Neuroscience is a profound field that is devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system. Such studies span the structure, function, evolutionary history, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, informatics, computational neuroscience and pathology of the nervous system. Neuroanatomy is the science for localizing function in the Human brain. In Psychology, biological psychology, also known as biopsychology, psychobiology, or behavioral neuroscience is the application of the principles Evolutionary neuroscience is an Interdisciplinary scientific research field that attempts to understand the Evolution and Natural history of Nervous The study of neural development draws on both Neuroscience and Developmental biology to describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which complex Nervous Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living Organisms It deals with the Structure and function of cellular components such as Physiology (from Greek grc φύσις physis, "nature origin" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the mechanical physical Pharmacology (from Greek grc φάρμακον pharmakon, "drug" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of how Drugs Neuroinformatics is a research field that encompasses the development of Neuroscience data and application of computational models and analytical tools Computational neuroscience is an interdisciplinary science that links the diverse fields of Neuroscience, Cognitive science, Electrical engineering, Pathology (from Greek grc πάθος pathos, "fate harm" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study and The nervous system is a Network of specialized cells that communicate information about an animal's surroundings and itself Traditionally it is seen as a branch of biological sciences. Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles However, recently there has been a surge in the convergence of interest from many allied disciplines, including cognitive and neuro-psychology, computer science, statistics, physics, and medicine. Cognitive psychology is a branch of Psychology that investigates internal mental processes such as problem solving memory and language Neuropsychology is the applied scientific discipline that studies the structure and function of the Brain related to specific psychological processes and overt behaviors Computer science (or computing science) is the study and the Science of the theoretical foundations of Information and Computation and their Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection analysis interpretation or explanation and presentation of Data. Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the The scope of neuroscience has now broadened to include any systematic scientific experimental and theoretical investigation of the central and peripheral nervous system of biological organisms. The empirical methodologies employed by neuroscientists have been enormously expanded, from biochemical and genetic analysis of dynamics of individual nerve cells and their molecular constituents to imaging representations of perceptual and motor tasks in the brain. A neuroscientist is an individual who studies the scientific field of Neuroscience or any of its related sub-fields Neurons (ˈnjuːɹɒn also known as neurones and nerve cells) are responsive cells in the Nervous system that process and transmit information Brain mapping is a set of Neuroscience techniques predicated on the Mapping of (biological quantities or properties onto spatial representations of the (human or Many recent theoretical advances in neuroscience have been aided by the use of computational modeling.

Contents 1 Overview 2 History of Neuroscience 3 Major branches 4 Major Themes of Research 5 Allied and Overlapping Fields 6 Future directions 7 See also 8 References 8.1 Citations 8.2 Textbooks 8.2.1 Online textbooks 8.3 Popular works 9 Notes From Online Courses 10 External links

Overview

The scientific study of the nervous systems underwent a significant increase in the second half of the twentieth century, principally due to revolutions in molecular biology, electrophysiology and computational neuroscience. The chicken ( Gallus gallus, sometimes G gallus domesticus) is a domesticated Fowl which is traditionally believed to have descended from Santiago Ramón y Cajal ( May 1 1852 &ndash October 17 1934) was a Spanish histologist, Physician, and Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena The nervous system is a Network of specialized cells that communicate information about an animal's surroundings and itself Molecular biology is the study of Biology at a molecular level Electrophysiology (from Greek grc ἥλεκτρον ēlektron, "amber" the [[Electron#Etymology|etymology of "electron"]] grc φύσις Computational neuroscience is an interdisciplinary science that links the diverse fields of Neuroscience, Cognitive science, Electrical engineering, It has become possible to understand, in much detail, the complex processes occurring within a single neuron. Neurons (ˈnjuːɹɒn also known as neurones and nerve cells) are responsive cells in the Nervous system that process and transmit information However, understanding of how networks of neurons produce intellectual behavior, cognition, emotion and physiological responses is still poorly understood.

“

The task of neural science is to explain behavior in terms of the activities of the brain. How does the brain marshal its millions of individual nerve cells to produce behavior, and how are these cells influenced by the environment. . . ? The last frontier of the biological sciences--their ultimate challenge--is to understand the biological basis of consciousness and the mental processes by which we perceive, act, learn, and remember. — Eric Kandel, Principles of Neural science, fourth edition

”

The nervous system is composed of a network of neurons and other supportive cells (such as glial cells). Eric Richard Kandel (born November 7, 1929) is a Psychiatrist, a neuroscientist and Professor of Biochemistry Neurons (ˈnjuːɹɒn also known as neurones and nerve cells) are responsive cells in the Nervous system that process and transmit information Glial cells, commonly called neuroglia or simply glia (Greek for "glue" are non- Neuronal cells that provide support and nutrition Neurons form functional circuits, each responsible for specific tasks to the behaviors at the organism level. Thus, neuroscience can be studied at many different levels, ranging from molecular level to cellular level to systems level to cognitive level.

