Reddit reviews Neuroanatomy (Blumenfeld,Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases)

Not dick-waving, just establishing credentials: I taught a neuroanatomy lab at Berkeley for three semesters, two with Marian Diamond, and won a teaching award for my efforts, so at least hear me out.

First, have your students buy the Human Brain Coloring Book. It may sound cheesy but it really does help and Dr. Diamond put together an amazing resource.

Second, have plenty of brain specimen (human if you can get them) on hand to let students do some hands-on dissections or viewings of what a real messy organic brain looks like.

Third, most undergrads learning neuroanatomy will be pre-med, so I like to roll in a lot of case studies with MRI/CT scans, videos, etc. Blumenfeld's clinical book is great for this.

Fourth, connect the anatomy to real research going on right now. Talk about how we now don't really think Broca's area is the actual spot for the motor aspects of speech (a la Dronkers). Show DTI images, etc.

Finally, something I've been doing for public outreach seems to be a great draw and works for a first class lecture: the zombie brain. It gets students thinking about how function and behavior link to the brain using something ridiculous, but not-as-boring (you can see me give a half-drunk lecture to a few hundred people at bar at the bottom of that page... it held their attention for 30 minutes).

Good luck!

Yes, we did our fellowship together. She knows I say dude a lot. :)

If you need more info on neuroanatomy, here's a good reference. Though if the other books don't bore you, this one might!