Biology/Brain Sites

Brain Connection
http://www.brainconnection.com/
Brain Connection is a comprehensive Web site that provides useful information about the brain and learning. The site is well organized and provides numerous sections such as "Education Connection," "Brain Teasers,""Library," and "Professional Development." The site also provides a set of useful animations, an outstanding graphics gallery, many learning resources, and an interesting set of brain facts.

Brain Explorer
http://www.brainexplorer.org/
Explore the world of the organ that occupies roughly three pounds (1.4 kg) of our body weight and releases the joys and sorrows we experience. Learn about the disorders associated with the brain, which include but aren't limited to strokes, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. The brain plays a role with people who suffer sleep disorders, depression, and migraines. Those taking biology or a related science can view maps of the brain and learn the names of each part.

Brain Tour
http://www.alz.org/brain/01.asp
Follow this two-part interactive tour of the brain. The first gives you brain basics; the second shows how the brain is affected throughout the stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Exploratorium: Gray Stripes Optical Illusion
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/gray_step/
This online exhibit allows you to move two blocks of gray stripes into areas of white and black stripes. The gray stripes, which are all exactly the same shade of gray, can be made to appear lighter or darker by changing their position relative to the white and black stripes. This illusion is not fully understood, but it seems to be related to the way the eye determines relative shading. This exhibit offers a possible explanation for the optical illusion: light-sensitive nerves in the retina process information that the brain interprets as areas of light and dark.

Human Nervous System: Interactive Tutorials & Quizzes
http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/nervoussystem/menu/menu.html
This innovative tutorial investigates the human nervous system on a very mature level, appropriate for older students. Among topics explored: nerve cells, support cells, neurophysiology, brain, and spinal cord. There are also visual quizzes.

Inside the Brain: An Interactive Tour
http://www.alz.org/brain/overview.asp
This extremely interactive site describes the parts of the brain and their functions and how they are affected by Alzheimer's disease. It provides detailed diagrams and solid descriptions for a variety of ages.

Mapping Memory
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-11/memory/brain-interactive.html
This amazing interactive created by National Geographic allows users to understand the complexities of the brain in an easy to understand way. Flip and rotate a model brain to learn more about making memories, storing memories, and losing memory.

Neuroscience For Kids
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html
"Neuroscience for Kids has been created for all students and teachers who would like to learn about the nervous system. Discover the exciting world of the brain, spinal cord, neurons, and the senses. Use the experiments, activities, and games to help you learn about the nervous system."

Sara's Quest
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/sarasquest/index.php
"Hi! My name is Sara Bellum. Welcome to my website exploring the brain's response to drugs." Sara's Quest, created by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, teaches middle-schoolers the effects of drug abuse on the body and the brain. It includes background information on brain anatomy, and chapters on marijuana, opiates, inhalants, hallucinogens, steroids, stimulants, nicotine and methamphetamine. After perusing the materials, take the animated Sara's Quest Challenge to test your knowledge.

Secret Life of the Brain
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/
Presented here is a history of efforts to understand the brain, a three-dimensional tour of the brain, optical illusions, and an animation showing how magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) works. Videoclips examine how the brain evolves and differs from infancy to childhood, adolescence, and through adulthood.

Seeing, Hearing, and Smelling the World
http://www.hhmi.org/senses/
This site by The Howard Hughes Medical Institute helps to explain mysteries related to the human senses. The contents include It's All in the Brain, How We See Things That Move, and Locating a Mouse By Its Sound among others. The full text and illustrations are available for download as an Adobe PDF file. There is also a Spanish version of the site.

Your Brain & Nervous System
http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/brain.html
This interactive page from KidsHealth explains the functions of the brain to younger students. Click on Body Basics: Brain and Nervous System for an interactive diagram. Also in Spanish.