EGYPT'S Brain Bee

International Brain Bee competition format

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An example of the general format of the international competition is below, however, the exact details are subject to change every year. An official study guide published by the IBB, which includes any format changes, is shared with the international participants each year. 

 

Below is the format for the 2019 competition. For more details visit the official IBB webpage: https://thebrainbee.org/competition/2019/

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The textbooks to prepare for the exam were:

1. Essential Neuroscience. 3rd Edition, by Siegal and Sapru

2. The Brain: An Introduction to Functional Neuroanatomy. By Watson & Paxinos & Kirkcaldie

Written Exam (25%)
A 45-question multiple-choice and short-answer exam, to be completed in 60 minutes. Some questions will involve data and graphical analysis and reasoning.

Neuroanatomy Practical (20%)

During the Neuroanatomy Section, students should be prepared to name any structure presented in Chapter 1 of the "Neuroscience Essentials" publication and provide a general function for each, if presented in Chapter 1. No list/word bank will be provided during the competition.

Neurohistology (10%)
Human tissues will be displayed under microscopes. Students must identify the structures by name and/or describe the basic functions of the tissue within 90 seconds.

Patient Diagnosis (20%)

The Patient Diagnosis Section consists of 10 videos of patients, each with one of the possible neurological disorders listed below. The video will portray motor and/or other visual symptoms of the patient (without sound), and a brief written history, as told by the patient, will be provided. Each disorder will be presented in a common form (no rare forms of the disorders).

After watching each video and reading the patient history, students should request the results of two of the available clinical, laboratory, or imaging tests, listed below. The appropriate results for the tests will be provided immediately, for example, "Normal", "Abnormal", "Enlarged Lateral Ventricles", "Tumor detected in the Occipital Lobe", "Defective Huntingtin gene", or other result, depending on the neurological disorder and the requested test. The task then is to diagnose the most likely disorder, with the list of possible disorders and tests provided. Students are given 5 minutes per diagnosis.

 

Live Judging Session (25%)

The Judging panel will pose questions to the group, occasionally with projected visual components. Students are given 30-90 seconds to write their answers.