Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello All,

I am in 10th grade and I am doing my science fair project. This year me and my sister really want to do it in the field of neuroscience, however we are not sure what the pin-pointed topic should be. We've had some ideas:
- IQ- difference in IQ in twins, IQ passed down generation to generation, IQ affected by breast feeding, IQ affected by birth place, etc
- neurons in brain and transcription substitutes
- photographic memory


We really want to get to state this year so our topic MUST be great.
Do you guys have any ideas?

Thanks

Hi,

Neuroscience is a hot research area right now so you picked a good subject for a science fair project. Deciding on a testable question, however, takes a lot of thought and planning.

When scientists plan a research project, they read the scientific papers that have been published in their area and look for gaps in the knowledge. What has not been done yet? What questions have not been answered? You should think about that too.

IQ in twins has been studied pretty thoroughly and I think the contribution of heredity to IQ has been questionable at best. The effects of breast-feeding vs formula relates to nutrition during development and poor nutrition can certainly affect brain development.

You asked for some ideas. I am interested in how well a person can improve their IQ by brain workouts such as those available from Lumosity and other sites. I do Lumosity training and it is fun and my 'brain score' has steadily improved. I don't know about my IQ. You could compare a group of people who do brain training to a group that does not using some tests of memory, spatial reflexes or some other tests to measure ability.

If you want more ideas, maybe some other experts can jump in with their suggestions.

Best wishes,

Scibee

Hi!

Yes, neuroscience is definitely a hot field right now! To help you narrow down your ideas, you may want to consider what exact "field" you and your sister are most interested in. Are you interested in the molecular side of neuroscience? Or more towards cognitive and behavioral science?
A note on both fields: cognitive science often requires human participants/human surveys as experiments; make sure your science fair allows this, especially since state is your goal (and an excellent goal at that)! For molecular neuroscience, since it is a high-level field, you may need access to a lab for some proteins/genes/etc. A quick survey of the scientific literature available in any discipline you choose is an excellent way to narrow down your focus.
Also, we recommend you check out the Science Buddies project ideas section. It might greatly help you direction yourself, or maybe even pick a project!

Good luck!

Hi there,

Science Buddies has some great project ideas to get your mind working. You can search through the ideas to come up with one of your own, or use one of the existing projects and make that your own. You can look at them with your partner to see what gets you both interested.

Here is what I found when I searched "neuroscience" in the Science Buddies projects: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... uroscience

Take a look and see what ideas resonate with you! And don't hesitate to post again (in this same thread) if you have more questions.

Good luck!
Heather