Brain Class Dissects Sheep Brains

The "Brain" class at TIP at UGA dissected sheep brains on Friday afternoon. Two Media and Message course members, Dan Weitzman and Christopher Nesmith (pictured above), tagged along to the lab. Here are a few pictures from the dissection. An article about the event is below.

You can also watch a video from the dissection.

Photos by Dan Weitzman/ M&M Staffer

Article by Christopher Nesmith and Dan Weitzman/M&M Staffers

Open, label and slice!

Those were the words that defined the day for the Brain: Intelligence and Creativity class. As the class of 18 (plus two clueless reporters) sat down in the UGA science lab, they waited anxiously for the destruction that they would cast. The victim would have no way to defend itself or fight back, but it would teach the students a valuable lesson. That victim was --- sheep brains.

As the students opened their respective brain bags -- vacuum-packed in plastic -- they would tighten their nose as they began to smell the stomach-weakening odor of the sheep brains.

“It smells vinegary,” “It’s like a mix of vinegar and glue,” and “It just smells really bad,” were some of the immediate reactions that many students had in response to the stench that filled their nostrils.In spite of this odor the students dug in. The smell wasn’t the only bad part of the experiment as some wouldn’t even touch the wet sheep brains. Most of those that did wore rubber gloves, though some daring students went without, to get the “hands-on” experience. The brains were described as slippery and spongy. One student even said, “It feels like the toy brains that they have for little kids, but it actually is a real brain.”

It was more than just “hacking brains,” as Desirae Sharpe, the instructor, put it; it was a learning experience as students received a first-hand account of the structure of the brain and its properties. The process was very clear and precise. The students’ first task was to remove the meninges, a series of three membranes that surround and protect the brain. When one of our reporters made the comparison, a student agreed “Yeah, it is kind of like peeling it.”Once the meninges were completely removed from the brain, the students’ task was to stick a series of pins into it, labeling certain areas of the brain and showing that the past five days of class weren’t just for show.

Once they achieved this and the instructor confirmed their work, they cut the brain neatly in half, separating it into two hemispheres to take an inside view of the brains and the properties they previously labeled.Aside from the precision and the clean sterility of the stench of formaldehyde, there were a couple of surprises. One student, Ivy, interrupted the meninges-cutting to shout “we have a retarded sheep brain!” This meaning that there were damages to certain areas of the brain to confirm that the sheep would indeed have special needs. Another surprise came from partners Olivia and Karl-Mary who discovered that they had a rare, visible arachnoid layer. After labeling the brain, and teaching a thing or two, the students ended their experience by chopping up the brains. However, they had specific methods of slicing the brains and were very precise. This revealed how many successful doctors and surgeons that we may have in our midst. After having their fun, and ending the sheep’s ability to walk and use vital limbs, the students ended their day by cleaning up and taking group photographs. It was at this time that many would forget how intelligent and skilled these students were, because they all seemed like normal teenagers.

However, under the joking and smiling faces are brilliant minds that will shape the future of this world. This was just another day in the life of the students of The Brain: Intelligence and Creativity.