Unit 6. Brain

Lexis: Neurobiology / Molecular neurology / Cognitive science / Molecular genetics / Neurodegenerative diseases Listening. 3 texts

Text a. Diagnosing dementia

Exercise 1. What do you know about Alzheimer’s disease? Answer the questions:

1. What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease?

2. Why is it difficult to diagnose and treat?

3. What are the prospects for Alzheimer’s patients?

to administer drugs / treatment – применять, вводить лекарственные препараты, осуществлять лечение plaque – бляшка; пятно to turn out – производить, вырабатывать

Exercise 2. Listen to the text (Script 12) to check your answers in Exercise 1. What new method of early Alzheimer’s diagnostics has been developed?

Exercise 3. Listen to the text again and explain what the following figures refer to in the text:

65 6) 1997-1999 5 7) 2002-2004 3) 60-90 8) 10 4) 1077 9) 43 5) 1995 10) 60%

Exercise 4. Using information from the text answer the questions:

1. What research of dementia was conducted?

2. Why are its conclusions applicable to women only?

3. What confusing discrepancy in the results was revealed?

4. How was it interpreted?

Text b. Growing model brains

Exercise 5. Discuss the following questions:

1. What are the technical and methodological challenges of studying the brain?

2. What are the ethical issues associated with neurological research?

Exercise 6. Explain the following terms:

regenerative medicine induced pluripotent cells endoderm / mesoderm / ectoderm

cortex ventricle cerebrospinal fluid meninge

desiderata – искомое, желаемое, недостающее choroid plexus – хороидное сплетение, сосудистое сплетение

Exercise 7. Listen to the first part of the text (Script 13.1) presenting a new development which may facilitate neurological research and describe why and how the organoid was produced.

Exercise 8. Listen to the text again and put the stages of the experiment in the correct order. Describe each stage in detail:

a. The droplets of gel floated in a nutrient broth in a gently rotating bioreactor.

b. Stem cells / induced pluripotent cells were obtained.

c. Ectodermal cells were put into droplets of gel.

d. The organoid can grow for a year.

e. Scientists observed evidence of retina, meninges and hippocampal cells in the organoid.

f. The organoid developed some regions similar to those in a real brain.

g. The organoid developed neurons.

Exercise 9. Listen to the second part of the text (Script 13.2) and describe potential applications of artificial brains.

Exercise 10. Listen again and prove the following statements using information from the text:

1. Microcephaly is a severe irreversible developmental condition.

2. Currently the organoid is the only possible way that allows to study microcephaly.

3. The organoid proved effective for research of genetic disorders.

4. Better understanding of neurological conditions may help to fight them more effectively.

5. The organoid holds promise for further research.