At the molecular level, the basic questions addressed in molecular neuroscience include the mechanisms by which neurons express and respond to molecular signals and how axons form complex connectivity patterns. Molecular Neuroscience is a branch of Neuroscience that examines the biology of the nervous system with Molecular biology, Molecular genetics and related An axon or nerve fiber is a long slender projectionof a nerve cell or Neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's Cell At this level, tools from molecular biology and genetics are used to understand how neurons develop and die, and how genetic changes affect biological functions. Molecular biology is the study of Biology at a molecular level Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is The morphology, molecular identity and physiological characteristics of neurons and how they relate to different types of behavior are also of considerable interest. The term morphology in Biology refers to the outward appearance ( Shape, Structure, Colour, Pattern) of an Organism (The ways in which neurons and their connections are modified by experience are addressed at the physiological and cognitive levels. )

At the cellular level, the fundamental questions addressed in cellular neuroscience are the mechanisms of how neurons process signals physiologically and electrochemically. Neurobiology is the study of cells of the Nervous system and the organization of these cells into functional circuits that process information and mediate behavior They address how signals are processed by the dendrites, somas and axons, and how neurotransmitters and electrical signals are used to process signals in a neuron. Dendrites (from Greek δένδρον déndron, “tree” are the branched projections of a Neuron that act to conduct the electrochemical The soma, or cyton or perikaryon, is the bulbous end of a Neuron, containing the Cell nucleus. An axon or nerve fiber is a long slender projectionof a nerve cell or Neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's Cell See Chemical synapse for an introduction to concepts and terminology used in this article

At the systems level, the questions addressed in systems neuroscience include how the circuits are formed and used anatomically and physiologically to produce the physiological functions, such as reflexes, sensory integration, motor coordination, circadian rhythms, emotional responses, learning and memory, et cetera. Systems neuroscience is a subdiscipline of neuroscience which studies the function of neural circuits and systems most commonly in awake behaving intact Organisms It is an A reflex action, also known as a reflex, is an involuntary and almost instant movement in response to stimulus. Sensory integration is defined as the neurological process that organizes sensation from one's own body and the environment thus making it possible to use the body effectively Gross motor coordination addresses the Gross motor skills walking running climbing jumping crawling lifting one's head sitting up etc In the fields of Neuropsychology, Personal development and Education, Learning is one of the most important Mental function of humans In Psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store retain and subsequently retrieve information In other words, they address how these neural circuits function and the mechanisms through which behaviors are generated. For example, systems level analysis addresses questions concerning specific sensory and motor modalities: how does vision work? How do songbirds learn new songs and bats localize with ultrasound? The related field of neuroethology, in particular, addresses the complex question of how neural substrates underlies specific animal behavior. In Psychology, visual perception is the ability to interpret information from Visible light reaching the Eyes The resulting Perception is also SongBird is a Dutch Record label owned by Tijs Verwest and Arny Bink Not to be confused with Supersonic. Ultrasound is cyclic Sound pressure with a Frequency greater than the upper Neuroethology ("neuro" Greek related to Nerve cells, "ethos" Greek habit or custom is an evolutionary and comparative approach to the study of animal behavior

At the cognitive level, cognitive neuroscience addresses the questions of how psychological/cognitive functions are produced by the neural circuitry. A sagittal plane of the human body is an imaginary plane that travels from the top to the bottom of the body dividing it into left and right portions Cognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrate underlying Cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates The emergence of powerful new measurement techniques such as neuroimaging (e. Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/ Pharmacology of the Brain g. ,fMRI, PET, SPECT), electrophysiology and human genetic analysis combined with sophisticated experimental techniques from cognitive psychology allows neuroscientists and psychologists to address abstract questions such as how human cognition and emotion are mapped to specific neural circuitries. Functional MRI or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI is a type of specialized MRI scan Positron emission tomography ( PET) is a Nuclear medicine imaging technique which produces a three-dimensional image or map of functional processes in the Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT or less commonly SPET is a Nuclear medicine tomographic imaging technique using Gamma rays. Electrophysiology (from Greek grc ἥλεκτρον ēlektron, "amber" the [[Electron#Etymology|etymology of "electron"]] grc φύσις The human genome is the Genome of Homo sapiens, which is stored on 23 chromosome pairs

Neuroscience is also beginning to become allied with social sciences, and burgeoning interdisciplinary fields of neuroeconomics, decision theory, social neuroscience are starting to address some of the most complex questions involving interactions of brain with environment. The social sciences comprise academic disciplines concerned with the study of the social life of human groups and individuals including Anthropology, Communication studies Neuroeconomics combines Neuroscience, Economics, and Psychology to study how people make decisions Decision theory in Mathematics and Statistics is concerned with identifying the Values uncertainties and other issues relevant in a given Social neuroscience is an Interdisciplinary field that utilizes the Complementary insights and approaches of Neuroscience and Social science

Neuroscience generally includes all scientific studies involving the nervous system. Psychology, as the scientific study of mental processes, may be considered a sub-field of neuroscience, although some mind/body theorists argue that the definition goes the other way — that psychology is a study of mental processes that can be modeled by many other abstract principles and theories, such as behaviorism and traditional cognitive psychology, that are independent of the underlying neural processes. The term neurobiology is sometimes used interchangeably with neuroscience, though the former refers to the biology of nervous system, whereas the latter refers to science of mental functions that form the foundation of the constituent neural circuitries. Neurobiology is the study of cells of the Nervous system and the organization of these cells into functional circuits that process information and mediate behavior Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles The nervous system is a Network of specialized cells that communicate information about an animal's surroundings and itself Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding In Principles of Neural Science, nobel laureate Eric Kandel contends that cognitive psychology is one of the pillar disciplines for understanding the brain in neuroscience.

