Do You Know Your Brain? A Survey on Public Neuroscience Literacy at the Closing of the Decade of the Brain

Abstract

What does the public know about the developments offered by brain research? What factors influence public neuroscience literacy? What issues need to be emphasized to the public? To address these questions, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire with 95 assertions, answered by indicating yes, no, or I don’t know. The opinions of 35 senior neuroscientists and 2158 members of the public of Rio de Janeiro were heard on issues such as the mind-brain relationship, the senses, learning, and memory. The incidence of “correct” answers among the public improved the most with schooling, followed by reading of popular science magazines and of newspapers. An analysis of the responses to each assertion revealed which themes are well- or poorly known to the public. The results attest for the importance of popular scientific communication and indicate issues on which communication efforts should be concentrated in order to increase public awareness about the brain.