Many of the state’s top officials spent Thursday morning playing a brain game — fitting together pipe cleaners and straws to create brain networks that would withstand weights that represent the effects of toxic stress on a child’s developing brain.

First lady Crissy Haslam worked with Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee. At a nearby table TennCare Director Darin Gordon and Department of Human Services Commissioner Raquel Hatter puzzled through creating their own sturdy brain model, as did lawmakers, mayors, judges, doctors, child welfare experts, philanthropists, business executives and educators.

For more of this story by Anita Wadhwani, go to:

http://www.tennessean.com/stor...ood-trauma/75444190/