live bands, an art auction, brain specimens, art activities and research speakers at the Alberta Rose Theater in Portland Oregon, and raised money to transport, house and feed 15 undergraduates at the SfN conference in Washington DC. Our students presented posters and met with 700 students in Turner Elementary School.

We presented NogginFest again in 2018 and 2019, with more live musicians, artists and neuroscience researchers, funding more student participation at SfN.
Noggin Fest 2018: The Beauty of the Brain
Noggins & Noodles @ SfN!

NOGGINFEST 2019!!!!

In 2020 we paused as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, but pivoted to a well-attended virtual NogginFest, supported by a brain awareness grant from the Dana Foundation in 2021.
NogginFest 2021: Threshold Potential!

In 2022, with support from the Dana Foundation, we returned to an in person NogginFest. The venue (Honey Latte Café) was donated, and the event brought out over 500 Portland residents who enjoyed music, held brains, asked questions, made art, heard about research and connected with each other from 2pm until midnight!
NogginFest 2022: A Mid-Pandemic Revival!

NogginFest is the largest student-run, free, all ages celebration of brains, art and music in the Pacific Northwest, enthusing and informing a diverse public about discoveries in neuroscience.
LEARN MORE: NOGGINFEST!

PSU Neuroscience Club Poster

POSTER: SfN22_Bolen_Ben_PDF

CLICK HERE: VIRTUAL POSTER

Noggin @ Fort Vancouver!
2022-11-22 07:15 - 14:05 (America/Los_Angeles) | Fort Vancouver High School, 5700 E 18th St, Vancouver, WA, 98661, United States
WHAT: Noggin outreach at Fort Vancouver!
We did it!
Sleepy brains at Fort

WHERE: Fort Vancouver High School, 5700 E 18th St, Vancouver, WA 98661
WHEN: Tuesday, November 22, 2022, 7:15am – 2:05pm
(Fort Vancouver starts TOO EARLY for healthy adolescent brain development)

We are super-excited to return to Fort!
COME JOIN US!
Please email griesar@pdx.edu and jleake@pdx.edu to get involved 🙂
ALL VOLUNTEERS VAXXED, BOOSTED AND MASKED
COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS

Bill Griesar, NW Noggin, Portland State University, OHSU
Jeff Leake, NW Noggin, Portland State University
Anna Traylor, PSU
Natalie Partipilo, PSU (7:15am – noon)
Alex Heinrich, PSU
Marc Chenard, PSU
Joey Seuferling, WSU School of Medicine (Spokane)
Conner Corbett, PSU (7:15am – noon)
Roman Cimkovich, PSU
Kristin Preston, PSU
Hannah Shawo, PSU

We’ve visited Coreyanne Russell and James Cederstrom’s 9th through 12th grade classrooms on multiple occasions. More details at the links!
Tired Trappers at Fort

Uploading your brain from Vancouver

Why do you study the brain?

Trap Squad!

Brains, biofeedback & SLEEP

Ventricles in Vancouver!

Noggin @ NOGN & BraiNY!
2022-12-05 17:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | WA
WHAT: Bill Griesar presents “Northwest Noggin: Action AND Potential in Outreach, Education & Research” in conjunction with BraiNY and the Greater NYC Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience and the Neuroscience Outreach Group at New York University (NOGN). (A fellow “Noggin” organization!!). FREE

THANK YOU!!

WHERE: New York University Langone Medical Center, Science Building 1220, 435 East 30th, New York City, NY; non-NYU visitors need to register in advance and should enter at 550 1stAve: Registration required (non-NYU): CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Also on ZOOM: CLICK HERE (Meeting ID: 957 3869 2957; Passcode: [REDACTED]
WHEN: Monday, December 5, 2022, 5:00 – 6:00pm Eastern

What is Northwest Noggin? What does art have to do with neuroscience? How does going places with brain specimens and art projects foster engagement, educate neuroscience undergraduates, graduate students and scientists, and connect the knowledge, expertise and understanding of people in our communities with the discoveries and stories we’re telling in classrooms and labs?
DOWNLOAD FLYER: NOGN x Bill Griesar, NW Noggin

Come join us – and make your own brain cell too!
Pipe Cleaner Brain Cells!

SLIDES (pdf): BraiNY_Noggins_12_2022
SLIDES (ppt): BraiNY_Noggins_12_2022

NOGGIN TALK: Neurobiology and Darkroom Photography: Schizophrenia Through Multiple Lenses
2022-12-07 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Honey Latte Cafe, 1033 SE Main St, Portland, OR, 97214, United States
WHAT: Neurobiology and Darkroom Photography: Looking at Schizophrenia Through Multiple Lenses, a talk by Cassie Ferguson, MFA and Michelle Kielhold, Ph.D. candidate at OHSU

They did it!

WHERE: Honey Latte Cafe, 1033 SE Main St, Portland, OR 97214

WHEN: Wednesday, December 7, 2022; 6:00pm – 9:00pm (talk starts @ 7:00pm)

Take a closer look at the neurobiology of schizophrenia through multiple lenses – literally! Michelle and Cassie draw from their respective practices to highlight the similarities between scientific and artistic experimentation. Discover the importance of collaboration as they discuss common threads between their unique perspectives.
Michelle Kielhold is a PhD candidate at Oregon Health & Science University under the mentorship of Dr. Bita Moghaddam. Her dissertation work focuses on a gene that has been identified as a potential risk factor in individuals with schizophrenia. By utilizing CRISPR technology to alter gene expression, she hopes to better understand how variants of this gene can affect behaviour and brain function.
Cassie Ferguson is a Portland-based printmaker and film photographer who received her B.S. in Biology with a Minor in Art from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and her MFA in Print Media from Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University. In her art practice, she draws from her experience as a skateboarder, and uses lithographs and photogravure etchings to document and showcase various aspects of skate culture.

Noggin @ Sunnyside!
2023-01-20 09:30 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Sunnyside Environmental School, 3421 SE Salmon St, Portland, OR, 97214, United States
WHAT: NW Noggin @ Sunnyside Environmental School
We did it!!!
Learning through mistakes!

WHERE: Sunnyside Environmental School, 3421 SE Salmon St, Portland, OR 97214
WHEN: Friday, January 20, 9:30am – 12:30pm
Contacts: Asa Gervich & Jeremy Thomas, 4th Grade Teachers, Sunnyside School

Brains and Skills:
Learning through Mistakes!
Brains are constantly changing, depending on what you do, and what happens to you when you do it.

Your brain is a mass of interconnected wires, made up of cells, that let you see, hear, feel, think and move. When you’re born you have about 200 billion brain cells called neurons, and another 200 billion cells called glia, that reach out worm-like projections and form connections – known as synapses – with each other. This process is ACTIVE, takes energy (food and air) and requires light, sound, touch, muscle movements and other forms of experience.

It also kills a lot of your cells! In fact, by the time you’re done with high school, you’ll have only HALF as many neurons and glia left in your brain! But the ones that remain will be wired up into adult networks that properly route information from your eyes, ears and body to your brain for perception, cognition, and decision making – and from your brain out to your muscles to let you move well and act.

