EXHIBIT PREVIEW
“Brain: The Inside Story”
June 6-Aug. 23. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Admission: $18 for adults, $17 for seniors, $16 for children ages 3-12, free for 2 and younger, and free for museum members. Entry to the exhibit is part of the admission price. Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-929-6300 (info) or 404-929-6400 (tickets), www.fernbankmuseum.org.
Guys, the next time your sweetie complains that you aren’t listening, just say this:
“My hearing, sweetie, is lateralized to the left. Yours is not.”
Translation: Most men’s auditory functions are located on the left side of the brain. Women’s brains process hearing from both sides.
But don't tune her out just yet. While it is true that men's brains hear differently, that does not mean they should hear less. That's according to "Brain: The Inside Story," the latest exhibit at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.
The feature opens Saturday and runs through Aug. 23.
Tossing around words like "lateralized" might get you pulverized, too. Laura Carruth, an associate professor at Georgia State University's Neuroscience Institute, scoffed at the idea there's a neurological reason that men don't take out the trash when they're asked.
"You can't use that as an excuse," said Carruth, who'll participate in different labs at the program. "Brain" is organized by the American Museum of Natural History. Fernbank is the exhibit's first stop in a national tour.
The exhibit is a walk through the world of a mysterious organ that calls the shots in everything we do. Fear? That stems from the amygdala, an almond-shaped mass in the brain. Hopping out of bed? Thank your cerebellum, which regulates movement and balance. That giddy feeling you get when you see her/him? It may be a mere mixture of chemicals.
“It’s all very integrated,” said Carruth, who visited the exhibit before it opened.
Incredibly complex, too. Consider the role of neurons, electrically and chemically charged cells that transmit information. They are the brain's messengers, and the average human being has 100 billion or so. If they were marbles, those neurons would fill the New York Public Library.
(For comparison, your cat has 1 billion; that fruit fly bothering your bananas, 200,000.)
They are the agents helping you see, hear, smell, taste. That brings us to sensory homunculus.
The homunculus (Latin for "little man") is an exhibit statue. It is white, the size of a grown-up, and creepy looking. Its face looks sort of like an Easter Island head, with exaggerated eyes, lips, nose and ears. These cartoonish features underscore the importance the brain places on receiving sensory information from various parts of the body. The hands are massive because the brain is wired to get so much information from touch; similarly, the ears and nose are absurdly large because hearing and smell are so important.
Wander over to an interactive exhibit where pressing a button makes the face of a kid appear. Press another button, and he’s confronted with a choice: Sneak a cookie and risk mom’s wrath? Or wait until after dinner? Depending on the choices the visitor makes for the kid, the youngster experiences sweaty palms, a rumbling stomach, an elevated heartbeat. Such is the brain’s response when confronted with temptation.
Or step over to another sensory puzzle. A life-size silhouette of a woman holds an umbrella. In the background is the hissing of a constant downpour. Or is it?
Step around the corner of that exhibit. Under glass, three pieces of bacon rest in a skillet. Suddenly you know: That’s not the hiss of rain; it’s the sizzle of grease. Your brain, and not for the first time, has fooled you.
A few other facts about the brain:
It’s wrinkled because that’s the only way a brain will fit in our skulls. Unwrinkle the average brain — imagine laying it flat — and it would be about the size of two newspaper pages.
Thank the Almighty for your prefrontal cortex. That part of the brain regulates behavior. Without it, you may be in jail for choking your co-worker after he stole a pen off your desk.
Are we that different from prairie voles? Studies show that voles with heightened levels of the hormone oxytocin appear to bond and breed easily. Those with lower levels are soon seeking a new burrow, a new mate.
We have this hormone, too. Could lower levels of oxytocin be the reason some couples break up?
An equally compelling query: Do male voles hear with the left side of their brains, too?
