Alaskan high school students compete in the regional Brain Bee to show off their neuroscience knowledge.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaskan high school students competed in the regional Brain Bee to show off their neuroscience knowledge. The competition is one of many happening across the country, which will culminate in a national competition.
The winner in the United States competition will move on to the international Brain Bee World Championship. At UAA, students got to tour the university’s cadaver lab, interact with live lab rats and see real human brains. Dr. Chris Jung, Associate Professor for biological studies at UAA, said his hope is students will leave the event with more interest and knowledge about neuroscience. Jung said many students who compete in the brain bee will attend UAA, and with the university’s newly added neuroscience minor, their interest can be applied to a variety of fields. “They can take courses in aviation, psychology, biology, physiology, even business - such as AI,” Jung said. “We have so many cool courses that are neuroscience-related and they can get this neuroscience minor with their degree.” Activities like biting into a marshmallow or watching a rat eat a treat are part of the exploration of neuroscience; Jung explained by using electrodes on students' cheeks can demonstrate the electrical activity necessary to make muscle movement happen and seeing how lab rats learn to push a lever to deliver a treat presents the lesson of classical conditioning right in front of students. While there are enough questions to create an entire knowledge-based competition, and plenty of information to spend a day fostering a neuroscience interest in students, Jung said there’s still a lot to learn about how the brain works. “It’s one of the few fields that we don’t know a lot about. We’re just kind of scratching the surface,” Jung said. “It’s like, can this brain totally, fully understand a brain? Is it possible?” Jung said the winner of the brain bee competition in Alaska will move on to the national level at Rutgers University later this year.Anchorage volcano activation plan rises to ‘level 2′ of 5 Alaska mother arrested after leaving toddler alone in car to go on ‘romantic rendezvous’, troopers sayKetchikan topples top-seed Grace while Wasilla outlasts Mountain City in thrilling 4A semifinalsHealth Watch: Fighting back against Parkinson’s, one punch at a time
Brain Bee High School UAA Regional Competition
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