Students in the neuroscience department are mainly learning the basic functions of the brain. Since neuroscience is stilly very much being explored, there is only a certain amount of information that can be learned. There is a very basic (relatively speaking) foundation in neuroscience that must be learned in order to explore the brain further.
Careers
There are many different fields in which a neuroscientist can enter. While all jobs involve a similar goal, to diagnose or explain the brain's behavior, there are a lot of deferent areas in which someone can enter. For example, I could choose between working with athletes or children. Given how complicated the brain is, it is better to specialize in a specific area.
Interest
What drew me into neuroscience was wanting to study psychedelic drugs. After researching how beneficial they could be in helping people with conditions like PTSD, addiction, and depression, I was immediately intrigued and decided I wanted to study neuroscience to explore these possibilities.
Leaders in the Field
One of the most influential leaders for me is MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies). They are a nonprofit that aims to conduct research on psychedelics. I admire and respect this organization because of how much they want to help people. That is the whole point in their research. I also respect their perseverance in trying to work with our current laws and changing the worlds opinion about psychedelics.
Dr. Carl Hart is another great role model for me. He has dedicated his whole life studying addiction. Like MAPS, he is hoping to educate people and tell the truth about drugs. I respect Dr. Hart in his efforts to educate the public past his research. He will go on news channels, podcasts, and write books about what he finds, in hopes of reaching a larger amount of people. I think the world would be better if more people had this attitude of "education" instead of incarceration.
Dr. Oland is another big influence on me. She is the reason I switched my major from psychology to neuroscience. She is a professor at the U of A and I had the pleasure of taking her elective class last semester. I loved how enthusiastic she was about the brain and it made learning the material very fun. If I can manage to follow through with this career, I would thank her for getting me excited to learn about the subject.
Scholarly Journals
The most popular journal is Nature Review Neuroscience . The most specific place I could find for where the journal is published is the United Kingdom. The journal reaches readers worldwide though.
The second most viewed neuroscience journal is the Annual Review of Neuroscience. This journal started in the 70's with J. Murray Luck. He founded the journal while teaching at Stanford University.
The third most viewed journal is Nature Neuroscience. This journal is actually published by the same company that publishes Nature Review Neuroscience, but this journal claims to be independent from its sibling journal.
No comments:
Post a Comment