Neuroscience

Neuroscience is a field of study which deals with the structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology and pathology of the nervous system, divided most generally into the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), and the peripheral nervous system, consisting of the myriad nerve pathways running throughout the body. The study of behavior and learning is also a division of neuroscience.

Fields within neuroscience

There are four main areas of study within neuroscience

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• Molecular and cellular neuroscience - In principle, there is no distinction between cellular and molecular biology of the brain and of any other organ. However, there are so many differences between the nervous system and the rest of the body, both in terms of cellular functions and the goals of the field, that cellular and molecular neuroscience functions as an independent field.
• Development - This field studies the ways in which the ectodermally-derived nervous system gets organized in the adult animal. Developmental neuroscience uses a variety of animal models including the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster , the zebrafish Danio rerio, Xenopus laevis tadpoles and the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, among others.
• Cognitive neuroscience and systems neuroscience - These two fields are interested in explaining the link between the mind and the brain. Common methods involve functional imaging, recording of action potentials, and careful analysis of behavior.
• Neurobiology of disease - This field, directly aligned with medical research, is interested in curing any diseases associated with the nervous system.

"Neuroscience" is a blanket term that refers to all the specific fields that study the nervous system. In some sense psychology is actually a sub-field of neuroscience, although some mind/body theorists argue it goes the other way. "Neurobiology" is often used interchangeably with 'neuroscience,' but may refer specifically to the study of the biology of the nervous system. There is, though, some ambiguity within the neuroscience community as to the difference between the two terms.

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Other related and overlapping fields include:

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• Aphasiology
• Brain imaging
• Computational neuroscience
• Neuroanatomy
• Neurochemistry
• Neuroeconomics
• Neuroesthetics
• Neuroethology
• Neuroheuristic
• Neurolinguistics
• Neurology
• Neuromarketing
• Neurophysiology
• Neuropsychiatry
• Neuropsychology
• Neurotheology (also Biotheology)
• Psychiatry
• Psychopharmacology
• Psychobiology (also Biopsychology, also Biological psychology)
• Evolutionary neuroscience
• Neurogenomics
• Neurophenomenology
• Neuroethics
• Neuroprosthetics