4th grade teacher Asa Gervich demonstrates his skill on the drums!
Sometimes – like when you’re learning something new – you have to think hard about how you’ll move, and you’ll naturally make a lot of errors. But each error, each mistake, is important feedback for your neurons and glia, which respond by physically changing how they connect. Your brain’s wiring changes, you get more skilled, and you’ll require less hard thinking and effort to play the guitar, make a basket, give a speech, ride a bicycle, drum!

There is a LOT of new research pointing to the importance of the cerebellum – our little brain – in so much of what we do implicitly; that is, automatically and with ease and skill. And other deep areas of our brains, including the basal ganglia (a set of subcortical, “below the cortex” nuclei) – along with the cerebellum – also let us carry out these skilled, implicit, “feel the force” type behaviors.

We’ll join students to consider what skills and abilities we already have or are developing, and what it takes to re-wire frontal lobe, cerebellar and subcortical networks to make this happen (HINT: it takes practice, practice, practice – and learning from mistakes :).

Read for background
It’s Just Like Riding a Bike…Except It’s Not!

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, PSU/OHSU/NW Noggin
2. Jeff Leake, PSU/NW Noggin
3. Kai Hosea, PSU
4. Julian Rodriguez, PSU
5. Isabella Starr, PSU
6. Kristin Preston, PSU
7. Asha Powell-Stormberg, PSU
8. Kaya Burd, PSU
9. Allonte Barakat, PSU
10. Marc Chenard, PSU
11. Denesa Lockwood, OHSU/NW Noggin
12. Jadyn Harris, PSU
13. Martin Lemke, PSU
14. Roman Cimkovich, PSU

FROM NOGGIN VOLUNTEER KRISTIN PRESTON (PSU):

“It was wonderful to see the raw enthusiasm and excitement today at Sunnyside! The two fourth grade classes had so many intuitive questions including, why we do not understand the thoughts in our brains even though we are aware of our thoughts, and if a brain was transplanted, would the recipient gain a new brain or a new body? Such philosophers are ten-year-olds!
We also discussed the development of neural pathways in the brain by revealing what happens as we improve at a skill we are learning. We discovered too through Asa’s demonstration on jazz playing, a mistake can simply be a new note in the song. Like walking through a field of tall grass, the more we do a thing, the more fortified the pathway becomes, and through making mistakes, we learn and improve all the more!”
FROM NOGGIN VOLUNTEER ASHA POWELL-STORMBERG (PSU):

“Working at the station with different animal brains was super fun. The kids were all so shocked at the size differences and thought that the brain size was correlated with the intelligence. It was fun to point out the brains with more grooves (surface area) had more intelligence then those with brains with less surface area.
I also thought it was interesting that both groups of kids wanted to know why we have headaches. It is hard to believe that a 10 year old would be suffering from headaches but I thought it was a great question. Can’t wait for the next teaching experience.”
FROM JEREMY THOMAS, 4th GRADE TEACHER

“…the report I got from folks was that it was AWESOME as usual. One of my volunteers said it was the most focused my class has ever been! Thanks so much!”

Power Up @ Portland Art Museum
2023-01-21 13:30 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Portland Art Museum
WHAT: Power Up LGBTQ2SIA+ & Allies Event @ Portland Art Museum
WHERE: Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97205
WHEN: Saturday, January 21, 2023, 1:30 – 4:30pm

Celebrate LGBTQ2SIA+ youth and allies at the Portland Art Museum! Meet new people. Immerse yourself in powerful art by Jeffrey Gibson and other queer artists. Join a drag workshop with Carla Rossi. Speak your truth at the open mic. Make art, make friends, and have fun!
Middle school, high school, and college-age are all welcome. GSA/QSA advisors and teachers are welcome, too.
Admission is FREE! Refreshments provided.

NW Noggin is exploring ways to contribute: STAY TUNED!

Noggin @ Sacajawea Elementary!
2023-01-24 08:30 - 14:35 (America/Los_Angeles) | Sacajawea Elementary School, 700 NE 112th St, Vancouver, WA, 98685, United States
WHAT: NW Noggin @ Sacajawea Elementary School (Vancouver Public Schools)
We did it!
How many neurons in a dinosaur brain?

WHERE: Sacajawea Elementary School, 700 NE 112th St, Vancouver, WA 98685
WHEN: Tuesday, January 24, 2023, 8:30am – 2:35pm
Contact: Carla Feltz, Family Engagement/Technical Assistance Coordinator, Vancouver Public Schools

Returning to Clark County!
Our Noggin volunteers will talk brains and make art with kindergarten through 5th graders in Vancouver Public Schools! All volunteers should be vaccinated, boosted and have n95/kn95 masks available – and we’ll seek a well-ventilated (potentially outdoor, depending on weather) location.

From Carla: “We have built in a lunch break and will provide lunch, snacks and coffee for you. :)”

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, PSU/OHSU/NW Noggin
2. Jeff Leake, PSU/NW Noggin
3. Julian Rodriguez, PSU
4. Bradley Marxmiller, PSU/OHSU
5. Mina Sattari, PSU
6. Allonte Barakat, PSU
7. Jadyn Harris, PSU

Noggin @ Leodis V. McDaniel High School!
2023-02-02 08:30 - 14:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Leodis V. McDaniel High School, 2735 NE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR, 97220, United States
WHAT: Noggin visit with students at Leodis V. McDaniel High School
We did it!
Your Inner Worm Bin

“Thank you all for such a wonderful experience! The kids and I had some great conversations today about what they learned and how they’ll apply it to this unit. Appreciate you all and the time you dedicated to McDaniel!”
– Darshanpreet Gill, Biomedical Science Teacher
Great questions!

Can we train our brains to overcome short term heart stopping?
How would giving up fast food affect the microbiome?
How does the hair cell absorb sound?
How long does it take to 3d print a brain?
How does lactose intolerance work?
Why do behaviors get aggressive when someone has dementia?
How does adrenaline keep you from feeling pain?
Why does coffee affect me differently in morning and night when I have ADHD?
When you agree to be an organ donor is that how you got the brains?
Why are the animals brains different colors?
How does diet affect ADHD?
What happens when you get a concussion?
When you go on a roller coaster does your brain slightly concuss when you go upside down?
What do you do as a high schooler to make yourself a more strong candidate for college/medical school?

WHERE: Leodis V. McDaniel High School, 2735 NE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97220
WHEN: Thursday, February 2, 2023, 8:15am – 1:30pm
Contact: Darshanpreet Gill, Biomedical Science Teacher

We’ll meet with 10th, 11th & 12th grade students at this Portland Public school, who are studying the relationship between diet and the gut-brain axis!

They are taking an interdisciplinary approach to this fascinating topic, with collaborative teaching from English, Chemistry and Biomedical Science.

