Tag Archive for: Limericks About Neuroscience

For this assignment, you’ll write three limericks about neuroscience.  A limerick is a miniature poem. Here’s an example, about neuroplasticity:

It’s a fortunate person whose brain
Is trained early, again and again,
And who continues to use it
To be sure not to lose it,
So the brain, in old age, may not wane.

(in Rosenzweig & Bennett (1996). Behavioral Brain Research, 78, 57-65)

Each of your three limericks should be five lines long, and should obey the conventional limerick rhyming structure (AABBA; the first, second, and fifth lines should rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth should rhyme as well).  Usually the first, second, and fifth lines are a little longer than the third and fourth lines.

One of your limericks should be about neurons, one of your limericks should be about a neurotransmitter of your choice, and one of your limericks should be about a brain structure, region, or lobe of your choice.  Your limericks should each present accurate and thoughtful descriptions of their biological functions, and their role in psychology.

Your submission, like all reflection assignments, will be graded according to the following rubric:

• ONE POINT: Consistently addresses assignment instructions with irrelevant information, ignores instructions, or provides superficial, incomplete, or unwarranted responses to the instructions.
• TWO POINTS: Mostly addresses the assignment instructions, but includes misinterpretations of evidence, faulty conclusions, or presents claims that are not consistent.  Two points will be given if the submission is reasonably complete, but still appears to have been given minimal thought and critical analysis.
• THREE POINTS: Consistently addresses the assignment instructions with accurate interpretations of evidence, identifies the most important aspects of the topic, and presents conclusions that demonstrate thoughtful analysis and evaluation.

Your limericks must be written originally, by you.  Submissions will be processed through TurnItIn.com to ensure their originality.