"Goodyboy" <huren at mbox5.singnet.com.sg> wrote in a message dated
Sat, 19 Sep 1998 13:07:03 +0800
>Does anyone know where a 13 year old student could learn neurology or
>neuroscience.I'm really interested in the nervous system and my >ambition is
>to become a great neurologist one day
I have three ideas that may be of help:
(1) When I was a schoolteacher in the 1980s, I carried out a school-based
research project on "Inter-species variation in the Biochemistry of Brain
Tissue of Fish, with Special Reference to White Matter", in which 50 to 100
secondary school pupils were involved, one or two of them as young as 13. The
work was supervised by the Royal Society Scientific Research in Schools
Committee. Although to my knowledge, none of the pupils involved has become a
neurologist (yet), it was a source of great interest to those involved (even
though I say it myself).
I should be delighted to post details of the work we did if Goodyboy (or other
members of the group) would be interested. The experimental work chiefly
involved thin-layer chromatography and gel electrophoresis and could be carried
out by suitable secondary school pupils provided that a chemistry teacher or
other scientist is willing to provide the supervision. To minimise
bio-hazards, we mainly used rainbow trout (salmo gairdneri) that were fit to
eat as our experimental subjects.
(2) The Open University, a U.K. distance learning institution, used to offer a
course called "Biology, Brain and Behaviour" (course SD286) and no doubt either
this or an equivalent course is still available. It is an excellent
introduction to neuroscience (it was mine) and would be accessible to Goodyboy,
provided that his scientific comprehension matches his ambition! While the
Open University might be reluctant to accept him as a formal student (students
are normally over 18 and U.K. resident), course materials are usually sold
separately from the tuition and assessment package and could be used at
whatever rate that Goodyboy's enthusiasm dictates. I would suggest that he
contacts the Open University (Milton Keynes, Bucks., U.K.) and asks them what
they can provide.
(3) Scientific American published in 1979 a book of collected articles entitled
"The Brain" (W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco). This is very good and could
be used in conjunction with the Open University materials. There might by now
be an updated edition. Also good for browsing by a lad fascinated by things
neuroscientific would be an atlas of neuroanatomy: "Neuroanatomy" by K. E.
Moyer (Harper & Row, 1980) would be suitable for this purpose and may also have
later editions.
Dr. Alan Wheatley.