By Tanisha Naik
For many students, the end of the year marks a wind-down. But in Dr. Lamar’s neuroscience classroom, it’s the beginning of a “Genius Hour.” Inspired by Google’s famous policy of allowing employees to spend 20% of their time on passion projects, Genius Hour gives students the freedom to investigate the mysteries of the brain that standard textbooks might only skim.
She decided to incorporate this into her class because she “wanted people to dig into something they liked, that they were passionate about, and they wanted to explore more and anything they were curious about,” she said.
It also allows students to learn things they may not have time for in class, given the many subjects, topics, and subtopics in neuro.
I also happen to be in this neuroscience class. My Genius Hour question is: how does caffeine consumption interfere with REM sleep cycles and dreaming patterns? I am an avid caffeine drinker; whether it is Celsius or coffee, I am always drinking it.
I have noticed that caffeine always affects my sleep cycle, and I wanted to explore how it affects my dreams. In my project, I have been conducting a study in which I don’t drink caffeine for each week and observe the effects.
I wanted to check in with some students from her neuroscience class about their projects.
Senior Bailey Clark is using this opportunity to peel back the layers of a frequently misunderstood condition: Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which was formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder.
The spark for the project came two summers ago after she watched a docuseries on the subject. “I was really interested in it because there’s not a lot of research on it,” Bailey explained. The interest isn’t just academic; it’s close to home. With a mother working as a therapist, she grew up with a diagnosis book within arm’s reach, fueled by a lifelong curiosity about how the mind categorizes complex trauma.
The goal of the project is to bridge the gap between old stigmas and new science. By digging into the history of the diagnosis and exploring why the clinical name was changed, Bailey hopes to uncover new findings that challenge outdated perceptions.
The final product won’t be a typical term paper. Instead, the student is producing a documentary to visually demonstrate how the disorder works and what causes it to manifest. “I want to add research that can prove people wrong,” she said.
For Dr. Lamar, this first-year neuroscience project is about more than just grades; it’s about autonomy. Having previously managed physics projects such as Rube Goldberg machines, she is excited to see students apply the same “ground-up” design approach to complex biological topics.
As the seniors prepare for their “last hurrah,” this project serves as a reminder that the most profound learning happens when students are given the keys to follow their own curiosity.
“My goal is just for them to come away from it learning something a little bit deeper and pushing themselves,” she shared. “I want them to walk away saying, ‘Hey, the brain is kind of cool. I might want to learn more about this later in life.'”