A Portrait of Veronica, Who’s in Control, 2020 by Monica Aissa Martinez
From Darshanpreet Gill, Biomedical Science Teacher:
“I’ll teach students about the digestive system and the brain/gut axis, Karen (a Chemistry teacher) will talk about macromolecules and digestive enzymes, and Nicola (an English teacher) will have them do research and create poster presentations based on their actions plans. The action plans will be where they pick one thing in their diet to change and see how it affects them. The ultimate goal is to have them learn how what we eat affects how we feel. The inspiration for this is all the new research about the mind/gut axis.”

LEARN MORE: The Gut-Brain Axis: Influence of Microbiota on Mood & Mental Health
LEARN MORE: Gut Microbiota for Health: How Can Diet Maintain A Healthy Gut Microbiota?
LEARN MORE: The complexities of the diet-microbiome relationship: advances and perspectives
LEARN MORE: The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: From Motility to Mood

Period 5- 8:30am – 9:52am: ~45 juniors and seniors
Period 6- 9:59am -11:21am: ~22 sophomores
Lunch Break – 11:21am-11:54am
Period 7 – 11:59am – 1:21pm

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, PSU/OHSU/NW Noggin
2. Jeff Leake, PSU/NW Noggin
3. Julian Rodriguez, PSU
4. Angela Hendrix, NW Noggin
5. Kristin Preston, PSU
6. Asha Powell-Stormberg, PSU
7. Bradley Marxmiller, PSU/OHSU
8. Allonte Barakat, PSU
9. Josie Borden, PSU/Rosenbaum Scholar
10. Brin Rey, PSU (former McDaniel student!)
11. Juniper Warren, PSU (former McDaniel student!)

Noggin @ Hosford!
2023-02-07 09:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Hosford Middle School, 2303 SE 28th Pl, Portland, OR, 97214, United States
WHAT: Noggin at Hosford Middle School (Portland Public Schools)
We did it!

WHERE: Hosford Middle School, 2303 SE 28th Pl, Portland, OR 97214
WHEN: Tuesday, February 7, 9:00am – 12:30; meet at the school office
CONTACTS: Amy Slaughter, Assistant Principal, Hosford Middle School; Jane VanDam, Science teacher; Kevin Marquardt, Science teacher

“Thank you, all, for your hard work in making such a memorable learning experience at Hosford. You are appreciated!”
— Amy Slaughter, Assistant Principal, Hosford Middle School
Noggin volunteers from Portland State University, OHSU and other area campuses will meet with students in Kevin Marquardt and Jane VanDam’s 6th grade classrooms at Hosford, introducing them to neuroscience research and art projects related to understanding the brain.
Some questions from the classroom:

Why do we get scared?
How do we move our body or does our body move itself?
How heavy is our brain?
What causes hunger and thirst?
How does the brain know what to say in the moment without thinking about it?
How does crying work?
Why do we get headaches?
How/when does the body know when it’s ready for puberty?

What hormones do you get during puberty?
Our moths move automatically, but how?
How does our mind tell our body parts to move but stop when hurt?
How do we hear, feel, smell?
Why do we get hungry?
What causes depression?
What causes sexual attraction?
Why do you dream?
How does brain freeze happen?
Why does your body have favorite things?

Committed participants
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Josie Borden, PSU/Rosenbaum Scholar
4. Julian Rodriguez, PSU
5. Kristin Preston, PSU
6. Khelen Walsh, PSU
7. Mina Sattari, PSU
8. Natalie Partipilo, PSU
9. Allonte Barakat, PSU
10. Martin Lemke, PSU

Hosford offers a Mandarin immersion program!
Here are some neuro-related words in Mandarin…

Brain: 脑 (nǎo)
Neuroscience: 神经科学 (Shénjīng kēxué)
https://nwnoggin.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Mandarin-Translation.m4a
Translation provided by Luyao Wang, undergraduate in Psychology at PSU
There are significant benefits to bilingual education in both children and adults, including evidence of changes in the white matter wiring of linked cortical regions essential for executive function (decision making, working memory, attentional control), and a reduced risk of cognitive decline with age…
LEARN MORE: Bilingual Two-Way Immersion Programs Benefit Academic Achievement
LEARN MORE: Language Experience Changes Language and Cognitive Ability
LEARN MORE: The effects of bilingualism on the white matter structure of the brain
LEARN MORE: Latino Network Learning & Lobes
See what we’ve done at Hosford before!
KGW did a story!
Getting kids excited about neuroscience

Hosford, Hippocampi & Hope

Brains examining brains

Honest selves @ Hosford

Brains, Art & Inquiry @ Hosford

High energy Hosford: Tumors, music & drugs!

Hito Steyerl Exhibit: NW Noggin Workshop on Neural Networks!
2023-02-15 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Portland Art Museum
WHAT: NW Noggin Workshop on Neural Networks at Hito Steyerl Exhibit
We did it!
LEARN MORE: WE ARE ALL NEURAL NETWORKS

“Thank you all for the wonderful workshop (and fantastic photos)! I really appreciated how each of you connected the exhibition with neuroscience and how clearly and helpfully you explain these complex systems. People clearly loved the brains and the hands-on neuron building. Thanks and hope to see you all soon!”
— Hana Layson, Head of Youth and Educator Programs, Portland Art Museum

WHERE: Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97205
WHEN: Wednesday, February 15, 6:45pm – 7:30pm

Come check out some real neural networks, and reflect on the biological wiring that makes you who you are!

We’ll craft neurons from pipe cleaners, and synapse to form neural networks that detect, process and act in response to our environments, growing and changing connections to better predict consequences in a rapidly changing world. Join us, make art, ask questions and adjust your own network!

LEARN MORE: Evening for Educators: Hito Steyerl: This is the Future
COMMITTED VOLUNTEERS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Roman Cimkovich, PSU
4. Kanani Miyamoto, NW Noggin/PNCA
5. Brin Rey, PSU
6. Rebecca Chevrel, PSU
7. Bradley Marxmiller, PSU

LEARN MORE: NW Noggin + Portland Art Museum

Noggin @ Ron Russell Middle School!
2023-03-02 08:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Ron Russell Middle School, 3955 SE 112th Ave, Portland, OR, 97266, United States
WHAT: Noggin visit to Ron Russell Middle School
We did it!
When I Grow Up: Learning, Memory, and LTP

“That was so awesome! Thank you so much, our kids learned a ton and they really enjoyed meeting professional scientists!”
— Elizabeth Archodominion, Sixth Grade Science & Social Studies, Ron Russell Middle School

WHERE: Ron Russell Middle School, 3955 SE 112th Ave, Portland, OR 97266
WHEN: Thursday, March 2, 2023, 8:30am – noon
Please check in at the school office. We’ll meet students in the commons area (cafeteria).
Contacts: Geoff Gailey, Science & Health Coordinator, David Douglas School District; Elizabeth Archodominion, Sixth Grade Science & Social Studies, Ron Russell Middle School

Noggin volunteers from Portland State University, OHSU and other area campuses will meet with 6th and 8th graders in this David Douglas District public middle school, to explore neuroscience research and make art related to understanding our brains.

