Understanding the Scientific Method Through Cognitive Neuroscience

Faculty Advisor: Ph.D. in Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego

Note: Optimized for U.S. and European time zones. Not applicable to Asian time zones. Please attend this cohort if you live in Asia or nearby.

Research Program Introduction

What is neuroscience? Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary science that works closely with other disciplines, such as mathematics, linguistics, engineering, computer science, chemistry, psychology, and medicine.

Studying the nervous system advances understanding of our basic biology and body function. In addition to examining the normal development and activity of the nervous system, neuroscience studies diseases, disorders, and injuries that affect parts of the nervous system, how it develops, and how well it functions. Insights gained from experiments help researchers find ways to prevent or treat problems that affect the brain, nervous system, and body. 

In this program, students will also learn subject-specific research and writing methods for research proposals. Students will then focus on individual topics and generate their own research proposals (usually in the length of 3 to 5 pages) upon completion of the program.

What is a research proposal? Why is it important to scientific research?

Scientific research is critical to our understanding of the world. A good research proposal can not only help researchers gain research funds but also set their project apart.

Research proposal writing is a fundamental skill for any scientist, but it is difficult to master. A successful research proposal requires a significant amount of subject knowledge. The systematic approach to writing a research proposal makes a student more knowledgeable of the broader research area and gives them a healthy level of skepticism as they begin to discern which pieces of data are worth building a proposal on.

You Will Learn:

• How does emotion affect the way people process things like music and art in the mind?

• In what ways does the brain rewire itself after traumatic head injuries?

• How do stress levels in people change how memories are made?

• In what ways does the brain process concepts such as the passing of time?

• How do our brains process and discriminate types of speech in order to recognize language?

• How does neurodevelopment in early childhood relate to the presence of autism in young people?

Program Details

• Cohort size: This cohort is limited to 5 to 10 students

• Workload: Around 3 hours per week (including class and homework time)

• Target students: 7 to 9th graders interested in a wide variety of biomedical career paths, such as medicine, bioengineering, biology, biochemistry, psychiatry, neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology. Students must be fluent in English and demonstrate self-management skills. This project is best for students with genuine curiosity in the subject, diligence, and initiative.