Neurology and Psychiatry are medical specialties and are generally considered, in academic research, subfields of neuroscience that specifically address the diseases of the nervous system. Psychiatry is a medical specialty which exists to study, prevent, and treat Mental disorders in Humans Psychiatric These terms also refer to clinical disciplines involving diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. Neurology deals with diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and stroke, while psychiatry focuses on mental illnesses. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ( ALS, sometimes called Maladie de Charcot, or in the United States Lou Gehrig's Disease) is a progressive A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain Mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as The boundaries between the two have been blurring recently and physicians who specialize in either generally receive training in both. Both neurology and psychiatry are heavily involved in and influenced by basic research in neuroscience.

History of Neuroscience

See also: History of the brain

Evidence of trepanation, the surgical practice of either drilling or scraping a hole into the skull with the aim of curing headaches or mental disorders or relieving cranial pressure, being performed on patients dates back to Neolithic times and has been found in various cultures throughout the world. The history of the brain details the development of thoughts speculations and ideas as to the function of the Central nervous system, over the last five thousand years Trepanation (also known as trepanning, trephination, trephining or burr hole) is surgery in which a hole is Drilled or scraped into The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos Manuscripts dating back to 5000BC indicated that the Egyptians had some knowledge about symptoms of brain damage. This article is about the contemporary North African ethnic group

Early views on the function of the brain regarded it to be a "cranial stuffing" of sorts. In Egypt, from the late Middle Kingdom onwards, the brain was regularly removed in preparation for mummification. A mummy is a Corpse whose Skin and Flesh have been preserved by either intentional or Incidental exposure to Chemicals extreme It was believed at the time that the heart was the seat of intelligence. The heart is a muscular organ in all Vertebrates responsible for pumping Blood through the Blood vessels by repeated rhythmic According to Herodotus, during the first step of mummification: 'The most perfect practice is to extract as much of the brain as possible with an iron hook, and what the hook cannot reach is mixed with drugs. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash '

The view that the heart was the source of consciousness was not challenged until the time of Hippocrates. Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos ( ca. 460 BC – ca He believed that the brain was not only involved with sensation, since most specialized organs (e. g. , eyes, ears, tongue) are located in the head near the brain, but was also the seat of intelligence. Aristotle, however, believed that the heart was the center of intelligence and that the brain served to cool the blood. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. This view was generally accepted until the Roman physician Galen, a follower of Hippocrates and physician to Roman gladiators, observed that his patients lost their mental faculties when they had sustained damage to their brains. Galen ( Greek: Γαληνός Galēnos; Latin: Claudius Galenus, Aelius Galenus, Claudius Aelius Galenus, or

In al-Andalus, Abulcasis, the father of modern surgery, developed material and technical designs which are still used in neurosurgery. Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi (936 - 1013 (أبو القاسم بن خلف Surgery (from the χειρουργική cheirourgikē, via chirurgiae meaning "hand work" is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental Neurosurgery is the surgical discipline focused on treating those central, Peripheral nervous system and spinal column diseases amenable to surgical Averroes suggested the existence of Parkinson's disease and attributed photoreceptor properties to the retina. Abū 'l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Rushd (Arabicأبو الوليد محمد بن احمد بن رشد better known just as Ibn Rushd (ابن رشد and in European Parkinson's disease (also known as Parkinson disease or PD) is a degenerative disorder of the Central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's Photoreceptor can refer to In anatomy/cell biology Photoreceptor cell: a photosensitive cell most commonly referring to a specialized type of neuron The vertebrate retina is a light sensitive part inside the inner layer of the Eye. Avenzoar described meningitis, intracranial thrombophlebitis, mediastinal tumours and made contributions to modern neuropharmacology. Abū Merwān ’Abdal-Malik ibn Zuhr ( أبو مروان عبد الملك بن زهر) (also known as Ibn Zuhr, Avenzoar, Abumeron or Ibn-Zohr Meningitis is Inflammation of the protective membranes covering the Brain and Spinal cord, known collectively as the Meninges. Thrombophlebitis is Phlebitis (vein Inflammation) related to a blood clot or Thrombus. Malignant mediastinal germ cell tumors of various histologies were first described as a clinical entity approximately 50 years ago Neuropharmacology is concerned with drug-induced changes in the functioning of cells in the nervous system Maimonides wrote about neuropsychiatric disorders and described rabies and belladonna intoxication. Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and Neuropsychiatry is the branch of Medicine dealing with Mental disorders attributable to diseases of the Nervous system. Rabies (from rabies “madness rage fury” Also known as “ hydrophobia ” is a viral Zoonotic neuroinvasive disease that Atropa belladonna or Atropa bella-donna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a perennial Herbaceous ^[1] Elsewhere in medieval Europe, Vesalius (1514-1564) and René Descartes (1596-1650) also made several contributions to neuroscience. Andreas Vesalius ( Brussels, December 31, 1514 - Zakynthos, October 15, 1564) was an anatomist, Physician

