Study Resources

There will be several kinds of tests at the British Brain Bee, depending on whether it is a national or regional competition. Possible tests include:

a written exam of multiple-choice questions,
live Q&A session requiring one word or one phrase answers to be written on white boards
a human neuroanatomy and neutohistology test
a patient diagnosis test. The recommended study resources for these tests are as follows (check back later in case we have been able to add some additional resource suggestions):

All the questions of the regional competition will be drawn from Neuroscience: Science of the Brain (no questions will come from chapters 16 Artificial Brains and Neural Networks and 18 Neuroethics) and Brain Facts book.

For the national competition, the questions will come fromSiegal Essential Neuroscience by Siegel.

Regional Competition

National Competition

Study notes and links

Brain Neuroanatomy

Human neuroanatomy:

The neuroanatomy bell-ringer competition consists of approximately 20 stations where brains, brain slices, or pictures of brains will be presented. The brains will have pins stuck in a particular part of the anatomy, and there will be questions at each station that ask for the name of the structure and/or the function of that structure indicated by the pin. Students will have approximately 2 minutes at each station to write down their answers. When time is up, a bell will ring, and each student will move to the next station. To prepare for this part of the competition, look for a human brain atlas and a textbook covering basic neuroanatomy.

The complete list of structures that you are expected to know can be accessed here.

Here are a few web sites that might be useful as you study neuroanatomy:

http://www9.biostr.washington.edu/da.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/nsdivide.html (for kids, but a good start!)
http://www.med.wayne.edu/diagRadiology/Anatomy_Modules/brain/brain.html
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/HISTHTML/NEURANAT/NEURANCA.html
http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/nervoussystem/cns/brain/menu/menu.html
http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.dnalc.threedbrain&hl=en_GB
Sylvius software from Sinauer (http://www.sinauer.com/sylvius4/) (costs about $55)
3D map by Brain Facts (http://www.brainfacts.org/3D-Brain#intro=false&focus=Brain)

Patient Diagnosis

There will be 5 to 10 descriptions of patients with neurological disorders. Students will be required to diagnose the neurological disorders by interviewing the patients. Students will spend about 5 minutes with each patient in a patient diagnosis room. The questions must be of the type that can be answered by “yes”, “no”, or “I don’t know”. The patients will not be allowed to provide any other answers than these. At the end of the 4 minutes, the student will record the diagnosis for that patient, and move on to the next patient.

The list of all possible disorders can be downloaded from here.

To study for this part, you might try the Medical Encyclopedia of Medline Plus which can be found at the National Library of Medicine website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html

Live Q&A

Brain Facts present core neuroscience concepts in an understandable and interactive way.

A Glossary of Key Brain Science Terms is a list of definitions for common terms used when describing and discussing the brain and nervous system, produced by the Dana Foundation.

Links to other websites

Simply, the Brain Domain is a scientific community project, to help young neuroscientists improve their science writing skills, and simultaneously facilitate an environment for non-neuroscientists to learn more about neuroscience.

Crash Course is a series of free, high-quality educational videos used by teachers, students, and anyone else interested in the wide variety of topics covered. Neuroscience topics have been covered in several different Crash Courses. Here, you can find a playlist with selected neuroscience videos, all well explained and engaging.

Created by a neuroscientist, these 2-minute videos simplistically explain neuroscience topics. The videos cover a wide range of topics – from basic neuroscience such as the neuron, to more complicated matters such as long-term potentiation.

The Fundamentals of Neuroscience is a free online course at Harvard University in the US. The course serves as an introductory survey of topics in neuroscience, ranging from the function of ion channels in the neuronal membrane, to the activity of individual neurons and small groups of neurons, to the function of the brain and its subsystems.

An updated list featuring neuroscience from the now world-famous TED talks, a nonprofit enterprise devoted to spreading ideas in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less).

Cerebrum editor Bill Glovin’s monthly interviews with top neuroscientists who discuss their research-based articles, their personal stories, and how their work has the potential to make a difference in people’s lives.

The NNCI is a collaboration between educators and neuroscientists. The overarching aim of the NNCI is to create, pilot, and disseminate a comprehensive set of shared resources that will help train psychiatrists to integrate a modern neuroscience perspective into every facet of their clinical work.

The International Youth Neuroscience Association (IYNA) is an international network of high school students with a passion for the study of neuroscience. Originally brought together by the USA Brain Bee, we are working to foster a passion for neuroscience in high school students around the globe.

Revision session on February 17th, 2018

British Brain Bee Revision Session Powerpoint by Martyna Petrulytė on Scribd