MAKE A PIPE CLEANER BRAIN CELL
Class times (81 minutes!) are:
Period 1 – 8:44 – 10:00am; 6th graders
Period 2 – 10:15 – 11:30am; 8th graders

Come join us! Please contact Bill Griesar (griesar@pdx.edu) and Jeff Leake (jleake@pdx.com) to get involved.
COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Jadyn Harris, PSU
4. Justin Benner, PSU
5. Annik Hokanson, PSU
6. Saphya R. Lones, PSU
7. Mina Sattari, PSU
8. Asha Powell-Stormberg, PSU
9. Julian Rodriguez, PSU
10. Allonte Barakat, PSU

Nostalgia & Brains in Eugene (by Zoom!)
2023-03-10 09:00 - 21:50 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
WHAT: Online visit with 8th graders at Kennedy Middle School
We did it!

“Thank you so much for donating your time today to talk to my journalism students. It was a great conversation. (Sorry for the delay at the beginning of class!) It’s so important for students to hear from adults about topics they’re interested in. One thing they walked away with from this conversation with is just the variety of professions and things to study that are out there waiting to be studied.
We’ll be sending you a thank you card, but I didn’t want to let too much time pass without making sure you knew how much we appreciated your generosity today. Thanks again!”
– Sarah Case, Language Arts and Social Studies Teacher, Kennedy Middle School
WHERE: ZOOM @ Kennedy Middle School, Eugene, OR 97405 (link coming)
WHEN: Friday, March 10, 2023, 9:00am – 9:50am

From Language Arts and Social Studies Teacher Sarah Case:
“I teach an 8th grade journalism elective class at Kennedy Middle School in Eugene. My students have chosen topics of interest that they’re investigating. A topic of interest to one of my students is understanding more about nostalgia.”
Why does nostalgia affect people?
What goes on in your brain when you feel nostalgia?
Does everyone feel nostalgia?

We’ll meet with Sarah’s 8th grade students by Zoom to consider their questions on nostalgia and our brain! One of our Northwest Noggin volunteers, Grace Taylor, wrote about this topic in 2022:

Nostalgia and BRAINS!

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Denesa Lockwood, NW Noggin/OHSU
4. Hosanna Broderick, PSU
5. Asha Powell-Stormberg, PSU
6. Mina Sattari, PSU

OMSI BRAIN FAIR
2023-03-11 09:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, 1945 SE Water Ave, Portland, OR, 97214, United States
WHAT: NW Noggin Brings Brains to Brain Fair!
We did it!
Brain Awareness for ALL

“We drove all the way from Eugene for this – and it’s not only free, but so much better than anything we had to pay to see in the museum!” — Visitor at the Brain Fair @ OMSI
WHERE: Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, 1945 SE Water Ave, Portland, OR 97214

WHEN: Saturday, March 11, 2023, 9:00am (set up) – 4:00pm
One of the nation’s largest Brain Fairs is this Saturday at OMSI!

This was the last big public event we joined prior to the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020, and it was cancelled for both 2021 and 2022.
NOW, Brain Fair is BACK!

Come join Noggin for an awesome day of FREE public learning! Coffee, snacks and pizza provided for volunteers by the OHSU Brain Institute! PLUS there’s free admission to OMSI for our outreach participants (though a publicly funded, “accessible” science museum should not be regularly charging $9 – $20 for folks to get in 🙄)
The Brains at Brain Fair

Bringing BRAINS to Brain Fair 🙂

Putting the brains in Brain Fair!

Pipe Cleaners, Gel Prints, Electrodes & Brains!

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Denesa Lockwood, NW Noggin/OHSU
4. Asha Powell-Stormberg, PSU
5. Natalie Partipilo, PSU
6. Aaron Eisen, NW Noggin/OHSU (Human to Human Interfacer!)
7. Shae Zeimantz, PSU
8. Travis Christian, PSU graduate
9. Kristin Preston, PSU
10. Benjamin Bui, Legacy Research Institute (9am – noon)
11. Martin Lemke, PSU
12. Kindra Crick, NW Noggin
13. Tonia Bautista, PSU
14. Randall Olson, OHSU
15. Kadi Rae Smith, PSU
16. Rebecca Chevrel, PSU
17. Isabella Starr, PSU
18. Sami Wagner, PSU
19. Ben Bolen, PSU Neuroscience Club
20. Jasmine Bradley, PSU
21. Annabella Showerman, PSU
22. Reed Hall, Western University of Health Sciences
23. Bradley Marxmiller, PSU/OHSU/BUILD EXITO
24. Shelby Hansen, Legacy Research Institute
25. Simeon Novak, PSU
26. Leslie Salazar, PSU
27. Daniella Merid, PSU
28. Allonte Barakat, PSU
29. Julian Rodriguez, PSU (9:00am – 1:00pm)
30. Lidia Echeverria-Garcia, University of Oregon

Noggins in Sisters!
2023-04-13 11:30 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Sisters Middle School, 15200 OR-242, Sisters, OR, 97759, United States
Art by Sienna Cenere
WHAT: Noggin visit to Sisters Middle School!
We did it!
Synapses and Seconds in Sisters

“I wanted to extend a huge heartfelt thank you for bringing such a wonderful learning opportunity to our school! THANK YOU THANK YOU. THANK YOU 😊 If we can ever help with anything in Sisters don’t ever hesitate to reach out.” — Tim Roth, Principal

WHERE: Sisters Middle School, 15200 OR-242, Sisters, OR 97759
WHEN: Thursday, April 13, 2023, 11:30-3:30pm; please arrive @ 11:00am
Contact: Tanya Young, 6th Grade Teacher, Sisters School District
Super-excited to visit the Home of the Outlaws in beautiful central Oregon!

We’ll meet with 6th grade students to ask what they already know about our brains and what they’d like to know, consider research discoveries in neuroscience, hold a few real noggins, and make some neuro-art!

A limited opportunity! Housing/meals provided in Sisters, Oregon.
COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin, PSU, OHSU
2. Angela Hendrix, NW Noggin
3. Annik Hokanson, PSU
4. Kadi Rae Smith, PSU
5. Regina Warila, PSU
6. Connor Corbett, PSU
7. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin, PSU
And afterwards, on Friday, we are invited to meet the chimpanzees!

Freedom For Great Apes is a sanctuary specifically designed to provide a safe haven dedicated to the physical, social, behavioral, and psychological well-being of chimpanzees in captivity. We are dedicated to overcoming exploitation and cruelty that all captive great apes face with education, advocacy, and collaboration.
LEARN MORE: Freedom For Great Apes

Noggins on the North Coast!
2023-04-18 - 2023-04-21 | WA
WHAT: Noggin + TRIO outreach in Astoria, Warrenton and Knappa!
WHERE: Clatsop County, Northwest Oregon; Fort George Brewery, Astoria High School, Knappa High School, Bumble Art Pre-School, West Exchange Pre-School
WHEN: Tuesday, April 18 – Friday, April 21

Signal from Noise: Surrounded by Waves in the Pacific Northwest
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”
– Nikola Tesla
We did this!
New post on talk:
Signal from Noise on the Oregon Coast

New post on school visits!
Pre-K, Fish and Logger Lobes!