Studies of the brain became more sophisticated after the invention of the microscope and the development of a staining procedure by Camillo Golgi during the late 1890s that used a silver chromate salt to reveal the intricate structures of single neurons. A microscope ( Greek: ( micron) = small + ( skopein) = to look or see is an instrument for viewing objects that are Camillo Golgi ( July 7, 1843 &ndash January 21, 1926) was an Italian Physician and Scientist. His technique was used by Santiago Ramón y Cajal and led to the formation of the neuron doctrine, the hypothesis that the functional unit of the brain is the neuron. Santiago Ramón y Cajal ( May 1 1852 &ndash October 17 1934) was a Spanish histologist, Physician, and The neuron doctrine is the now fundamental idea that Neurons are the basic structural and functional units of the Nervous system. Golgi and Ramón y Cajal shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906 for their extensive observations, descriptions and categorizations of neurons throughout the brain. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (Nobelpriset i fysiologi eller medicin is awarded once a year by the Swedish Karolinska Institute. The hypotheses of the neuron doctrine were supported by experiments following Galvani's pioneering work in the electrical excitability of muscles and neurons. Luigi Galvani was an Italian Physician and Physicist who lived and died in Bologna. In the late 19th century, DuBois-Reymond, Müller, and von Helmholtz showed neurons were electrically excitable and that their activity predictably affected the electrical state of adjacent neurons. DuBois-Reymond may refer to Paul David Gustav du Bois-Reymond Emil du Bois-Reymond Johannes Peter Müller ( July 14, 1801 &ndash April 28, 1858) was a German Physiologist, comparative anatomist

In parallel with this research, work with brain-damaged patients by Paul Broca suggested that certain regions of the brain were responsible for certain functions. Paul Pierre Broca ( June 28, 1824 &ndash July 9, 1880) was a French Physician, Anatomist, and Anthropologist This hypothesis was supported by observations of epileptic patients conducted by John Hughlings Jackson, who correctly deduced the organization of motor cortex by watching the progression of seizures through the body. Epilepsy is a common chronic Neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. John Hughlings Jackson, FRS ( March 4, 1835 - October 7, 1911) was an English Neurologist; born at Providence Motor cortex is a term that describes regions of the Cerebral cortex involved in the planning control and execution of voluntary motor functions Wernicke further developed the theory of the specialization of specific brain structures in language comprehension and production. Wernicke is a surname and may refer to Christian Wernicke Herbert Wernicke Carl Wernicke - a German physician Modern research still uses the Brodmann cytoarchitectonic (referring to study of cell structure) anatomical definitions from this era in continuing to show that distinct areas of the cortex are activated in the execution of specific tasks. ^[2]

Major branches

Current neuroscience education and research activities can be very roughly categorized into the following major branches, based on the subject and scale of the system in examination as well as distinct experimental or curricular approaches. Individual neuroscientists, however, often work on questions that span several distinct subfields.

Branch	Major topics	Experimental and theoretical methods
Molecular and Cellular neuroscience	behavioral genetics, neurocytology, glia, protein trafficking, ion channel, synapse, action potential, neurotransmitters, neuroimmunology	PCR, immunohistochemistry, patch clamp, voltage clamp, molecular cloning, gene knockout, biochemical assays, linkage analysis, fluorescent in situ hybridization, Southern blots, DNA microarray, green fluorescent protein, calcium imaging, two-photon microscopy, HPLC, microdialysis
Behavioral neuroscience	biological psychology, circadian rhythms, neuroendocrinology, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, neurotransmitters, homeostasis, dimorphic sexual-behavior, motor control, sensory processing, photo reception, organizational/activational effects of hormones, drug/alcohol effects	animal models (gene knockout), in situ hybridization, golgi stain, fMRI, immunohistochemistry, functional genomics, PET, pattern recognition, EEG, MEG
Systems neuroscience	primary visual cortex, perception, audition, sensory integration, population coding, Pain and nociception, spontaneous and evoked activity, color vision, olfaction, taste, motor system, spinal cord, sleep, homeostasis, arousal, attention	single unit recording, intrinsic signal imaging, microstimulation, voltage sensitive dyes, fMRI, patch clamp, genomics, training awake behaving animals, local field potential, ROC, cortical cooling, calcium imaging, two-photon microscopy
Developmental neuroscience	axon guidance, neural crest, growth factors, growth cone, neuromuscular junction, cell proliferation, neuronal differentiation, cell survival and apoptosis, synaptic formation, motor differentiation, injury and regeneration	Xenopus oocyte, protein chemistry, genomics, Drosophila, Hox gene
Cognitive neuroscience	attention, cognitive control, behavioral genetics, decision making, emotion, language, memory, motivation, motor learning, perception, sexual behavior, social neuroscience	experimental designs from cognitive psychology, psychometrics, EEG, MEG, fMRI, PET, SPECT, single unit recording, human genetics
Theoretical and computational neuroscience	cable theory, Hodgkin-Huxley model, neural networks, voltage-gated currents, Hebbian learning	Markov chain Monte Carlo, simulated annealing, high performance computing, partial differential equations, self-organizing nets, pattern recognition, swarm intelligence
Diseases and aging	dementia, peripheral neuropathy, spinal cord injury, autonomic nervous system, depression, anxiety, Parkinson's disease, addiction, memory loss	clinical trials, neuropharmacology, deep brain stimulation, neurosurgery
Neural engineering	Neuroprosthetic, brain-computer interface
Neurolinguistics	language, Broca's area, generative grammar, language acquisition, syntax
Neuroscience Studies	Neuroscience education: undergraduate models, best practices, interface of neuroscience with all liberal arts disciplines, neuroscience and society, philosophy of neuroscience, interdisciplinary research, neuroscience and popular culture, neuroscience and the media

