initial+proposal

How do different factors contribute to alcohol and drug addictions? I have always been fascinated with drug and alcohol addiction. It has always seemed very interesting to me the way that the environment, and genetics can determine whether a person is likely to become addicted to alcohol or drugs. I would like to explore how people become addicted and why some can recover and others can not. I would like to learn about how the brain works when a person is on drugs or alcohol. There are many possible areas of research for this project. There is the idea that addiction can be inherited, how the brain reacts to drugs, different treatments, etc. This project may involve a lot of scientific research about the brain. A problem that I see with this project is the hands on portion of the project. I think there are a lot of resources because addiction has been gaining a lot of media attention in the news, reality shows, and celebrities. People want to know more about addiction. I think this project is a good idea because it will show how serious drug and alcohol addictions are, and how quickly they can escalate. I am not sure what I would be able to do for that. I feel that this topic will be easy to find a lot of research on and the project will be interesting and informative.

(revised for 10/7/08) There are many possible areas of research for this project. One area would be any new research that has been done linking genetics to addiction. Another area could be how the brain reacts to drugs. Also another area of research would be how addiction works. This project may involve a lot of scientific research about the brain. I think that books from the library will serve and my research keystone. I have not yet taken any books out of the library but I am sure they have many on my project with good information. My mentor and topic expert will help me with this project by helping me find good information, editing my rough drafts, and keeping me on task. I feel that this topic will be easy to find a lot of research on and the project will be interesting and informative. **
 * My driving question is “How do genetic factors contribute to drug and alcohol addiction?”. I have always been fascinated with drug and alcohol addiction. It has always seemed very interesting to me the way that the environment and genetics can determine whether a person is likely to become addicted to alcohol or drugs. I would like to explore how people become addicted and why some can recover and others can not. I would like to learn about how the brain works when a person is on drugs or alcohol. I want to do this project to learn more about addiction and inform people of the dangers of drugs and drinking.
 * A problem that I see with this project is the hands on portion of the project. I think there are a lot of resources because addiction has been gaining a lot of media attention in the news, reality shows, and celebrities. This project will probably involve an average amount of time because I do not foresee any problem finding information and I am interested in this topic. People want to know more about addiction. I think this project is a good idea because it will show how serious drug and alcohol addictions are, and how quickly they can escalate. My mentor and topic expert will help me with this project by helping me find good information, editing my rough drafts, and keeping me on task. I feel that this topic will be easy to find a lot of research on and the project will be interesting and informative. **