Team: 26
School: Justice Code/International/Harrison
Area of Science: Health and Medicine
Interim: Problem Definition: Drug use among teenagers in the United States is increasingly high, and although efforts have been made to curb alarming narcotics statistics, a comprehensive depiction of the brain’s reaction to drugs is crucial. Specifically, we want to know how the sequence of drug ingestion influences the size of the brain.
Problem Solution: To determine how drug usage influences brain size and dissuade teenagers from consuming drugs, we are modeling the influence of drugs on brain performance. We plan to model using NetLogo coding language. We want to build a model that will allow the user to witness how the use of select drugs influences brain physiology, specifically the size of the brain.
Progress to Date: Our team decided to research two drugs: marijuana and nicotine. We have compiled information, graphs, MRI scans, and pertinent images about the influence of these drugs on the human brain. Additionally, we found a generic outline of the human brain, on which we plan to superimpose our aforementioned images of brain activity (when the user is under the influence of marijuana and nicotine) so as to display the physiological impact of these drugs.
Expected Results: We expect the model to show that the ingestion of nicotine followed by the ingestion of marijuana shrinks the user's brain more than the opposite sequence of ingestion (marijuana, then nicotine). Furthermore, the model will corroborate the fact that drug usage deteriorates the brain and its user’s performance. The showcased results will prove that the correlation between drug misuse and human development is negative, thus encouraging teenagers to abstain from this risky behavior.
Sponsoring Teacher: Mr. Daniel Fuka
Works Cited:
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/methamphetamine
https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes/2020/07/two-different-brain-regions-are-linked-with-nicotine-addiction-severity-and-nicotine-withdrawal
https://drugabusestatistics.org/teen-drug-use/
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/features/teen-substance-use.html
Team Members:
Praise Ejimkonye
Aileen Ukwuoma
Alexandrina Ukwuoma
Ifunanya Egbo
Sayra Medrano
Chinyere Offor
Sponsoring Teacher: Heba Nuseibeh