Energy travels in waves, and we are immersed in energetic waves, in air, in water and in electromagnetism. There is information in complex, changing waves – including critical details of weather, language, and our own perception, cognition and behavior in health and disease.

The Northwest is home to people who understand waves, who make a living attending to wave energy, to safely navigate Pacific and Columbia River shipping routes, to compel and engage us with music, to discover neural activity linked to our individualized perceptions, and to determine where seizures originate in the brain. What are waves? What is information? How do we extract, using our noggins, our developmental experience and our technology, the personally relevant signals we seek from surrounding noise?

We’ll host a presentation at the Fort George Brewery featuring Randall Olson, a graduate student in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience conducting NIH-funded research using electrophysiological techniques at OHSU, Mark Hails, a Columbia River bar pilot, and Tom Hernandez, a PA cardiologist from Columbia Memorial Hospital. We’ll follow this up with three days of NW Noggin outreach visits to Astoria and Knappa Public Schools. We’ll contribute eleven volunteers in collaboration with the Oregon TRIO Association, Knappa and Astoria Public Schools, West Exchange and Bumble Art Pre-Schools, the Astoria Coop, Peter Pan Market, Good to Go, the Astoria YMCA, the Rosebriar Mansion and the Fort George Brewery.

TALK SLIDES Waves_FINAL (pdf)
“Signals always point to something. In this sense, a signal is not a thing but a relationship. Data becomes useful knowledge of something that matters when it builds a bridge between a question and an answer. This connection is the signal.”
– Stephen Few
THANK YOU!
Housing and meals generously provided through TRIO and community partners!
LEARN MORE: Threshold through TRIO

TUESDAY, APRIL 18
Fort George Brewery, 6 – 8pm
Signal from Noise: Bar Pilots, Heartbeats and Brains!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19
MORNING: Bumble Art Pre-School, 1555 W Marine Dr, Astoria, OR 97103
LUNCH: Fort George Brewery
AFTERNOON: Free!

THURSDAY, APRIL 20
MORNING: West Exchange Pre-School, 245 W Exchange St St, Astoria, OR 97103
LUNCH: Good to Go
AFTERNOON: Knappa High School, 41535 Old US Hwy 30, Astoria, OR 97103
DINNER: Fort George Brewery!!

FRIDAY, APRIL 21
MORNING: Astoria High School, 1001 W Marine Dr #5829, Astoria, OR 97103
LUNCH: Peter Pan Market
AFTERNOON: Astoria High School

COMMITTED VOLUNTEERS:
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Tonia Bautista, PSU
4. Josie Borden, PSU Rosenbaum scholar
5. Isabella Starr, PSU
6. Kai Hosea, PSU
7. Kadi Rae Smith, PSU
8. Chad Alexander, PSU/NIH BUILD EXITO
9. Becky Hunt, PSU
10. Nathalie Rios Carreon, PSU
11. Martin Lemke, PSU

SEE WHAT WE’VE DONE IN CLATSOP COUNTY BEFORE
Viking, Shark, Fishermen & Bandit Brains!

Clatsop Community Cortex

North Coast Noggins: Art, Alevins & Brains!

Accumbens in Astoria

Noggins @ Oregon City High School
2023-04-25 10:30 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Oregon City High School, 19761 S Beavercreek Rd, Oregon City, OR, 97045, United States
WHAT: NW Noggin visit with high schoolers at Oregon City High School!
We did it!

“Thanks so much for coming, the students had a great experience with you all. We’d love to have you back next year!”
— Erin Cole, Science Teacher
WHERE: Oregon City High School, 19761 S Beavercreek Rd, Oregon City, OR 97045

WHEN: Tuesday, April 25, 10:30am – 2:00pm

We’ll join high school students studying science and anatomy in multiple classes at Oregon City High School to talk brain research, make art, and consider questions!

Come join us! Please contact Bill Griesar (griesar@pdx.edu) and Jeff Leake (jleake@pdx.com) to get involved.
-11:09-11:39 first lunch short session for any science student
-11:44-12:26 3rd period talk for anatomy class
-12:26-12:56: 2nd lunch talk short talk for any science student
-1:01-1:45ish 4th period talk for anatomy class

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Natalie Partipilo, PSU
4. Becky Hunt, PSU
5. Regina Warila, PSU
6. Marc Chenard, PSU
7. Veronika Carranza, PSU
8. Tonia Bautista, PSU
9. Alex Heinrich, PSU

Multilingual Noggins @ Hazelbrook Middle School!
2023-05-04 08:30 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Hazelbrook Middle School, 11300 SW Hazelbrook Rd, Tualatin, OR, 97062, United States
WHAT: Noggin visit with ~150 6th – 8th graders in Tigard-Tualatin School District!
We did it!

WHERE: Hazelbrook Middle School, 11300 SW Hazelbrook Rd, Tualatin, OR 97062; gym!
WHEN: Thursday, May 4, 2023, 8:30am – 11:00am
CONTACT: Rebecca Rousculp, 8th Grade Bilingual Teacher, Hazelbrook Middle School

We’ll discuss student questions about the brain benefits of multilingualism (and other topics they are curious about), enjoy an art project (in more than one language) and then consider more questions while examining brains.

“Today, more of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual than monolingual. In addition to facilitating cross-cultural communication, this trend also positively affects cognitive abilities. Researchers have shown that the bilingual brain can have better attention and task-switching capacities than the monolingual brain, thanks to its developed ability to inhibit one language while using another. In addition, bilingualism has positive effects at both ends of the age spectrum: Bilingual children as young as seven months can better adjust to environmental changes, while bilingual seniors can experience less cognitive decline.”
LEARN MORE: The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Veronika Carranza, PSU
4. Regina Warila, PSU
5. Andy Ng, PSU
6. Rebecca Chevrel, PSU
7. Marc Chenard, PSU
8. Jennifer Notter, PSU
9. Cameron Mcgrew, PSU
10. Nathalie Rios Carreon, PSU
11. Lee Hammond, PSU
12.Sami Wagner, PSU
¡Ser bilingüe es maravilloso!

Noggins @ Lake Shore!
2023-05-11 09:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Lake Shore Elementary School, 9300 NW 21st Ave, Vancouver, WA, 98665, United States
Come join us as we meet with the 3rd graders at Lake Shore Elementary in Vancouver!
We did it!

We visited the home of the Seagulls!
We brought brains and art projects to share with two classes of third graders! From one of the teachers, Ms. Christine Quinn: “Students have worked on learning the major parts of the brain though focusing on the amygdala, hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex. We talk a lot about how the amygdala and prefrontal cortex interact. Students know that when emotions are strong, the amygdala takes over and the prefrontal cortex can’t function properly. They have learned several ways to try and keep their amygdala “calm” so they can learn and function at school. I honestly think that anything you tell them about the brain will pique their interest. They love to learn!”
WHAT: NW Noggin @ Lake Shore Elementary School
WHERE: Lake Shore Elementary, 9300 NW 21st Ave. Vancouver, WA 98665

WHEN: Thursday May 11th, 2023; 9:00am – 11:30am

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Denesa Lockwood, OHSU
2. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
3. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
4. Regina Warila, PSU
5. Veronika Carranza, PSU
6. Roman Cimkovich, PSU
7. Becky Martinez, PSU
8. Allonte Barakat, PSU
9. Julian Rodriguez, PSU
10. Rebecca Chevrel, PSU
11. Kassidy Fitzgerald, PSU
12. Cameron McGrew, PSU

SfN OR/SW WA Chapter Meeting!
2023-05-12 - 2023-05-13 | McMenamin’s Edgefield, 2126 S.W. Halsey St., Troutdale, OR, 97060, United States
WHAT: Society for Neuroscience OR/SW WA Chapter Annual Meeting
DAY ONE

DAY TWO

WHERE: McMenamins Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey Street, Troutdale, OR
WHEN: Friday, May 12 – Saturday, May 13, 2023

REGISTER HERE
READ THE ABSTRACTS: SFN OR WA Abstract Book 2023
Meeting topic: Research on psychedelics!

AMAZING Chapter Meeting: but $150 for students? Not very accessible.

The mini-symposium on the neuroscience of psychedelics keynote address will be given by Andrea Gomez, Ph.D., assistant professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley.Dr. Gomez will present “The Psychedelic Translatome of the Prefrontal Cortex.”

Other invited speakers for the mini-symposium include:

Atheir Abbas, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU
Luca Mazzucato, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biology and Mathematics, University of Oregon
Christopher Stauffer, Ph.D., assistant professor of Psychiatry, OHSU

The chapter keynote address will be presented by Brian Anderson, M.D.,assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco.

Psychedelic Neuroscience in Context: Learning to Listen to the Concerns of Communities
Brian Anderson, M.D., M.Sc., is assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for the Neurosciences, and he is an attending in the Psychiatric Emergency Services at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
Dr. Anderson’s research has included both ethnographic studies of religious practitioners who use psychedelics in community settings, and clinical trials of psychedelic therapies. In 2018, he conducted a pilot study of psilocybin-assisted group therapy for demoralization in older, long-term AIDS survivor men. Dr. Anderson is a co-founding member of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Currently, his research focuses on the development of: 1) novel interventions to address psychological distress in patients with serious medical illness; and 2) training and safety standards for psychedelic guiding.

Aargh! SfN JUST MOVED our poster to Saturday morning (5/13). Sorry for any confusion!

Please join us at 9:30am & cheers!

NW Noggin POSTER Abstract
Sharing interdisciplinary neuroscience paywall-free at SfN
GRIESAR, W.S.* ** *** ****, LEAKE, J.* ** ***
* Department of Psychology, Portland State University; ** NW Noggin (nwnoggin.org); *** Department of University Studies, Portland State University; **** Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University

Nonprofit NW Noggin (nwnoggin.org) organizes collaboration and community around interdisciplinary neuroscience. Undergraduates, graduate students and artists inspired by brain research join us in public schools, correctional facilities, houseless youth centers and more to hear what people already know and want to know, and see where lab and classroom discoveries can contribute. We’ve met 65,000 people since 2012!
The last time we traveled to San Diego for the Society for Neuroscience conference, we gave the 2018 keynote address on brain awareness, and joined a panel on outreach. Representatives of resource-rich institutions described well-staffed offices, paywalled conferences, expert-judged Brain Bees and annual Brain Fairs.
In contrast, we introduced over 70 all-volunteer, paywall-free visits we’d made to community spaces that don’t often get exposure to neuroscience, bringing specimens and art projects, and centering the questions, stories, knowledge and interests of those we met.
We invited everyone to join us in K-12 classrooms, where we’d arranged with San Diego Unified district staff and teachers for two days of direct public engagement over neuroscience and art!
We are fascinated by the money spent by government and private foundations aimed at increasing diversity, equity, inclusion and interdisciplinary approaches to “brain awareness” in education and research, much of which flows to the same privileged universities, private schools and institutions receiving funding in the past.
That is not our approach, so while we miss big structurally segregated dollars, we enjoy the privilege of going places and hearing directly from those not currently overrepresented in neuroscience, both inspiring and being inspired by questions, insights and art.
During the 2022 Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego, we not only presented original posters, caught up with colleagues and walked the cavernous convention halls, but also joyously re-connected with district staff and teachers, organizing two additional days of engagement in local schools!
We met over 500 students at Webster and Freese elementary schools, examining brains we’d driven 1000 miles from Portland, Oregon, discussed new research and made art. We also met people passing by The Brain Observatory, a striking laboratory and exhibition space founded by Dr. Jacobo Annese, who dissected the brain of amnesia Patient H.M.
Building awareness of discoveries, educational options and careers through outreach engaging those not served by institutional “brain awareness” funding trains scientists to collaborate, reaches more people, and increases support for investment in research and art.
DOWNLOAD PDF: SFN poster 2023
Brains Beyond SfN

Observing Art & Brains @ SfN

We’re also thrilled to introduce the abstract submitted by Tara Subramaniam, a Portland high school student who helped establish the Oregon Youth Neuroscience Conference, which we attended last fall! Tara will be at the Chapter Meeting too, presenting Friday (5/12) @ 3:45pm.
Promoting Neuroscience Among Youth: The Oregon Youth Neuroscience Conferences
T. SUBRAMANIAM
Neuroscience is a field applicable to the lives of all students, regardless of their intended field. However, there is little awareness of the vast possibilities in the neuroscience field among youth. In Oregon middle and high schools, the incorporation of neuroscience into school curricula is a rarity. Additionally, it is difficult for young students to hear from neuroscientists to gain deeper insights of the field (Myslinski, 2022). This paper details the process of creating the Oregon Youth Neuroscience Conferences—a program for students, led by students—to broaden access to neuroscience education among local middle and high schools.
For each conference, a theme was set that would be compelling to youth, such as “Neurotechnology” and “The Brain and Aging.” Then, conferences were held at local high schools, where the venues were free. Professors in fields related to each theme from the University of Oregon and Oregon Health and Science University were invited to present about the background of their specialized field, career path, and research. After their presentations, a Q&A session was held for students to engage with speakers. Presentation topics ranged from alcohol’s effects on the teenage brain, research on Alzheimer’s disease, and nanotechnology in neuroscience research. When it was difficult to find speakers, organizations such as the Oregon Geriatric Association and Oregon Alzheimer’s Association directed us to interested neuroscientists. After the first conference, feedback from students suggested that more interactive activities would improve the experience.
When the nonprofit, NW Noggin, brought a team of volunteers with cadaver brains and neuroscience-themed art projects that students could learn brain anatomy from, student engagement drastically improved.
Social media campaigns, science teachers, school newsletters, and flyers across the state publicized the event, resulting in attendees from fifteen schools. Through the program’s website, organizers could predict attendance and effective publication methods. At the end of the conference, a social session was designated for students to socialize over their shared interests. Ultimately, the conferences provided students with an insight into the excitement in the field of neuroscience, as well as their own minds.

