1: Introduction
Introduce the purpose of your presentation. Indicate that you will explain how the brain basically works and how and where drugs such as heroin and cocaine work in the brain. Tell your audience that you will discuss the concept of "reward" which is the property that is characteristic of many addictive drugs.

2: The brain and spinal cord
The central nervous system is composed of both the brain and the spinal cord. Describe the brain as a functional unit; it is made up of billions of nerve cells (neurons) that communicate with each other using electrical and chemical signals.

3: Brain regions and neuronal pathways
Certain parts of the brain govern specific functions. Point to areas such as the sensory (orange), motor (blue) and visual cortex (yellow) to highlight their specific functions. Point to the cerebellum (pink) for coordination and to the hippocampus (green) for memory. Indicate that nerve cells or neurons connect one area to another via pathways to send and integrate information. The distances that neurons extend can be short or long. For example, point to the reward pathway (orange). Explain that this pathway is activated when a person receives positive reinforcement for certain behaviors ("reward"). Indicate that you will explain how this happens when a person takes an addictive drug. As another example, point to the thalamus (magenta). This structure receives information about pain coming from the body (magenta line within the spinal cord), and passes the information up to the cortex. Tell the audience that you can look at this in more detail.

4: Pathway for sensation of pain and reaction to pain
This is a long pathway, in which neurons make connections in both the brain and the spinal cord. Explain what happens when one slams a door on one's finger. First, nerve endings in the finger sense the injury to the finger (sensory neurons) and they send impulses along axons to the spinal cord (magenta pathway). Point to each part of the pathway as you explain the flow of information. The incoming axons form a synapse with neurons that project up to the brain. The neurons that travel up the spinal cord then form synapses with neurons in the thalamus, which is a part of the midbrain (magenta circle). The thalamus organizes this information and sends it to the sensory cortex (blue), which interprets the information as pain and directs the nearby motor cortex (orange) to send information back to the thalamus (green pathway). Again, the thalamus organizes this incoming information and sends signals down the spinal cord, which direct motor neurons to the finger and other parts of the body to react to the pain (e.g., shaking the finger or screaming "ouch!").

5: Neuronal structure
Indicate that these pathways are made up of neurons. This image contains real neurons from the thalamus. They have been filled with a fluorescent dye and viewed through a microscope. Describe the anatomy of a neuron: point to the cell body (soma), dendrites, and axon (marked with text). At the end of the axon is the terminal, which makes a connection with another neuron. [Note: the axon has been drawn in for clarity, but actually, the axons of these neurons travel to the cerebral cortex.]

6: Impulse flow
Explain the normal direction of the flow of information (electrical and chemical). An electrical impulse (the action potential) travels down the axon toward the terminal. Point to the terminal. The terminal makes a connection with the dendrite of neighboring neuron, where it passes on chemical information. The area of connection is called the synapse. Although the synapse between a terminal and a dendrite (shown here) is quite typical, other types of synapses exist as well. For example, a synapse can occur between a terminal and a soma or axon.

7: The synapse and synaptic neurotransmission
Describe the synapse and the process of chemical neurotransmission. As an electrical impulse arrives at the terminal, it triggers vesicles containing a neurotransmitter, such as dopamine (in blue), to move toward the terminal membrane. The vesicles fuse with the terminal membrane to release their contents (in this case, dopamine). Once inside the synaptic cleft (the space between the two neurons) the dopamine can bind to specific proteins called dopamine receptors (in pink) on the membrane of a neighboring neuron. This is illustrated in more detail on the next image.

8: Dopamine neurotransmission and modulation by endogenous opiates
Using the close-up of a synapse, continue using dopamine for your example of synaptic function. Explain that it is synthesized in the nerve terminal and packaged in vesicles. Reiterate the steps in neurotransmission. Show how the vesicle fuses with the membrane and releases dopamine. The dopamine molecules can then bind to a dopamine receptor (in pink). After the dopamine binds, it comes off the receptor and is removed from the synaptic cleft by uptake pumps (also proteins) that reside on the terminal (arrows show the direction of movement). This process is important because it ensures that not too much dopamine remains in the synaptic cleft at any one time. Also point out that there are neighboring neurons that release another compound called a neuromodulator. Neuromodulators help to enhance or inhibit neurotransmission that is controlled by neurotransmitters such as dopamine. In this case, the neuromodulator is an "endorphin" (in red). Endorphins bind to opiate receptors (in yellow) which can reside on the post-synaptic cell (shown here) or, in some cases, on the terminals of other neurons (this is not shown so it must be pointed out). The endorphins are destroyed by enzymes rather than removed by uptake pumps.