Intro to Neuroscience

June 30, 2023 By: The Neuro Nugget

Neuroscience is not often brought up in day to day conversations, but the rare times that it is, you may find yourself wondering what the study of neurology or neuroscience really is.

What exactly is neuroscience?

Well, Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system; The prefix "Neuro" meaning nerves or relating to the nervous system. Your nervous system is composed of two major parts; the central nervous system contains the brain and spinal cord, while the peripheral nervous system contains the nerves that allow you to feel sensations in your fingers and toes. Within the field of neuroscience you can explore the anatomy, development, and functions of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, as well as dive deeper into the intersection of neuroscience and psychology to see the effects of neuroscience on behavior and human cognition.

Why is Neuroscience Important

Neuroscience is the foundation of human cognition and is the facilitator of how and why we are able to go through living our day to day lives. The brain controls majority of what we do; it controls our voluntary functions, such as our motor functions while also controlling our autonomic functions (things that our body does without us having to think about them), such as regulating our heartbeat and keeping blood pumping throughout our body.

You don't have to be a neurologist or research scientist or even understand the abundance of complex studies in the world in order to know the importance that neuroscience has in your own life. Just being exposed to the mechanisms behind nervous system can help you understand your body better, give you insight on how to take care of brain health as you age, gain awareness on the various diseases and disorders affecting the nervous system, and perhaps, make you feel like your in on a little secret knowing how the brain works in relation to other systems of the body to sustain life as we know it.

Recap

The study of the nervous system is a complex but interesting one. There are s many reasons to get involved with neuroscience, whether for research, medicine, or personal health, the information in neuroscience should be shared far and wide. This post only scraped the surface of the intricacy of neuroscience, but feel free to leave a comment detailing your interest in neuroscience or brain health.

If your interested in learning more, explore the Neuro Nugget for new nuggets of information via blog posts, surveys, and factoids.