Neuroscience for Oregon Youth!

CANCELLED: Noggin + TRIO @ Hudson's Bay!
2023-05-18 08:15 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Hudson’s Bay High School, 1601 E McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver, WA, 98663, United States
WHAT: NW Noggin visit to Hudson’s Bay High School!
Cancelled last minute by TRIO @ WSU Vancouver 🙄
WHERE: Hudson’s Bay High School, 1601 E McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98663
WHEN: Thursday, May 18, 8:15am – 2:00pm

In conjunction with the federal TRIO Program, NW Noggin volunteers will meet with with high school students in Vancouver to explore neuroscience research, examine brains and make art. More details coming soon!

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Chad Alexander, PSU/McNair scholar
4. Natalie Partipilo, PSU
5. Andy Ng, PSU
6. Cameron McGrew, PSU
7. Veronika Carranza, PSU
8. Rebecca Chevrel, PSU
9. Sami Wagner, PSU
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How Brains Create Meaning through Art and Narrative
2023-05-20 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Paragon Gallery, 815 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR, 97217, United States
WHAT: How Brains Create Meaning through Art and Narrative presentation
We did it!

WHERE: Paragon Gallery, 815 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97217
WHEN: Saturday, May 20, 2:00 – 4:00pm

Join Jeff Leake and his colleague Neuroscientist Dr. Bill Griesar for a NWNoggin workshop “How Brains Create Meaning through Art and Narrative,” Saturday, May 20, 2023, 2 – 4 pm. Our focus is on narrative and art and how they create the stories (and the brains!) that make us who we are.

What is a narrative? What is a story? What is a schema, or a frame of reference, or set of expectations, predictions, emotions and biases based on our individual experiences?

Where does it come from? How do these personal experiences shape our brains, including what we remember, what we attend to (and what we ignore), and how we react? How might this change, and what do we discover through making and viewing art? Where in the brain does all this happen?

A presentation on the neuroscience of how our brains create meaning through narrative will be followed by hands-on art activities and brain specimens to observe.

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, PSU/OHSU/NW Noggin
2. Jeff Leake, PSU/NW Noggin
3. Sami Wagner, PSU
4. Martin Lembke, PSU
5. Kadi Rae Smith, PSU
6. Cameron Mcgrew, PSU
7. Andy Ng, PSU

Animal Brains & Stories in Siletz!
2023-05-22 - 2023-05-25 | Siletz Valley Early College Academy, 245 NW James Franks Ave, Siletz, 97380, United States
WHAT: Noggin + Siletz Outreach: Animal Brains & Stories
We did it!
Long skinny lightning in Siletz

WHERE: Siletz Valley School, 245 NW James Franks Ave, Siletz, OR 97380
WHEN: Tuesday, May 23 – Thursday, May 25, 2023
Arrive @ hotels in Nye Beach, Oregon Monday night (5/22)

MONDAY, MAY 22
Arrive late in Nye Beach, Oregon
NOTE: Nye Beach is about a 30 minute drive from Siletz!

TUESDAY, MAY 23
ARRIVE Siletz School @ 8:15am
Introductions and Assembly!
Elementary School Students, Siletz
FINISH @ 3:20pm

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24
ARRIVE Siletz School @ 11:30am
High School Students, Siletz
FINISH @ 3:20pm

THURSDAY, MAY 25
ARRIVE Siletz School @ 8:15am
Middle School Students, Siletz
FINISH @ noon

Siletz Animal Noggins: Behavior and Brains from Stories, Songs and Labs
Did you know that Native stories describe language and tool use by Crow? What do the ordeals of Little Raccoon tell us about our own struggles? What makes these tales compelling, memorable, instructive, thrilling, engaging, motivating and fun? What do they tell us about the structure and function of animal brains and behaviors – and our own?

Storytelling has a long history, and is a powerful and accepted method of teaching science. Research finds that curricula which include stories result in greater comprehension of material, longer retention of information, and a stronger personal connection between teller and listener. Similarly, music, rhythm and art-making also contribute to academic achievement, retention and brain development, while fostering a stronger sense of community.

We’ve collaborated successfully with Siletz Valley School on interdisciplinary neuroscience outreach projects in the past, visiting classrooms to discuss the neuroscience of storytelling and song thanks to a 2018 grant from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund.

LEARN MORE: Until the story takes shape
LEARN MORE: Joanne Trzcinski on Synapses, Stories & Song!
We recently delivered 25 “woodpecker red” 3D printed brains to Siletz teachers and staff. Woodpeckers are important in Siletz culture and we partnered with Shashi Jain at Intel and the Portland 3D Printing Lab to provide customized teaching tools that are compelling and relevant.

These visits and donations have had significant, lasting impact; according to a science teacher at Siletz, students advocated for opportunities to hear and play more music, they are more aware of changing circadian cycles in adolescence, and more understanding of diverse developmental experiences and how they are not alone in facing challenges.

With support from the Roundhouse Foundation, the Portland Alcohol Research Center at OHSU and Siletz Valley School, we’ll bring graduate students and undergraduates studying neuroscience from Portland State University, Oregon Health & Science University and the University of Oregon back into Siletz classrooms in spring of 2023. We will also bring brain specimens (animal and human) and art projects developed in consultation with teachers at Siletz.

LEARN MORE: Mountain Beaver, Boomer, Sewellel

Before our visit, we’ll contribute to lesson plans focusing on culturally significant animals, including Salmon, Woodpecker, Eel, Elk, Deer, Dragonfly, Porcupine, Bear, Cougar, Octopus, Raccoon and Coyote – and the local Boomer! – and the community and brain benefits of drumming and music, integrated with the new Siletz Tribal History/Shared History curriculum. During the visit, we’ll tell stories, examine brains, make art and discuss student questions over a three day period.

COMMITTED VOLUNTEERS
1. Bill Griesar, PSU/OHSU/NW Noggin
2. Jeff Leake, PSU/NW Noggin
3. Kanani Miyamoto, PNCA/PCC/NW Noggin
4. Denesa Lockwood, OHSU/NW Noggin
5. Kadi Rae Smith, PSU
6. Moss Pederson, PSU
7. Natalie Partipilo, PSU
8. Sami Wagner, PSU
9. Angelique Allen, University of Oregon

“Sabía poco, pero al menos sabía eso: que nadie habla por los demás. Que aunque queramos contar historias ajenas terminamos siempre contando la historia propia”
—Alejandro Zambra
“I knew little, but at least I knew that: that no one speaks for others. That although we want to tell other stories we always end up telling our own story
—Alejandro Zambra

Noggins @ David Douglas!
2023-06-01 09:00 - 14:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | David Douglas High School South Building, 1500 SE 130th, Portland, OR, 97233, United States
WHAT: Visit to Psychology classrooms at David Douglas High School
We did it!
Thank you for letting us touch your brains

WHERE: David Douglas High School, South Building Board Room, 1500 SE 130th, Portland, OR 97233; Please park in the lot off 130th; enter the doors that face 130th. The secretary will buzz people in and direct them to the board room.
WHEN: THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023, 9:00am – 2:30pm
Contact: Tracy Lind & Heather Roberts, Social Studies/Psychology Teachers, David Douglas High School

We are excited – even depolarized! – to return to classrooms at David Douglas to discuss neuroscience research, examine brains and make art!

