WHAT:
Outfitted in lab coats, stethoscopes and UCLA badges, local teens between the ages of 12 to 17 will learn how to perform a neurological exam by practicing on willing guinea pigs: their parents. Parents will also don "concussion goggles," which simulate the double vision and poor balance of a sports-related brain injury and will attempt to play catch and walk in a straight line while wearing the distorted lenses.
The neurological exam will include:
- Testing knee-jerk reflexes with a rubber hammer.
- Shining a penlight into each eye to measure pupil response.
- Sounding a tuning fork near each ear to test hearing.
- Measuring blood pressure with an arm cuff and stethoscope.
Co-sponsored by the UCLA Department of Neurosurgery and the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, the practice exam is part of a two-day course designed to teach students from local middle and high schools about the brain and to pique their interest in careers in neurology, neurosurgery and neuroscience research.
WHO:
Participants will include:
- Mayumi Prins, Ph.D., director of the neuroscience education program and associate professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
- Students and their parents from Culver City High School, Grover Cleveland High School magnet program, Harvard–Westlake School, New West Charter and Venice High School.
WHEN:
10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30
WHERE:
UCLA Center for Health Sciences (map)
10833 Le Conte Ave. (Room 12-407), Los Angeles, Calif. 90095
PARKING:
Please contact the media contact by July 30 at 9 a.m. to reserve complimentary parking passes and obtain directions. Spaces for oversized trucks must be arranged by July 29 at 4 p.m.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Elaine Schmidt | [email protected] | 310-794-2272
