Neuroscientists focus on the
brain and its impact on behavior and cognitive functions, or how people think.
They also investigate what
happens to the nervous system when people have neurological, psychiatric, and
neurodevelopmental disorders.
A neuroscientist can specialize
in a wide range of fields, from neuroanatomy to neuropsychology. Research in
this field can improve our understanding of both the brain and the body, how
they work, and the health issues that affect them.
Overview
Neuroscience is an
interdisciplinary science that works closely with other disciplines, such as
mathematics, linguistics, engineering, computer science, chemistry, philosophy,
psychology, and medicine.
Neuroscientists study the
cellular, functional, behavioral, evolutionary, computational, molecular,
cellular, and medical aspects of the nervous system. There are various fields
that focus on different aspects, but they often overlap.
Researchers might look into
brain activity in people with ailments such as Alzheimer's disease. Tools
used include MRI scans and
computerized 3-D models. They may do experiments using cell and tissue samples.
The findings may lead to the
development of new medications. Some neuroscientists are involved in treating
patients.
Why is neuroscience important?
Neuroscience affects many, if
not all, human functions, but it also contributes to a better understanding of
a wide range of common conditions.
These include:
Down syndrome
autistic spectrum disorders
(ASD)
ADHD
addiction
schizophrenia
Parkinson's disease
brain tumors
epilepsy
the effects of stroke, for example,
language loss
immune system disorders, such
as multiple sclerosis
A greater understanding of
neurological factors can help in developing medications and other strategies to
treat and prevent these and many other health issues.
History
The ancient Egyptians
thought the seat of intelligence was in the heart.
Because of this belief, during the mummification process, they would remove the
brain but leave the heart in the body.
The ancient Greeks were among
the first
people to study the brain. They attempted to understand the
role of the brain and how it worked and to explain neural disorders.
According to an article in
Scientific American, Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, had a theory that the brain was a blood-cooling
mechanism.
Pierre Paul Broca (1824-1880)
was a French physician, surgeon, and anatomist. He worked with patients who had
brain damage. He concluded
that different regions in the brain were involved in specific
functions.
The part of the brain known as
Broca's area is
responsible for some speech and other functions. Damage to this
area during a stroke can lead to Broca's aphasia, when a person can no longer
produce accurate or coherent speech.
In the 19th century, von Hemholtz,
a German physician and physicist, measured the speed at which nerve cells
produced electrical impulses.
During 1873, Gamillo Golgi, an
Italian physician, pathologist, and scientist, used silver chromate salt
to see what neurons looked like.
Early in the 20th century,
Santiago Ramón y Cajal, a Spanish pathologist, histologist, and
neuroscientist, hypothesized that the neurons are independent
nerve cell units.
In 1906, Golgi and Cajal jointly
received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work and
categorization of neurons in the brain.
Since the 1950s, research
and practice in modern neurology have made great strides,
leading to developments in the treatment of stroke, cardiovascular disease,
multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions.
Scientific developments have
enabled neuroscientists to study the nervous system's structure, functions,
development, abnormalities, and ways it can be altered.
Major branches
Neuroimaging
includes MRI scans and other imaging technology that can show what is happening
in the brain.
Some major branches of
neuroscience can be broadly categorized in the following disciplines:
Affective
neuroscience: Research looks at how neurons behave in relation
to emotions.
Behavioral
neuroscience: This is the study of how the brain affects
behavior.
Clinical
neuroscience: Medical specialists, such as neurologists and
psychiatrists, look at the disorders
of the nervous system from basic neuroscience findings to find
ways to treat and prevent them. They also look for ways to rehabilitate those
who have undergone neurological damage. Clinical neuroscientists consider
mental illnesses as brain disorders.
Cognitive
neuroscience: This looks at how the brain forms and
controls thoughts, and the neural factors that underlie those
processes. During research, scientists measure brain activity while people
carry out tasks. This field combines neuroscience with the cognitive sciences
of psychology and psychiatry.
Computational
neuroscience: Scientists try to understand how brains
compute. They use computers to simulate and model brain functions, and applying
techniques from mathematics, physics, and other computational fields to study
brain function.
Cultural
neuroscience: This field looks at the interaction between
cultural factors and are genomic, neural, and psychological processes. It is a
new discipline that may help
explain variations in health measures between different
populations. Findings may also help scientists to avoid cultural bias when
designing experiments.
Developmental
neuroscience: This looks at how the brain and the nervous
system grow and change, from conception through
adulthood. Information gathered helps scientists understand more about how the
neurological systems develop and evolve. It enables them to describe and
understand a range of developmental disorders. It also offers clues about how
and when neurological tissues regenerate.
Molecular
and cellular neuroscience: Scientists look at the role of individual
molecules, genes, and proteins in the functioning of nerves and the nervous
system at a molecular and cellular level.
Neuroengineering:
Researchers use engineering
techniques to better understand, replace, repair, or improve
neural systems.
Neuroimaging: This
is a branch of medical imaging that concentrates
on the brain. Neuroimaging is used to diagnose disease and assess the health of
the brain. It can also be useful in the study of the brain, how it works, and
how different activities affect the brain.
Neuroinformatics: This
field involves collaboration between computer
scientists and neuroscientists. Experts develop effective ways to collect,
analyze, share, and publish data.
Neurolinguistics:
Specialists investigate how the brain enables us to acquire, store, understand,
and express language. It helps speech therapists
develop strategies to help children with speech difficulties or people who wish
to regain their speech after, for example, a stroke.
Neurophysiology: This
looks at how the brain and its functions relate to different parts of the body, and the
role of the nervous system, from the subcellular level to whole organs. It
helps scientists understand how human thought works and provides insight into
disorders relating to the nervous system.
Source: Medical News Today
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