Brain Basics
This part of the brain controls memory and learning
What is the Hippocampus?
This disease makes it hard to control movements and causes shaking
What is Parkinson's Disease?
Regularly doing this helps maintain both physical and brain health, and can improve memory.
What is exercise?
This scan takes pictures of the brain using magnets
What is an MRI?
This famous physicist and author of A Brief History of Time had ALS, which affected his muscles but not his mind.
Who is Stephen Hawking?
These cells in the brain send signals
What are neurons?
Alzheimer’s is the most common type of this memory-related disease
What is dementia?
True or False: Smoking increases the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.
What is true?
This type of brain scan uses radioactive tracers to show brain activity.
What is a PET scan?
This “Back to the Future” actor has lived with Parkinson’s disease since the early 1990s
Who is Michael J. Fox?
This fatty covering helps send signals faster
What is myelin?
True or False: Huntington’s disease is passed down from parents to children
What is true?
Sleep is important because it helps the brain do this.
What is clear toxins and/or consolidate memory?
This machine records electrical activity in the brain
What is an EEG (Electroencephalogram)?
This boxing legend was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after retiring.
Who is Muhammad Ali?
What is the frontal lobe?
People with Parkinson’s sometimes take medicine to help their brains make more of this chemical
What is dopamine?
This diet is linked to better brain health
What is the Mediterranean diet?
Doctors sometimes use this test to check the proteins in cerebrospinal fluid
What is a spinal tap / lumbar puncture?
This U.S. President was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease after leaving office
Who is Ronald Reagan?
These three layers protect the brain
What are meninges?
This protein builds up abnormally in Alzheimer’s brains.
What is beta-amyloid (or tau)?
Eating plenty of these colorful foods can help your brain stay healthy because they contain antioxidants
What are fruits and vegetables?
This simple test measures the oxygen in your blood
What is an oximeter?
Author of The Lord of the Rings, he is often used as an example in discussions about memory and imagination in the brain.
Who is J.R.R. Tolkien?