Note: In 1990s, neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp coined the term "affective neuroscience"^[3] to emphasize that emotion research should be a branch of neurosciences, distinguishable from the nearby fields like cognitive neuroscience or behavioral neuroscience. Molecular Neuroscience is a branch of Neuroscience that examines the biology of the nervous system with Molecular biology, Molecular genetics and related The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living Organisms It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living and is often called Behavioural genetics is the field of Biology that studies the role of Genetics in Animal (including Human) Behaviour. Glial cells, commonly called neuroglia or simply glia (Greek for "glue" are non- Neuronal cells that provide support and nutrition Ion channels are pore-forming Proteins that help establish and control the small Voltage Gradient across the Plasma membrane of all living Chemical synapses are specialized junctions through which Neurons signal to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in Muscles or Glands In Neurophysiology, the action potential is a self-regenerating Wave of Electrochemical activity that allows Nerve cells to carry a signal See Chemical synapse for an introduction to concepts and terminology used in this article Neuroimmunology is a growing branch of Biomedical science that studies of all aspects of the interactions between the Immune system and Nervous system. Immunohistochemistry or IHC refers to the process of localizing proteins in cells of a tissue section exploiting the principle of antibodies binding specifically The patch clamp technique is a Laboratory technique in Electrophysiology that allows the study of single or multiple Ion channels in cells The voltage clamp is used by electrophysiologists to measure the Ion currents across a neuronal membrane while holding the membrane Molecular cloning refers to the procedure of isolating a defined DNA sequence and obtaining multiple copies of it In vivo. A gene knockout is a genetic technique in which an organism is engineered to carry genes that have been made inoperative (have been "knocked out" of the organism Genetic linkage occurs when particular genetic loci or Alleles for genes are inherited jointly FISH ( Fluorescent In situ hybridization) is a cytogenetic technique that can be used to detect and localize the presence or absence A Southern blot is a method routinely used in Molecular biology to check for the presence of a DNA sequence in a DNA sample For terminology see glossary below A DNA microarray is a High-throughput technology used in Molecular biology and in The green fluorescent protein ( GFP) is composed of 238 Amino acids (26 Calcium imaging is a scientific technique usually carried out in research which is designed to show the Calcium (Ca2+ status of a tissue or medium Two-photon excitation microscopy is a Fluorescence imaging technique that allows imaging living tissue up to a depth of one millimeter High-performance liquid chromatography (or High pressure liquid chromatography, HPLC) is a form of Column chromatography used frequently in Biochemistry Microdialysis is a technique used to determine the chemical components of the fluid in the Extracellular space of tissues A microdialysis probe which is inserted In Psychology, biological psychology, also known as biopsychology, psychobiology, or behavioral neuroscience is the application of the principles In Psychology, biological psychology, also known as biopsychology, psychobiology, or behavioral neuroscience is the application of the principles Neuroendocrinology is the study of the interactions between the Nervous system and the Endocrine system. The Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (also HPTA) is a way of referring to the combined effects of the Hypothalamus, Pituitary gland, and Gonads The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis ( HPA or HTPA axis) also known as the Limbic -hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (LHPA axis is a complex set of direct influences See Chemical synapse for an introduction to concepts and terminology used in this article Homeostasis (from Greek: ὅμος hómos, "equal" and ιστημι istēmi, "to stand" lit A motor skill is generally agreed as a learned skill that involves voluntary movement to complete a task An animal model is a non-human Animal that has a Disease or injury that is similar to a human condition A gene knockout is a genetic technique in which an organism is engineered to carry genes that have been made inoperative (have been "knocked out" of the organism In situ hybridization (ISH is a type of hybridization that uses a labeled Complementary DNA or RNA strand (i Golgi's method is a Nervous tissue Staining technique discovered by Italian Physician and Scientist Camillo Golgi (1843-1926 Functional MRI or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI is a type of specialized MRI scan Immunohistochemistry or IHC refers to the process of localizing proteins in cells of a tissue section exploiting the principle of antibodies binding specifically Functional genomics is a field of Molecular biology that attempts to make use of the vast wealth of data produced by genomic projects (such as genome sequencing projects Positron emission tomography ( PET) is a Nuclear medicine imaging technique which produces a three-dimensional image or map of functional processes in the Pattern recognition is a sub-topic of Machine learning. It is "the act of taking in raw data and taking an action based on the category of the data" Systems neuroscience is a subdiscipline of neuroscience which studies the function of neural circuits and systems most commonly in awake behaving intact Organisms It is an The term visual cortex refers to the primary visual cortex (also known as striate cortex or In Psychology and the Cognitive sciences perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory Information. Sensory integration is defined as the neurological process that organizes sensation from one's own body and the environment thus making it possible to use the body effectively Population encoding is a means by which information about something is encoded in a group of neurons Pain, in the sense of physical pain, is a typical sensory experience that may be described as the unpleasant awareness of a noxious stimulus or bodily harm Nociception (synonym nociperception is defined as "the neural processes of encoding and processing Noxious stimuli. Color vision is the capacity of an organism or machine to distinguish objects based on the Wavelengths (or frequencies) of the Light they reflect or emit Olfaction (also known as olfactics or smell) refers to the Sense of smell. Taste (or more formally gustation) is a form of direct Chemoreception and is one of the traditional five Senses The motor system is the part of the peripheral nervous system that is involved to movement The spinal cord is a long thin tubular bundle of Nerves that is an extension of the Central nervous system from the brain and is enclosed in and protected Sleep is a Natural state of bodily rest observed throughout the animal kingdom Homeostasis (from Greek: ὅμος hómos, "equal" and ιστημι istēmi, "to stand" lit Arousal is a physiological and psychological state of being awake Attention is the Cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things Microstimulation is a technique that stimulates a group of nerve cells by zapping them with a small electrical current Functional MRI or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI is a type of specialized MRI scan The patch clamp technique is a Laboratory technique in Electrophysiology that allows the study of single or multiple Ion channels in cells Genomics is the study of an organism's entire Genome. