Perhaps you were among the nearly 400,000 people who visited Body Worlds 3 at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry in 2007, which Nancy Stueber, president and CEO of the science institution, describes as "the most well-attended exhibit we ever had." Or you may have heard about Body Worlds but weren’t able to make it. You might have read in awe about the process of plastination, or maybe you aren’t entirely comfortable with the idea of human bodies on display.

Whatever your relationship with and feelings about Body Worlds, you have until the beginning of March to see the new exhibit, Body Worlds & the Brain, with its special focus on the brain, neurological development, and function.

Plastination is a process of extracting bodily fluids and soluble fat from bodies, replacing them with reactive resins and elastomers, and curing them with light, heat, or certain gasses, thus halting decomposition and preserving anatomical specimens for scientific and medical education. Plastination was invented by scientist and anatomist Dr. Gunther von Hagens in 1977, and without it, there could be no Body Worlds & the Brain.

Likewise, the exhibit relies on the generosity of body donors, to whom the exhibit is dedicated. By the way, 39 future body donors are alive and well here in Oregon as of this writing.

"People have a very profound encounter with their inner selves" when they visit Body Worlds, says Dr. Angelina Whalley, the creative and conceptual designer of the exhibit. "You have your body with you your entire life," she reminds us. "Fragile and vulnerable, yet resilient and forgiving," our bodies are "our lifelong responsibility."

Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer Khalil Gibran wrote these words, an example of the thought-provoking quotations included in the exhibit.

Dr. Whalley clearly agrees. "The true success of Body Worlds," she says, "is change in behaviors." If you want to quit smoking, eat better, or exercise more, a visit to Body Worlds & the Brain may be just the inspiration you need. A follow-up survey of visitors to Body Worlds in Vienna conducted six months afterward revealed that nine percent smoked less and consumed less alcohol, 33 percent ate a healthier diet, 25 percent engaged in more sports, and 14 percent became more aware of their bodies after visiting the exhibit.

While you marvel at bodies frozen in motion as they dance, skate, do yoga, or kick a soccer ball, as you get to know the blood vessels of the brain and the changes brought about in the brain by Alzheimer’s disease, be sure to take note of the text panels on brain-related topics including consciousness, intelligence, memory, addiction, stress, dreams, and creativity, and the development of the brain from infancy to older adulthood. If you wonder why the text looks like poetry rather than prose, the single message contained in each line makes the text easier to read, cutting down on museum fatigue.

Audio tours of the exhibit are also available. The tour not only slows the pace of your visit, but contains extra information. If you want to know whether all people have the same number of bones, or if those mesmerizing eyeballs in the plastinates are real or not, the answers to these questions can be found in the audio tour.

Doctors and med students from the Oregon Health & Science University Brain Institute, the museum’s partner in presenting Body Worlds & the Brain, are scheduled to speak about brain-related topics and answer visitor questions on weekends during the exhibit’s time in Portland.

These words from the 14th Dalai Lama, a champion of science, are also included in Body Worlds & the Brain. Perhaps the greatest marvel of this exhibit is the deep happiness it is possible to experience upon considering the complexity, efficiency, and ingenuity of our very own bodies and brains.

Body Worlds & the Brain is on display at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, located at 1945 S.E. Water Avenue in Portland, through March 4. Tickets are timed and dated and are available in advance; online purchase and home printing of tickets are recommended. To learn more, call (503) 797-4000 or visit <www.omsi.edu>.