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Press Releases | |
Feb 07, 2000
Southampton College "Brain Bee," a Neuroscience Quiz ShowSuffolk County High School Students Are Sought for Debut Contest
Contact:
Jane Finalborgo
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081Southampton, NY - Here's a quiz show that not only takes brains, but is about brains. At stake is not only $6000 in scholarship money, but the future of research for such disorders as cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and mental retardation.
Southampton College of Long Island University will host its first-ever regional "Brain Bee" on March 4. The winner goes to the National Brain Bee in Baltimore. High school students from Suffolk County interested in neuroscience need to contact Southampton College Professor John Neill as soon as possible at (631) 287-8202 to register and obtain a free workbook. Dr. Neill is supervising Brain Bee prep classes on Saturdays until the live contest.
The local Brain Bee will be held in Southampton College's Duke Lecture Hall on Saturday, March 4, from 9 to 11 a.m. It's the only Brain Bee on Long Island. A tour of Southampton College's psychobiology laboratories and a free lunch will follow. A practice and review Brain Bee session will be held in Rm. 237 of Chancellors Hall of Southampton College of Long Island University on Saturday, February 26, at 9 a.m. Students will also meet Cindy Rodriguez, a Southampton College senior, who will talk about the neuroscience research that she conducted on her internship at Harvard Medical School last year.
The Brain Bee is a quiz-show competition about neuroscience for high school students. The best young brains in the country are quizzed about the brain and how it relates to intelligence, memory, emotions, sensations, movement, stress, aging, sleep and brain disorders, such as addiction, Alzheimer's and stroke. The winner of each regional contest is then invited to the National Brain Bee that will be March 14-15. All the questions come from one book, "Brain Facts," published by the Society for Neuroscience.
Internationally, the Brain Bee is directed by Dr. Norbert Myslinski and is part of Brain Awareness Week (March 15-22). BAW is an effort by brain scientists in 29 countries to educate the public about the importance of brain research. It is spearheaded by The DANA Alliance and the Society for Neuroscience. The National Brain Bee seeks to motivate youth to learn about the brain, capture their imagination and inspire them to pursue careers in biomedical brain research. It seeks their energy and passion to fight and win the war against mental retardation, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and other brain disorders.
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Brain Bee Facts and Sample Quiz
Eligibility to be a competitor
Any high school students from grades 9 to 12 (or comparable grades in other countries) are eligible to compete.
Regional Brain Bees
Southampton College hosts the only Brain Bee on Long Island. The event is March 4 at 9 a.m. In 1999 there were 18 local brain bees in the United States and one in Canada. For the year 2000, there are 45 local brain bees planned including several in other countries. They are conducted during January, February or early March.
Question Booklets
All questions for the local and national competitions come from the book "Brain Facts."
Sample Questions
1. Approximately how many neurons does the brain contain? 100 billion
2. Name the device that measures brain waves. Electroencephalograph
3. Prozac relieves symptoms of depression by affecting what neurotransmitter? Serotonin
4. The Greek word for the branches of a tree gives us the name of what part of a neuron? Dendrites.
5. Name the surgical procedure that destroys part of the basal ganglia and helps Parkinson's patients? Pallidotomy
6. The biological clock is located in what part of the brain? Hypothalamus
7. Name a brain disorder named after a famous baseball player. Lou Gehrig's disease
8. What is the most common type of inherited mental retardation? Fragile X mental retardation
9. Name the peptide that accumulates in the senile plaques of brains of Alzheimer's patients? Beta Amyloid
10. Which chromosome is altered to cause Huntington's disease? Chromosome four
11. What is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation? Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
12. The abbreviation, PET, stands for what brain imaging technique? Positron emission tomography
13. What kind of molecules are netrins and semaphorins? Guidance molecules
14. Name a cognitive disorder associated with chronic alcoholism? Korsakoff's Syndrome