What thoughts come to your mind when someone mentions scientists? Probably, you believe that scientists are individuals with several degrees and years of experience in research that allow them to collect data, use evidence, make and test hypotheses, gain understanding, and share knowledge. But what would you tell if you found out that any person can be a scientist? Meanwhile, in the present day, when humankind faces multiple global challenges, we all may contribute to finding new ways to accelerate medical research, prevent diseases, and protect the planet. As science requires more perspectives than any single scientist or researcher possesses, citizen science was introduced.
Citizen science may be defined as a collaboration between ordinary people who are motivated to make difference, find solutions, and improve others’ lives and scientists. There are several websites that aim to attract individuals and promote citizen science, including Citizen Science, SciStarter, and Hungry Mind Lab. There, people are provided with an opportunity to participate in research through collecting data, documenting natural changes, and helping advance medical research by using smartphone sensors, taking photos of natural phenomena, and playing games. When millions of people collaborate for the achievement of common goals, scientists receive enough data collected for subsequent analysis that allow them to understand issues and develop efficient responsive measures.
You may have doubts – how ordinary people without specific knowledge and skills may contribute to reliable studies with valid results? First of all, participants follow a particular protocol and may interact with scientists – in this case, the quality of collected data is monitored. In addition, individuals may be not professional in research – however, they are professionals in their spheres, and their competencies, skills, and experience may provide new insight into existing problems. For instance, educators, students, sportsmen, lawyers, and even prisoners are among millions of other non-professional citizen scientists who allow looking at research matters from new perspectives.
As previously mentioned, citizen science covers various areas of research, such as ecology, computer science, engineering, astronomy, medicine, genetics, psychology, statistics, and many more. However, I would like to persuade you to become citizen scientists by focusing on a particular issue familiar to almost all people across the globe. Have you ever felt that it is more difficult to concentrate on work, make decisions quickly, and memorize things in those days when you are irritated or depressed? At the same time, there is scientific evidence that a person’s mood may impact his cognitive performance. Thus, according to Tyng et al. (2017), “emotion has a substantial influence on the cognitive processes in humans, including perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning, and problem solving” (p. 1). At the same time, continuous bad moods typical for depression may lead to more serious cognitive impairment, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Both dementia and depression have similar symptoms related to decreased cognitive performance, including concentration difficulties, the reduced speed of mental processing, and problems with planning, decision making, problem solving, and paying attention.
It goes without saying that cognitive performance is highly essential for any person regardless of his age, gender, and occupation. As a basketball player, I may confirm that a wide range of cognitive functions is extremely important for sportsmen. During the game, a highly stressful and demanding environment is created, and it requires working memory, attention, and time-sensitive and accurate decision making. That is why I consider the importance of cognitive training, and as I know that my mood may affect my cognitive functions, I should definitely have a tool to control it. In addition, by monitoring my mood I may provide valuable data and contribute to more complex research dedicated to the influence of emotions on cognition.
Within the framework of citizen science, there are multiple applications and mind games that may be used by ordinary people to get involved in the self-assessment of their health, see the correlation between mood and cognitive performance, and collect data for research. For instance, in partnership with PSYT, Hungry Mind Lab created Moo-Q, a free iPhone application that helps people determine how mood impacts brain power, cognitive performance, and behavioral patterns during the day. I am already using Moo-Q and I should say that it is a very beneficial tool as it shows the outcomes of my mood for cognitive functions helping control it. As a result, I receive an opportunity to learn how I may improve the efficiency of my cognitive performance, especially before a game, to demonstrate better results. At the same time, I am contributing to the examination of cognitive functions as a citizen scientist as the application allows scientists to assess my results remotely and generate new perspectives.
We all need memory, attention, and decision making skills every day. At the same time, multiple studies demonstrate the correlation between our mood and cognition – in other words, positive emotions improve our cognitive performance, while negative emotions reduce it substantially and may lead to severe irreversible diseases. People with depression are more vulnerable to various health disorders as feeling down leads to increased inflammation and cardiovascular disease associated with dementia. In addition, a bad mood increases the chance to be involved in unhealthy behaviors, including binge eating, smoking, alcohol consumption, and a sedentary lifestyle, which may affect cognition and brain health as well. A lot of people may confirm that when they feel sad they eat more or consume alcohol.
As an athlete, I understand how depression and anxiety may dramatically affect my cognitive performance and activities. At the same time, I wish that not only athletes but ordinary people as well use mind games and applications to evaluate their brain power every day and the impact of their emotions on it. In addition, through these applications and video games, scientists may analyze data collected from citizen scientists and other people and see how behavior is affected by the way they play the games. For instance, solving complicated puzzles in different states of mood can gather scientific evidence related to the connection between emotions and cognition. Thus, video games, such as Borderlands 3 or Quantum Shooter, that allow thousands of people to be involved provide considerable amounts of reliable data for scientists.
As a result, they will present efficient responses on the basis of collected evidence. For example, they may develop an efficient treatment for patients with depression or supportive therapy for patients with dementia that will focus on emotions and their correlation with cognitive functions. Concerning ordinary citizens, their use of mind games and applications will prevent the occurrence of severe mental impairments. That is why I strongly recommend you to use these tools to contribute to citizen science and your own physical and mental health.
Reference
Tyng, C. M., Amin, H. U., Saad, M. N., & Malik, A. S. (2017). The influences of emotion on learning and memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(1454), 1-22.