Neuroscientist

A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, neural circuits, and glial cells, and their behavioral, biological, and psychological roles in health and disease.

[1] Neuroscientists generally work as researchers within a college, university, government agency, or private industry setting.

[7] Imaging techniques allow scientists to observe physical changes in the brain and spinal cord, as signals occur.

Once finished with their graduate studies, neuroscientists may continue doing postdoctoral work to gain more lab experience and explore new laboratory methods.

In their undergraduate years, neuroscientists typically take physical and life science courses to gain a foundation in the field of research.

[9] Behavioral neuroscience encompasses the whole nervous system, environment and the brain how these areas show us aspects of motivation, learning, and motor skills along with many others.

In terms of neuroscience, Galen described the seven cranial nerves' functions along with giving a foundational understanding of the spinal cord.

[14] Medieval beliefs generally held true the proposals of Galen, including the attribution of mental processes to specific ventricles in the brain.

[12] Andreas Vesalius redirected the study of neuroscience away from the anatomical focus; he considered the attribution of functions based on location to be crude.

Pushing away from the superficial proposals made by Galen and medieval beliefs, Vesalius did not believe that studying anatomy would lead to any significant advances in the understanding of thinking and the brain.

One recent behavioral study is that of phenylketonuria (PKU), a disorder that heavily damages the brain due to toxic levels of the amino acid phenylalanine.

Neuroscientists then provided a model for what was occurring and concluded that infants did in fact have these neurons that fired when watching and mimicking facial expressions.

They found that the rats who were deprived of nurture from the mother for just one hour had reduced functions in processes like DNA synthesis and hormone secretion.

[15] Michael Meaney and his colleagues found that the offspring of mother rats who provided significant nurture and attention tended to show less fear, responded more positively to stress, and functioned at higher levels and for longer times when fully mature.

Stress levels were also lower in babies that were nurtured regularly and cognitive development was also higher due to increased touch.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal , the father of modern neuroscience and a Spanish neuroscientist, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1906 for his discovery of the neuron doctrine . He shared the prize with Camillo Golgi , an Italian neuroscientist who was recognized for his staining technique that allowed neurons to be visualized.
Camillo Golgi (1843–1926), Italian physician, neuroscientist, and namesake of the Golgi apparatus
A dissected sheep brain
Hieroglyphic stating the word, "brain", dated to 1700 BC. This work is considered a copy of an original writing as old as 3000 BC.
L-phenylalanine
May-Britt Moser , co-winner of 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Eric Kandel , co-winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine