Contributing Authors: Adriane M. dela Cruz, MD PhD and Lindsey S. Pershern, MD
Overview:This session is designed as a carnival-style collection of exercises about the brain (i.e., a brain-ival). This activity can be incorporated in a variety of settings for medical students or adapted for resident learners. In the medical student “Brain and Behavior” course at our institution, students play in teams of 6. The session is scheduled for 120 minutes time. Teams collect points at each game station with the goal of maximizing their score. Teams are scheduled to complete stations at specific time slots, to maximize use of space and faculty. Game stations are completed in 75 minutes, with downtime used to complete the team crossword puzzle. After completing game stations, teams use minutes 80-100 to complete the pub trivia activity while facilitators score and tally points. Conclusion of the activity includes final tallying of points and awarding of prizes to top team scores. In our course, individual students were awarded bonus course points for achieving a minimum score as a team.
Author Affiliation: Adriane M. dela Cruz, MD PhD and Lindsey S. Pershern, MD are from the Department of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Joseph J. Cooper, MD is a contributing editor for this session. The NNCI is supported by the National Institutes of Health Grant Nos. R25 MH086466-07S1 and R44 MH115546-02 and with additional funding from the Society of Biological Psychiatry and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. ©National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative.
