Website Review #2: The University of Bristol Medical Research Council

http://www.bris.ac.uk/synaptic/public/plasticity.htm

This site on synaptic plasticity is published by The University of Bristol Medical Research Council. It describes the processes of plasticity in the brain along with showing animations. The purpose of this site is to educate the public on neurological processes in normal and disease states.

This website is designed for people who have a basic scientific background. In order to understand the concept of neuroplasticity the reader must already know how the central nervous system works. The website was easy for me to understand because each paragraph had an animation to go along with it. The layout of each page is similar to chapters in a textbook, which was also easy to follow.

The author also included links to descriptions of terms and processes stated on the main pages, such as this one on glutamate receptors: http://www.bris.ac.uk/synaptic/info/glutamate.html#metabotropic

The home page stated that this site was aimed at non-scientists with very little knowledge of neuroscience, however the abundance of information was a little overwhelming. I would recommend this site to anyone studying this subject matter, and are in need of another reference. I can not think of anything I would greatly want to change on this site.

~Mariel Hansen

Website Review #1: HOPES

http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/treatm...estyleandhd/u0.html

This website is posted by the Huntington’s Outreach project for Education (HOPES.) It is a student run project at Stanford University, which the faculty supervises. Its goal is to educate the general public on Huntington’s Disease by simplifying research performed by scientists. This section of the site focuses on the brain’s natural reparatory ability and the basics of neuroplasticity.

Since neuroplasticity deals with the ability to regenerate neurons and re-navigate neural connections it is important to understand the basic aspects of the central and peripheral nervous system. Neuroplasticity is a relatively new concept so there has not been a great deal of research done on it. Researchers use to believe that the brain stopped developing a few years after birth. New studies have shown that inactive neural pathways have the ability to carry out functions that have been lost to degeneration.

This website posts great detail and it is easy for almost anyone to understand. It also summarizes basic aspects of the nervous system, so the reader has all the information they need to understand Huntington’s Disease and neuroplasticity. An example of this can be found at: http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/causes/neuro/d0.html
It also defines scientific terms used throughout the site to inform the reader further: http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/sttools/gloss/0-9.html

I found this site very informative and easy to navigate. I also trusted the information that was provided because the studies are performed by professionals then researched by Stanford students, while overseen by professors. The detail and organization in this site is almost flawless. However, I would like to know more about specific studies that have been done and the direction research is going.

~Mariel Hansen

Website 1, http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/treatm...estyleandhd/u0.html
This site seems like a good source of up to date information and seems to go into good detail on Neuroplasticity. Hopes has a lot of information and gives many different ways of approaching this topic.

Website 2 http://www.mindandlife.org/conf04.html
This website it very interesting and its really neat that it was a science project about your topic at the same time I think that is also a negative point. Since it is a student project it may lack complete truth. I think that how it goes into specific detail really adds strength to this project and website.

Website 3 http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/bio...s/neuro/images.html
I didn’t really like this site because it was difficult to maneuver through and I didn’t find any information about neuroplasticity. This site did have good information about the brain which could be used for the topic though.

Website 4 http://www.bris.ac.uk/synaptic/public/plasticity.htm
I really liked this site because it had an unique way of explaining what and how synaptic transmission. I think the information in this site could be a good way to start your paper.

Mariel, intresting topics and great sites that you do a nice succinct job of describing. Your peers have also done a great job evaluating your sites and I have little to add. I think you could do reviews of almsot any of them.
Thanks,
LF
Choose topic: 10 points
Find four websites: 20 points
Peer reviews: 10 points

Website 1 Huntington’s Outreach project
This website had some great information and was very organized. I felt that they had a good presentation. I liked how they highlighted key words to help get a better understanding of the words.

Website 2 Mind and Life Institute
This website had a lot of researched information and it was written so normal people could read it. I think that even with all the great information it was not as well organized as I thought it could have been.

Website 3 Rediscovering Biology
I really liked this website. I thought it was very interesting and especially cool to have so many animations to really help people understand how things work in the body. I felt that the website was organized well. I felt that they could have added more text information along with the animations.

Website 4 University if Bristiol
I think that this website was made purposely very simple for people looking at the website. The simplicity made it easier to read and with the illustrations and the animations made it even easier to put the information in perspective.

