January 25, 2008

Contact:
Van Jensen, 404-413-1357
University Relations

Georgia State’s Center for Behavioral Neuroscience faculty to assist with Brain Bee

Fostering early neuroscience education has long been a mission of Georgia State University’s science faculty through partnerships with the state’s grade and high schools. Now students of those schools will be put to the test in the Georgia Regional Brain Bee.

Students in grades 9-12 will compete by answering questions about the brain provided by the Society for Neuroscience. Topics include intelligence, memory, emotions, sensations, movement, stress, aging, sleep, addiction, Alzheimer's disease and strokes. Entrants might be asked, for example: Where in the brain is the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine formed? Answer: the axon terminals. The Bee takes place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

The Brain Bee is hosted by the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, a consortium of metro Atlanta neuroscience researchers, which includes several Georgia State faculty. The CBN’s associate director, Kelly Powell, said the event is a key part of the mission to spread neuroscience education in Georgia.

“The goal of the Brain Bee is to increase students’ interest in pursuing a neuroscience degree,” Powell said. “If we can reach out to these students now while they are beginning to think about college, we can help prepare them for what lies ahead so that they can begin to decide if neuroscience is a field they want to pursue, and if it is, what they can do now to start preparing for college and even a career.”

About 40 students are expected to compete in the eighth annual Brain Bee. The CBN will sponsor the winner and an adult chaperone to attend the National Brain Bee at the University of Maryland March 14-18, 2008. National competitors have the opportunity to speak with renowned neuroscientists and compete for a cash prize and a trip to the International Brain Bee in Montreal, Canada.

“In addition to the competition itself, we also bring in information about our Institute On Neuroscience,” Powell said. “ION is an eight-week summer program for rising high school seniors who excel in science. Institute Scholars learn about neuroscience through hands-on activities, discussions and readings directed by faculty members, post-doctoral researchers, undergraduate, and graduate students from CBN member institutions.”

Beyond the quest for international brain supremacy, Powell said, the Brain Bee serves best to prepare potential neuroscience students for the path to a career in that field.

“Such counseling, while still in high school, will help students to select the best undergraduate institution to meet their educational goals and lead them into a rewarding neuroscience career, she said.”

Registration for the Brain Bee closes on Jan. 28. More information is available at http://www.cbn-atl.org/education/brainbee.shtml.