Q. I am a middle school student participating in a science fair. My project is on whether or not the brain can perceive subliminal messages. My question has to do with my procedure. How can I create a subliminal message (audio or visual) at home without using lots of expensive software and equipment? What will I need to do this?

A. Here's a website that lists a lot of online resources. As you check them out, try to distinguish between those sites that have a product to sell versus those that provide information only.

http://www.selfgrowth.com/subliminal.html

Scientific articles that you can probably get through your local library or a hospital library:

1. Lewicki P, Hill T, Czyzewska M. Nonconscious acquisition of information. Am Psychol. 1992 Jun;47(6):796-801. Review.

2. de Houwer J, Hendrickx H, Baeyens F. Evaluative learning with "subliminally" presented stimuli. Conscious Cogn. 1997 Mar;6(1):87-107.

Good luck with your project! Hope to see your discoveries in the news some day!

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