Website #1: Huntington’s Outreach Project for Education, at Stanford

This website is ultimately about Huntington’s Disease, but neuroplasticity is the fourth lifestyle practice that promote health. When I first visited the link that Mariel posted, I was very confused about what was actually being researched, but I learned a lot from browsing around and clicking the links on the main page. The first thing that caught my attention was the way in which this portion of the website is organized; I found it to be very orderly as it went in somewhat of a matter from beginning to end. I was most impressed upon the fact that we, as humans, can regenerate brain neurons; people with this disease produce new neurons as this disease slowly deteriorates the body’s neural tissue.

Website #2: Mind and Life Institute

The first statement that got my thought process working more is in the Overview; “our sensory, perceptual and language functions are modified by experience and how the neural systems that underlie these complex behaviors are transformed through experiential alterations that occur in life.” I like how the author of this site gives us different views to think about, but does not press it upon us. It is great to read that this organization has a commitment to the power and value of both advancing knowledge and the potential to alleviate suffering. I am just as thrilled to see that Mind & Life has a different approach to balancing, and their different beliefs may have a significant impact.

Website #3: Rediscovering Biology

Although, this website doesn’t offer information about neuroplasticity, it is interesting to view the images from a different source. I viewed one Quicktime Movie and one still Animation, preferring the still animations more. The many different neuron images were fascinating to look at, because you are given a different ways in which to see a neuron.

Website #4: Bristol Medical Research Council

This website helped me a lot in the way of visualizing the plasticity of our brains. Bristol found a unique way to compare our brains to play-dough. I am glad to see that further research is being paid to understanding neuron plasticity more. I would be very interested to find more information about plasticity and Alzheimer’s Disease; many people suffer from this neurological disease and it is very hard to watch people whom you love to have no control over their memory and normal function.

Hopes is a great site to inform on a great topic. I am very interested in the brain’s ability to reestablish the synapses destroyed through injury and the window of time that the healing is possible. The site is well- organized and well- written. Reliable and relatively unbiased, I cannot think of anything I do not like about the source.

Mind and Life site hooked me with the introduction of the effect of experience on DNA chemistry and gene expression. The author raises many interesting possibilities and avenues to explore but leaves the reader hungry for more information. Still the site is good if a little sparse.

Rediscovering biology does off some great images. The quick time movies offer little in the way of information. For those who already have some understanding of the nervous system, the site offers some interesting visuals. I especially like the photos of the neurons.

Bris offers a more detailed look at the chemistry that I find fascinating. I am left a little curious as to the direction the research is taking. Are they looking to stimulate new connections through drugs? Through brain exercises? Who are they trying to treat? I am inspired by the possibilities.

Thanks for your great topic.
jen perkins

Edited by author 10-28-2007 01:39 AM
My topic for the website notebook is Neuroplasticity. It refers to the ability to grow neurons and use regions of the brain to function that were not previously intended. These changes are due to traumatic events or drastic changes in the environment. I chose this topic because the physiology of the brain is fascinating to me. I also don't know much about this topic and want to research it more since it might bring a new level of hope to people who have disabilities resulting from trauma. It relates back to the nervous system, which is what we have been studying in A & P.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/treatm...estyleandhd/u0.html

This website is posted by The Huntington’s Outreach Project for Education (HOPES.) It is a student run project at Stanford University, which the faculty supervises. Its goal is to educate the general public on Huntington’s Disease by simplifying research performed by others. This section of the site focuses on the brain’s natural reparatory ability and the basics of neuro-plasticity.

http://www.mindandlife.org/conf04.html

This site is an overview of a conference held in 2004 with guest speakers such as the Dalai Lama, and Professors from around the world. The reason for this conference was to bring together modern science and Buddhism and to inform the areas of medicine, neuroscience, psychology education and human development. It summarizes the speeches given by world renowned doctors who specialize in these areas.

http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/bio...s/neuro/images.html

This site contains neurobiology animations and images. It is published by the Annenberg Foundation whose mission is to advance teaching in schools K-12. It does not have any direct information relating to neuro-plasticity, however the neurological animations give a better understanding of the concept.

http://www.bris.ac.uk/synaptic/public/plasticity.htm

This site on synaptic plasticity is published by The University of Bristol Medical Research Council. It describes the processes of plasticity in the brain along with showing animations. The purpose of this site is to educate the public on neurological processes in normal and disease states.