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale Genetic Behavior or behaviour (see spelling differences) refers to the actions or Reactions of an object or Organism, usually A local field potential (LFP is a particular class of Electrophysiological signals which is related to the sum of all Dendritic synaptic activity Calcium imaging is a scientific technique usually carried out in research which is designed to show the Calcium (Ca2+ status of a tissue or medium Two-photon excitation microscopy is a Fluorescence imaging technique that allows imaging living tissue up to a depth of one millimeter The study of neural development draws on both Neuroscience and Developmental biology to describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which complex Nervous Axon guidance (also called axon pathfinding) is a subfield of Neural development concerning the process by which Neurons send out Axons to reach The neural crest, a transient component of the Ectoderm, is located in between the Neural tube and the epidermis (or the free margins of the Neural folds The term growth factor refers to a naturally occurring Protein capable of stimulating cellular growth proliferation and Cellular differentiation. A growth cone is a dynamic Actin -supported extension of a developing Axon seeking its synaptic target A neuromuscular junction ( NMJ) is the Synapse or junction of the Axon terminal of a Motoneuron with the motor end plate, the The term cell growth is used in two different ways in Biology. Xenopus (L strange foot) are a genus of Carnivorous Frog native to An oocyte, ovocyte, or rarely ocyte, is a female Gametocyte or Germ cell involved in reproduction. Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living Organisms It deals with the Structure and function of cellular components such as Genomics is the study of an organism's entire Genome. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale Genetic Drosophila is a Genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" Homeotic genes specify the anterior-posterior axis and segment identity Cognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrate underlying Cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates Attention is the Cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things The executive system is a theorized Cognitive system in Psychology that controls and manages other cognitive processes Behavioural genetics is the field of Biology that studies the role of Genetics in Animal (including Human) Behaviour. Decision making can be regarded as an outcome of mental processes ( cognitive process) leading to the selection of a course of action among several alternatives An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them In Psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store retain and subsequently retrieve information Motivation is the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior especially Human behavior as studied in Philosophy, Conflict, Economics Motor learning is the process of improving the Motor skills the smoothness and accuracy of movements In Psychology and the Cognitive sciences perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory Information. Human sexual behavior or different human sexual practices encompass a wide range of activities such as strategies to find or attract partners ( Mating and display Social neuroscience is an Interdisciplinary field that utilizes the Complementary insights and approaches of Neuroscience and Social science Cognitive psychology is a branch of Psychology that investigates internal mental processes such as problem solving memory and language Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of Educational and Psychological Measurement, which includes the measurement Functional MRI or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI is a type of specialized MRI scan Positron emission tomography ( PET) is a Nuclear medicine imaging technique which produces a three-dimensional image or map of functional processes in the Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT or less commonly SPET is a Nuclear medicine tomographic imaging technique using Gamma rays. Human genetics describes the study of inheritance as it occurs in Human beings. Computational neuroscience is an interdisciplinary science that links the diverse fields of Neuroscience, Cognitive science, Electrical engineering, Classical cable theory describes the development of mathematical models that can calculate the flow of electric current (and accompanying Voltage) along passive neuronal The Hodgkin–Huxley model is a Scientific model that describes how Action potentials in Neurons are initiated and propagated Traditionally the term neural network had been used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. Hebbian theory describes a basic mechanism for Synaptic plasticity wherein an increase in synaptic efficacy arises from the Presynaptic cell's repeated Simulated annealing (SA is a generic probabilistic Meta-algorithm for the Global optimization problem namely locating a good approximation to the High-performance computing (HPC uses Supercomputers and Computer clusters to solve advanced computing problems In Mathematics, partial differential equations ( PDE) are a type of Differential equation, i A self-organizing map (SOM is a type of Artificial neural network that is trained using Unsupervised learning to produce a low-dimensional (typically two dimensional Pattern recognition is a sub-topic of Machine learning. It is "the act of taking in raw data and taking an action based on the category of the data" Swarm intelligence (SI is Artificial intelligence based on the Collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized systems Dementia (from Latin de- "apart away" + Mens ( genitive mentis) "mind" is the progressive decline Peripheral neuropathy is the term for damage to Nerves of the Peripheral nervous system, which may be caused either by diseases of the Nerve or from the Spinal cord injury causes myelopathy or damage to white matter or myelinated fiber tracts that carry sensation and motor signals to and from the brain &trade The autonomic nervous system ( ANS) (or visceral nervous system) is the part of the Peripheral nervous system that acts as a Control Major depressive disorder, also known as major depression, unipolar depression, unipolar disorder, clinical depression, or simply depression Anxiety is a physiological and psychological state characterized by Cognitive, Somatic, Emotional and Behavioral components Parkinson's disease (also known as Parkinson disease or PD) is a degenerative disorder of the Central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's The term " addiction " is used in many contexts to describe an obsession compulsion or excessive Physical dependence or psychological dependence such as Memory loss can have many causes Alzheimer's disease is an illness which can cause mild to severe memory loss In health care clinical trials are conducted to allow safety and Efficacy data to be collected for new drugs or devices Neuropharmacology is concerned with drug-induced changes in the functioning of cells in the nervous system In Neurotechnology, deep brain stimulation ( DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a medical device called a Brain pacemaker Neurosurgery is the surgical discipline focused on treating those central, Peripheral nervous system and spinal column diseases amenable to surgical Neural engineering is a discipline that uses engineering techniques to understand repair replace enhance or treat the diseases of neural systems Neuroprosthetics (also called Neural Prosthetics is a discipline related to Neuroscience and Biomedical engineering concerned with developing neural prostheses A brain-computer interface (BCI sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain-machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal Neurolinguistics is the science concerned with the human brain mechanisms underlying the comprehension production and abstract knowledge of Language, be it spoken A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them Broca's area is a section of the human brain that is involved in Language processing, speech or sign production and comprehension In Theoretical linguistics, generative grammar refers to a particular approach to the study of Syntax. One hotly debated issue is whether the biological contribution includes capacities specific to language acquisition often referred to as Universal grammar. In Linguistics, syntax (from Ancient Greek grc συν- syn-, "together" and grc τάξις táxis, "arrangement" is the Neurophilosophy is the interdisciplinary study of Neuroscience and Philosophy. In Academia, Pedagogy, Physical sciences, Earth sciences, Human sciences and Social sciences More recently, the social aspect of the emotional brain has been integrated in what is called "social-affective neuroscience".

