What is Neuroscience?
The word “neuroscience” is relatively new, however, the study of the brain is almost as old as man himself. Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system and how it regulates behavior. Explaining this interaction has been described as one of the "last frontiers" in science, as it is marked with many exciting and unresolved challenges. This interdisciplinary field allows scientists to share a common interest in studying the anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and function of the central nervous system. Historically, scientists devoted themselves to an understanding of the nervous system utilizing techniques from within a discipline such as Medicine, Biology, and Psychology. Today, neuroscience is quite eclectic, with other disciplines such as Computer Science, which have areas emerging that focus on neuroscience. Central to neuroscience are questions such as:
• What are the neurobiological substrates of knowledge acquisition, processing, and memory?
• What neural circuit(s) mediate our responding to stimuli in our environment?
• What are the short- and long-term neural consequences of drug abuse?
• What are the molecular mechanisms underlying psychiatric and neurological disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's Disease?
• How does the brain rewire itself after a traumatic injury?
The list of questions is nearly endless! The very nature of this list of questions changes and grows as we continue to learn more about the workings of the nervous system.
In 1989, President H.W. Bush signed into law a resolution declaring the 1990's as the "Decade of the Brain". This recognition reflected how the field of neuroscience has matured and grown in importance in a relatively short period of time. A good example of maturity and growth is illustrated by the evolution of the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (SFN). Since its inception in 1969, it has grown tremendously from 500 members to nearly 39,000 (as of 2008), and is the world's largest organization of scientists devoted to the study of the brain. The initial membership in the 1970's provided a few hundred presentations (e.g., posters, talks, symposia) at each annual meeting. Recently, members from a wide variety of disciplines contribute to more than 10,000 presentations. SFN also publishes The Journal of Neuroscience, a well-respected academic journal. A 1990 survey of neuroscience programs (Neuroscience Training Programs in North America) showed that the number of undergraduate neuroscience programs had increased 385% in 25 years and that the number of graduate programs had increased 247% in the same period. The Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs now lists hundreds of neuroscience programs on their website and this number has been increasing dramatically as more programs are developed each year.
The Program at ECU
The interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience makes it increasingly difficult for undergraduates majoring in one discipline (e.g., biology, chemistry, psychology) to prepare for careers in this field. At ECU, this major is designed to provide students with an interdisciplinary background that will allow them to pursue a career in neuroscience and a wide variety of other fields. The program is not only designed for students desiring to pursue a career in neuroscience research, but is also an excellent program for students desiring a career in medicine or other health-related professions. The requirements of the program almost totally overlap with the undergraduate courses required by most medical schools (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Physics).
The BA/BS program includes strong grounding in the basic sciences, a core of required courses, research experience in neuroscience, a two-semester Capstone sequence, and many electives. The required core includes an introduction to neuroscience, a statistics course, and a two-semester senior thesis. The large selection of electives permits a student to learn about many neuroscience-related areas or to concentrate on a single area.
Why Study Neuroscience at ECU?
Students studying the relatively new and rapidly growing field of neuroscience are given a comprehensive and systematic introduction to this field. Seminars, lectures, laboratory research experiences, and internships are designed to give students:
- An understanding of the molecular, cellular, biochemical, physiological mechanisms and processes underlying nervous system functioning, behavior, and psychological processes.
- A fundamental understanding of the basic scientific method and many of the basic research techniques used by neuroscientists.
- A major that is flexible enough for students to select courses for themselves that will prepare them for a wide variety of career options. Just a few examples of career options a neuroscience major might include:
- Graduate study in neuroscience, neurophysiology, psychobiology, experimental psychology, neuropsychology, neuropharmacology, neural network modeling. Successful completion of graduate study (usually with a Ph.D.) may then lead to a career in academia (i.e., faculty/scientist), private industry, or government work.
- Pursuit and acquisition of a medical degree or practitioner license in health-care areas such as physical therapy and neurorehabilitation.
- Laboratory technician in an academic research laboratory, private industry (e.g., biotech, pharmaceuticals), public institutions (e.g., hospitals). With an M.A. or Ph.D., one may become a research scientist and command significantly higher pay than a lab technician.
- Non-science occupations where employers prefer liberal arts-educated individuals with good analytical and problem-solving abilities, as well as excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
In so many ways the combination of psychology, biology, and chemistry courses with the general core of ECU, makes the neuroscience curriculum the quintessential example of a liberal arts major. The multidisciplinary curriculum of the neuroscience major is wonderful for students who are simply interested in understanding the nature of brain-behavior relationships and how these relationships can affect the human condition. For instance, students majoring in philosophy who have interests in mind-body issues may want to study neuroscience as part of their curriculum. The Neuroscience program evolved as an interdisciplinary field that is attracting more and more interest as we learn about the inner workings of the brain and how it controls behavior. Although the ingredients for a Neuroscience major at ECU have been taught for many years, the major itself was not offered until 2000 (and not without the diligent efforts of Dr. Larry Means, retired). Research opportunities exist in quantitative electrophysiology of cells and tissues, signal transduction, molecular biology, epilepsy, brain mapping, cognitive, behavioral, and computational neuroscience, just to name a few. The program is designed to bring together, under one umbrella, the large number of our faculty that proudly identify themselves as neuroscientists. Neuroscience faculty are found in twelve departments within the College of Arts and Sciences, the Brody School of Medicine, the School of Allied Health, and the School of Health and Human Performance.
If you have at least a 3.0 overall GPA, have enough credit hours for declaring a major, are highly motivated, very eager to learn, have high standards for work ethics, and have high tolerance for many challenges, then contact Dr. Tran for more information. General inquiries are always welcome as well.