We’ll meet with Grades 10, 11 and 12 in the Psych I, Psych II and AP Psych classes:
Period 6- 9:17am – 10:46am
Period 7-11:26am – 12:53pm
Period 8-1:03pm – 2:30pm

COME JOIN US!
Please contact griesar@pdx.edu and jleake@pdx.edu to learn more.
COMMITTED VOLUNTEERS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin/PSU/OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin/PSU
3. Tonia Bautista, PSU
4. Veronika Volko, PSU
5. Andy Ng, PSU
6. Cameron McGrew, PSU
7. Rebecca Chevrel, PSU
8. Luis Carrillo, PSU
9. Denesa Lockwood, OHSU
See what we’ve done before @ David Douglas!
Inspiration & Education!

Everything but guns

Noggin Legacy Research Institute Tour!
2023-06-08 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Legacy Research Institute, 1225 NE 2nd Avenue, Portland, OR, 97232, United States
WHAT: Noggin visit to labs at Legacy Research Institute (LRI)
We did it!

Huge thanks to LRI scientists and staff for an exciting and informative tour!

WHERE: Legacy Research Institute, 1225 NE 2nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97232
WHEN: Thursday, June 8, 2023, 10:00am – noon

EVENT FULL
Our undergraduate volunteers from Psychology/Neuroscience at Portland State University are invited to tour the research labs at the Legacy Research Institute in Portland!
For those curious to learn about research and clinical care, and explore opportunities for internships, this is a terrific chance to hear directly from those involved.
“The Legacy Research Institute (LRI) is a…state-of-the art research facility where a wide range of research including preclinical, basic, clinical and clinical trials, medical outcomes, and surgical advances and training are conducted. LRI fosters a culture of innovation and creative collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and other scientists both within Legacy Health and beyond.“

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Bill Griesar, NW Noggin, PSU, OHSU
2. Jeff Leake, NW Noggin, PSU
3. Chad Alexander, PSU/McNair Scholar
4. Andy Ng, PSU
5. Bella Showerman, PSU
6. Moss Pederson, PSU
7. Shae Zeimantz, PSU
8. Sam Mutschler-Aldine, PSU
9. Kadi Rae Smith, PSU
10. Justin Hollison, PSU
11. Alexys Endries, PSU
12. Noelle Wilcox, PSU
Learn more about Legacy Research!
A Legacy of Links

What’s it like to volunteer in a neurobiology lab? (Part 1: Training)

What’s it like to volunteer in a neurobiology lab? (Part 2: Experience)

To the Lab!

Research & Practice: The Human Element

Interested in Research? Here’s what I gained from my volunteer experience in a neurobiology lab

From combat boots to lab coats

A Lit Review of Cannabis Vaping for Pain

NOGGINFEST 2023!!!!
2023-06-18 16:00 - 22:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Honey Latte Cafe, 1033 SE Main St, Portland, OR, 97214, United States
WHAT: NOGGINFEST 2023!
We did it!
Minibrains, Music, Estrogen, Art & Sleep!

DOWNLOAD POSTER: nogginfest23-poster
WHERE: Honey Latte Cafe, 1033 SE Main St, Portland, OR 97214
WHEN: SUNDAY, JUNE 18th, 4:00pm – 10:00pm

JOIN US: This is the largest student-run, accessible, public celebration of music, art and interdisciplinary neuroscience in the Pacific Northwest! And it’s FREE!!

Buy art at our Nogginfest Art Auction
LEARN MORE: NOGGINFEST
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
4:00 – 6:00pm
Art and BRAINS!

6:00 – 6:25pm
NOAH MILMAN, Oregon Health & Science University
“Loss of sleep when its needed most – Consequences of persistent developmental sleep disruption: Lessons from prairie voles”

Noah Milman is a 2nd year graduate student in the Department of Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience program at OHSU. He is interested in the fundamental role that sleep plays across the lifespan and will focus on his early-life work on prairie voles in the lab of Dr. Miranda Lim.

LEARN MORE: Noah Milman
6:30 – 6:55pm
LO GLO

Lo Glo is a drum and vocal duo from Portland, formed in 2018 featuring Kadi Rae (vocals & microkit) and Marge Belcastro (drums & tonal textures), combining improvisation and experimentation to create a rhythm-forward pop experience.

7:00 – 7:25pm
AUSTIN SCHUBERT, Oregon Health & Science University
“Brains in a Dish: What Cortical Organoids can Teach us about Brain Development, Disease, and Evolution”

Austin Schubert is a 1st year PhD student in OHSU’s Neuroscience Graduate Program. He is interested in the genetic and molecular basis of how the cerebral cortex develops in the context of health, disease, and evolution.

LEARN MORE: Austin Schubert
7:30 – 7:55pm
CAPE MEARES

Cape Meares is an American instrumental band formed in Portland, OR in 2018. The band incorporates jazz fusion, krautrock, dub, minimal music, and psychedelia into their music. Members include Nik Viola (bass), Matt Radich (guitar), and Asa Gervich (drums).

LEARN MORE: Cape Meares
8:00 – 8:25pm
ROXANNE BAHN-BALES AND BLAKE LEE, Oregon State University
“Barn biology: What sheep and mice neurons are teaching us about our own reproductive axis”

Roxanne Bahn-Bales and Blake Lee are both undergraduate students at Oregon State University studying Bioengineering and Biology, respectively. Roxanne and Blake are researching how different populations of the same neuron, kisspeptin, react to different stimuli in the hypothalamus. Roxanne and Blake work under professor Patrick Chappell in the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine.

8:30 – 8:55pm
WOLF
Wolf is a Portland jazz artist who has been singing since the age of 13. Wolf has performed at many venues including Saturday markets, parties, jazz clubs and more. Although their roots lie in jazz and blues, Wolf sings a variety of different music including pop, techno and folk. In their daily life they are a full time student at Portland State University, studying criminology and criminal justice. Wolf’s main goal is to become a therapist for youths in correctional facilities, specializing in attachment injuries and disorder. This is Wolf’s first performance in over a year and they are very excited to be here tonight.

COMMITTED PARTICIPANTS
1. Andy Ng, PSU
2. Noah Milman, OHSU
3. Sami Wagner, PSU
4. Kadi Rae Smith, PSU
5. Bella Showerman, PSU
6. Ben Bolen, PSU Neuroscience Club
7. Natalie Robison, PSU

Noggin Presents: University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
2023-06-30 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
WHAT: Noggin visits the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) @ OHSU!

WHERE: Zoom
WHEN: Friday, June 30, 2023, 11:00am – 1:00pm

Noggin is invited to speak and talk brains with interns at the UCEDD this month!
Noggin Presentation (PDF): Noggin at OHSU UCEDD 6_2023
