The Popular Science Guide To Neuroscience
Neurons MethoxyRoxy via Wikimedia What is neuroscience? Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system, which includes the brain and the spinal cord. It's a broad term encompassing numerous, more specific disciplines, including cognitive, clinical, and developmental neuroscience. History It has long been accepted that the brain is the locus of intelligence and rationality. Yet the ability to efficiently study the processes of the brain--and the nervous system more broadly--eluded scientists until around the turn of the 20th century when improvements to the microscope as well as a new staining procedure (the Golgi stain) allowed scientists to see individual neurons. Another major development during the 19th century was the ability to prove the connection between brain damage and associated symptoms or changes in behavior. Scientists were able to determine what areas of a patient's brain had been damaged, and hypothesized that parts of the brain were associated with certain functions (known as the localization...