There has also been some research published arguing that some of fair play and the Golden Rule may be stated and rooted in terms of neuroscientific and neuroethical principles. Neuroethics is most commonly understood to be the subcategory of Bioethics concerned with Neuroscience and Neurotechnology. ^[4]

Major Themes of Research

Neuroscience research from different areas can also be seen as focusing on a set of specific themes and questions. (Some of these are taken from http://www.northwestern.edu/nuin/fac/index.htm)

Behavior/Cognition/Language Biological Rhythms Brain Imaging or neuroimaging Cell Biology Cell Imaging & Electrophysiology Computational neuroscience Development Hearing Sciences Language Learning/Memory Mechanisms of Drug Action Molecular Neuroscience Motor Control

Neurobiology of Disease Neuroethology Neuroendocrinology Neuroimmunology Signal transduction Systems Neuroscience Universal Grammar Vision Sciences Neurobiology of the neuron Sensation and perception Sleep Autonomic systems and homeostasis Arousal, attention and emotion Genetics of the nervous system Injury of the nervous systems

Allied and Overlapping Fields

Neuroscience, by its very interdiciplinary nature, overlaps with and encompasses many different subjects. Chronobiology is a field of Science that examines periodic (cyclic phenomena in living organisms and their adaptation to solar and lunar related rhythms Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/ Pharmacology of the Brain See also List of basic cell biology topics. Cell biology (also called cellular biology or formerly cytology, from the Electrophysiology (from Greek grc ἥλεκτρον ēlektron, "amber" the [[Electron#Etymology|etymology of "electron"]] grc φύσις Computational neuroscience is an interdisciplinary science that links the diverse fields of Neuroscience, Cognitive science, Electrical engineering, A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them In the fields of Neuropsychology, Personal development and Education, Learning is one of the most important Mental function of humans In Psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store retain and subsequently retrieve information Molecular Neuroscience is a branch of Neuroscience that examines the biology of the nervous system with Molecular biology, Molecular genetics and related A motor skill is generally agreed as a learned skill that involves voluntary movement to complete a task Neurobiology is the study of cells of the Nervous system and the organization of these cells into functional circuits that process information and mediate behavior Neuroethology ("neuro" Greek related to Nerve cells, "ethos" Greek habit or custom is an evolutionary and comparative approach to the study of animal behavior Neuroendocrinology is the study of the interactions between the Nervous system and the Endocrine system. Neuroimmunology is a growing branch of Biomedical science that studies of all aspects of the interactions between the Immune system and Nervous system. In Biology, signal transduction refers to any process by which a cell converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another Systems neuroscience is a subdiscipline of neuroscience which studies the function of neural circuits and systems most commonly in awake behaving intact Organisms It is an Universal grammar is a theory of Linguistics postulating principles of Grammar shared by all languages thought to be innate to humans ( linguistic nativism Vision science is the Science dedicated to the Interdisciplinary study of Visual perception and the Visual system. In Psychology, sensation is the first stage in the biochemical and neurologic events that begins with the impinging of a stimulus upon the receptor cells of a In Psychology and the Cognitive sciences perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory Information. Sleep is a Natural state of bodily rest observed throughout the animal kingdom Below is a list of related subjects and fields.

