Neuroscience is one of the fastest emerging disciplines of science and field of study. It has been gaining interest from people in different fields such as medicine and pharmaceutical because of its wide scope of study. But what can you learn in neuroscience? What are its major branches and what are the skills you can develop in this field of study? Keep reading to find out.
What can you learn in Neuroscience?
In studying Neuroscience, you can learn and gain knowledge about the scientific study of the brain and nervous system, its function, development, structure, and processes.
You will investigate the nervous system’s molecular, structural, physiologic, cognitive, and behavioral aspects, the biology of neuropsychiatric disorders, the biochemical and molecular bases of information processing, and the anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system and brain science.
You will understand the role of the nervous system in the biology of thoughts, emotions, motivations, decisions, perceptions, and actions through the application of engineering and medicine.
In Neuroscience, you will be probing the mysteries and intricacies of the brain and the nervous system’s biological processes that affect not only humans but animals as well.
This field of study is multidisciplinary where one can learn in both humanities and sciences like biology and chemistry as well as psychology and philosophy.
Neuroscience was formerly known as a branch of biology but in recent years, it has become so interloped with other disciplines that you will also get to learn about chemistry, mathematics, engineering, and physics and their connection to our brain processes and nervous system development at a microscopic level.
That being said you will also get to master how to integrate information and instruments from physical science, engineering, and mathematics, as well as the sociologies and the humanities.
You will be able to examine information and data, demonstrate your methodology, and write and present research, tests, and experiments from a wide range of topics in neuroscience.
In pursuit of understanding neuroscience, you will get to explore the neurological connections between the brain and behavior as well as thoughts, perceptions, emotions, motivations, decisions, and actions.
If you like doing research, neuroscience might as well be the right field for you as you’ll find plenty of circumstances for hands-on assessment, examination, and data collection.
In Neuroscience, you will get to encounter the following major branches below and what you can learn from them.
Affective neuroscience
You will learn about how neurons behave in relation to emotions through research and laboratory work.
Behavioral neuroscience
You will learn about how the brain affects behavior.
Cellular neuroscience
You will learn about the physiological properties and form of neurons at a cellular level.
Clinical neuroscience
You will learn about the disorders of the nervous system
Cognitive neuroscience
In this study, you will learn about the underlying neural bases of the higher cognitive functions of humans. You will learn to draw information from other disciplines such as psychology and linguistics to better understand what transpires in our higher cognitive functions.
Computational neuroscience
You will learn how to use computers to simulate and model how brains compute by applying methods from physics, statistics, mathematics, and other computational fields to learn about how or brain functions.
Cultural neuroscience
You will learn how the brain over different periods and time shape and be shaped by culture, beliefs, values, and practices.
Developmental neuroscience
You will learn what the underlying mechanisms, on a cellular level, are present in the development of the nervous system.
Molecular neuroscience
You will learn about the role of individual molecules in the processes and functions as well as structures of the nervous system.
Neuroengineering
You will learn to use engineering techniques to better comprehend, change, restore, or enhance neural systems.
Neuroimaging
This is an interdisciplinary field of medicine and neuroscience that focuses on the brain. Here you will learn how to diagnose diseases and examine the wellness of the brain. You will also get to learn how the different activities affect the brain.
Neuroinformatics
You will learn how to integrate information across the wide field of neuroscience to understand the brain and tend to its conditions. This integration involves acquiring, storing information, analysis, modeling, and simulation, and sharing and publishing data.
Neurolinguistics
You will learn how the comprehension, acquisition, and utterance of language become the product of neural mechanisms in the brain.
Neurophysiology
You will learn how to use physiological techniques, such as stimulation with electrodes, light-sensitive channels, or ion- or voltage-sensitive dyes to look at the connection between the brain’s function and the body parts.
Paleoneurology
You will learn how to examine the brain’s development from the earliest epoch using fossils
Social neuroscience
Another interdisciplinary study that will help you understand how social processes and behavior become the by-product of biological systems.
Systems neuroscience
You will learn how to define the types of processes happening in the brain that affects behavior through pathways of data flow in the nervous system.
Lastly, in Neuroscience, you will learn to study diseases, disorders, and injuries that affect parts of the nervous system, how it develops, how well it functions, and what methods we can perform to treat these conditions.
What are the skills you can develop in Neuroscience?
The following are the skills you can develop in Neuroscience:
- You will have the potential to design a study using experimental and nonexperimental research methods and develop testable hypotheses through critical analysis of present methods
- You will have the ability to apply descriptive and inferential statistical procedures in your experiments.
- You will be able to hone your written communication skills, especially the ability to write in American Psychological Association (APA) style
- You will be able to exhibit laboratory skills related to behavioral and clinical neuroscience research
Conclusion
Neuroscience is the study of the brain and nervous system. Through neuroscience, you will get to learn that the brain is the body’s most complex organ and neurons communicate signals.
The nervous system changes life experiences and vice versa. Neuroscience tells us that our brain, as the sole perpetrator of our reasoning, behavior, and communication, as a whole is us. We are our brain and our brain is us.
Fundamental advancements and discoveries in neuroscience help us foster healthy living and treat disease.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): What can you learn in Neuroscience?
What are some of the main benefits of neuroscience?
One of the benefits of neuroscience is our understanding of our basic biology and body function through the study of our nervous system. Just knowing how our body works can help us learn the hows, whys, and whats of our biology and the problems it encounters. Advancements in neuroscience can lead us to better treatment and prevention of conditions that affect the nervous system, brain, and body.
What skills are needed for neuroscience?
To pursue a career in neuroscience, you will need to have above-average critical thinking skills, reasoning skills, and decision-making skills as well as the ability to use computer programs, medical tools, and equipment to recognize patterns in concepts, ideas, and mathematical manners.
Why is neuroscience important to education?
Neuroscience helps a lot of educators to understand how the brain absorbs and processes new information. It gives us an explanation of why a certain stage of learning is only applicable to a specific age group and why it is important to support the primary developmental needs of the learners.
Reference
Squire, L., Berg, D., Bloom, F. E., Du Lac, S., Ghosh, A., & Spitzer, N. C. (Eds.). (2012). Fundamental neuroscience. Academic press.
Bassett, D. S., & Sporns, O. (2017). Network neuroscience. Nature neuroscience, 20(3), 353-364.
Wood, I. K. (1996). Neuroscience: Exploring the brain.
Consider this before declaring a neuroscience major by Debbie Blaylock on November 2, 2020 https://www.augustana.edu/blog/consider-declaring-neuroscience-major
Neuroscience My College Options – Neuroscience
What to Expect from a Neuroscience Degree Neuroscience : What will I study? – The University of Melbourne (unimelb.edu.au)
