Students can start studying immediately using the official
Brain Facts primer (2005 edition) on the brain and nervous system, which you can download
for free (all questions/answers for the McMaster Brain Bee will come from this book):
The Brain Facts book.
One of our previous year's schedule will give you an idea for what the afternoon of the competition was like:
2008 schedule.
We will provide a link to the 2010 schedule as soon as it is ready. There may be a few written answer questions, perhaps some multiple choice questions, and there will be oral question/answers.
Here are some examples of questions you might see:
1. Approximately how many neurons does the brain contain?
Answer: 100 billion
2. Name the device that measures brain waves.
Answer: Electroencephalograph
3. Stargazer mice are experimental models for which type of epilepsy?
Answer: Petit mal epilepsy
4. Prozac relieves symptoms of depression by affecting which neurotransmitter?
Answer: Serotonin
5. The Greek word for the branches of a tree give us the name of what part of a neuron?
Answer: Dendrites
6. Name the surgical procedure that destroys part of the basal ganglia and helps Parkinson's patients.
Answer: Pallidotomy
7. The biologic clock is located in what part of the brain?
Answer: Hypothalamus
8. Name a brain disorder named after a famous baseball player.
Answer: Lou Gehrig's disease
9. What is the mot common type of inherited mental retardation?
Answer: Fragile X Syndrome
10. Name the peptide that accumulates in the senile plaques of brains of Alzheimer's patients?
Answer: Beta-Amyloid
11. What chromosome is altered to cause Huntington's disease?
Answer: Four
12. What is the leading preventable cause of developmental delay?
Answer: Fetal Alchol Spectrum Disorders
13. The abbreviation PET stands for what brain imagine technique?
Answer: Positron Emission Tomography
14. What kind of molecules are netrins and semaphorins?
Answer: Guidance molecules
15. Name a cognitive disorder associated with chronic alcoholism.
Answer: Korsakoff's Syndrome