Aphasiology Biological psychology Cognitive Science Evolutionary neuroscience Generative grammar Machine Learning Metaplasticity Neural Networks Neural engineering Neuroanatomy Neurobiology

Neurochemistry Neuroeconomics Neuroergonomics Neuroendocrinology Neuroesthetics Neuroethics Neuroethology Neurogenetics Neurogenomics Neuroheuristic

Neuroimaging Neurolinguistics Neuromarketing Neuropharmacology Neurophenomenology Neurophilosophy Neurophysics Neurophysiology Neuroproteomics Neuroprosthetics

Neuropsychiatry Neuropsychology Neuropsychopharmacology Neurotheology (also Biotheology) Psychiatry Psychoneuroimmunology Psychopharmacology Psychobiology Vision

Future directions

Main article: Unsolved problems in neuroscience

See also

• Brain types
• List of neuroscience topics
• List of neuroscientists
• Important publications in neuroscience
• Mind scientist
• Neuroscience journals

References

Citations

Textbooks

• Bear, M. F. ; B. W. Connors, and M. A. Paradiso (2001). Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. Baltimore: Lippincott. ISBN 0-7817-3944-6.  
• Kandel, ER; Schwartz JH, Jessell TM (2000). Eric Richard Kandel (born November 7, 1929) is a Psychiatrist, a neuroscientist and Professor of Biochemistry Principles of Neural Science, 4th ed. First published in 1981 by Elsevier, Principles of Neural Science is a Neuroscience Textbook edited by Eric R , New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-8385-7701-6.  
• Squire, L. et al. (2003). Fundamental Neuroscience, 2nd edition. Academic Press; ISBN 0-12-660303-0
• Byrne and Roberts (2004). From Molecules to Networks. Academic Press; ISBN 0-12-148660-5
• Sanes, Reh, Harris (2005). Development of the Nervous System, 2nd edition. Academic Press; ISBN 0-12-618621-9
• Siegel et al. (2005). Basic Neurochemistry, 7th edition. Academic Press; ISBN 0-12-088397-X
• Rieke, F. et al. (1999). Spikes: Exploring the Neural Code. The MIT Press; Reprint edition ISBN 0-262-68108-0

Online textbooks

• Neuroscience 2nd ed. The MIT Press is a University press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT in Cambridge Massachusetts ( USA) Dale Purves, George J. Augustine, David Fitzpatrick, Lawrence C. Katz, Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, James O. McNamara, S. Mark Williams. Published by Sinauer Associates, Inc. , 2001.
• Basic Neurochemistry: Molecular, Cellular, and Medical Aspects 6th ed. by George J. Siegel, Bernard W. Agranoff, R. Wayne Albers, Stephen K. Fisher, Michael D. Uhler, editors. Published by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 1999.

Popular works

• Andreasen, Nancy C. (March 4 2004). Nancy Coover Andreasen, is a prominent American neuroscientist and neuropsychiatrist. Brave New Brain: Conquering Mental Illness in the Era of the Genome. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195145090.  
• Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. New York, Avon Books. ISBN 0-399-13894-3 (Hardcover) ISBN 0-380-72647-5 (Paperback)
• Gardner, H. (1976). The Shattered Mind: The Person After Brain Damage. New York, Vintage Books, 1976 ISBN 0-394-71946-8
• Goldstein, K. (2000). The Organism. New York, Zone Books. ISBN 0-942299-96-5 (Hardcover) ISBN 0-942299-97-3 (Paperback)
• Llinas R. (2001). I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-12233-2 (Hardcover) ISBN 0-262-62163-0 (Paperback)
• Luria, A. R. (1997). The Man with a Shattered World: The History of a Brain Wound. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-224-00792-0 (Hardcover) ISBN 0-674-54625-3 (Paperback)
• Luria, A. R. (1998). The Mind of a Mnemonist: A Little Book About A Vast Memory. New York, Basic Books, Inc. ISBN 0-674-57622-5
• Medina, J. (2008). Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle, Pear Press. ISBN 0-979-777704 (Hardcover with DVD)
• Pinker, S. (1999). How the Mind Works. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-31848-6
• Pinker, S. (2002). The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. Viking Adult. ISBN 0-670-03151-8
• Ramachandran, V. S. (1998). Phantoms in the Brain. New York, New York Harper Collins. ISBN 0-688-15247-3 (Paperback)
• Rose, S. (2006). 21st Century Brain: Explaining, Mending & Manipulating the Mind ISBN 0099429772 (Paperback)
• Sacks, O. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales is a 1985 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks describing the case histories of some of his patients Summit Books ISBN 0-671-55471-9 (Hardcover) ISBN 0-06-097079-0 (Paperback)
• Sacks, O. (1990). Awakenings. New York, Vintage Books. (See also Oliver Sacks) ISBN 0-671-64834-9 (Hardcover) ISBN 0-06-097368-4 (Paperback)
• Sternberg, E. Oliver Wolf Sacks, CBE (born July 9, 1933, London is a British Neurologist residing in the United States who has written popular books about (2007) Are You a Machine? The Brain, the Mind and What it Means to be Human. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

Notes From Online Courses

• Intro to Neuroscience – Smith College Spring 2005

External links

• The Human Brain Project Homepage
• High-Resolution Cytoarchitectural Primate Brain Atlases
• Society for Neuroscience
• Neural Plasticity-Open Access Journal (Hindawi Publishing)
• Neuroscience. 2nd ed. by Purves et al (online textbook)
• Neuroscience News, Books, Links, Forum and Gifts
• Neuroscience for Kids
• Brain Research and Information Network B.R.A.I.N.
• Neuroscience Forum
• UCL Neuroscience

Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton Massachusetts.

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic