Editing Neuroscience (section)

{{Short description|Neuroscience deals with the study of nervous system of many species}}
{{Short description | Scientific study of the nervous system}}
{{For|the journal|Neuroscience (journal){{!}}''Neuroscience'' (journal)}}
{{Redirect|Brain science|other aspects of brain science|cognitive science|and|cognitive psychology|and|neurology|and|neuropsychology}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}

[[File:PurkinjeCell.jpg|right|thumb|260px|Drawing by [[Santiago Ramón y Cajal]] (1899) of [[neuron]]s in the pigeon cerebellum]]

{{TopicTOC-Biology}}

'''Neuroscience''' is the [[science|scientific study]] of the [[nervous system]] (the [[brain]], [[spinal cord]], and [[peripheral nervous system]]), its functions, and its disorders.<ref name=Merriam>{{cite web|title=Neuroscience|work=Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary|date=31 March 2025 |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/medlineplus/neuroscience}}</ref><ref name=DANA>{{cite web|title=Key Brain Terms Glossary|work=Dana Foundation|url=https://www.dana.org/explore-neuroscience/brain-basics/key-brain-terms-glossary/#N}}</ref><ref name=KCL>{{cite web|title=What is neuroscience?|work=King's College London. School of Neuroscience|url=https://www.kcl.ac.uk/neuroscience/about/what-is-neuroscience#:~:text=At%20its%20most%20basic%2C%20neuroscience,primary%20focus%20on%20the%20brain}}</ref> It is a [[Multidisciplinary approach|multidisciplinary]] science that combines [[physiology]], [[anatomy]], [[molecular biology]], [[developmental biology]], [[cytology]], [[psychology]], [[physics]], [[computer science]], [[chemistry]], [[medicine]], [[statistics]], and [[Mathematical Modeling|mathematical modeling]] to understand the fundamental and emergent properties of [[neuron]]s, [[glia]] and [[neural circuit]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Principles of Neural Science, Fifth Edition|last=Kandel|first=Eric R.|publisher=McGraw-Hill Education|year=2012|isbn=978-0071390118|pages=I. Overall perspective}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ea_QVG2BFy8C&q=neuroscience+multidisciplinary&pg=PA688|title=Lexicon of Psychiatry, Neurology and the Neurosciences|last=Ayd|first=Frank J. Jr. |date=2000|publisher=Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins|isbn=978-0781724685|page=688}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfSVcBL7CSMC&q=neuroscience+multidisciplinary&pg=PA59|title=Brain Imaging: What it Can (and Cannot) Tell Us About Consciousness|last=Shulman|first=Robert G.|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199838721|page=59|chapter=Neuroscience: A Multidisciplinary, Multilevel Field}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3CK4BAAAQBAJ&q=neuroscience+multidisciplinary&pg=PR5|title=Methods in Neuroethological Research|last1=Ogawa|first1=Hiroto|last2=Oka|first2=Kotaro|date=2013|publisher=Springer|isbn=9784431543305|page=v}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tanner|first=Kimberly D.|date=2006-01-01|title=Issues in Neuroscience Education: Making Connections|journal=CBE: Life Sciences Education|volume=5|issue=2|page=85|doi=10.1187/cbe.06-04-0156|issn=1931-7913|pmc=1618510}}</ref> The understanding of the biological basis of [[learning]], [[memory]], [[behavior]], [[perception]], and [[consciousness]] has been described by [[Eric Kandel]] as the "epic challenge" of the [[Biology|biological sciences]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Principles of Neural Science, Fifth Edition|last=Kandel|first=Eric R.|publisher=McGraw-Hill Education|year=2012|isbn=978-0071390118|page=5|quote=The last frontier of the biological sciences – their ultimate challenge – is to understand the biological basis of consciousness and the mental processes by which we perceive, act, learn, and remember.}}</ref>

The scope of neuroscience has broadened over time to include different approaches used to study the nervous system at different scales. The techniques used by [[neuroscientist]]s have expanded enormously, from molecular and [[cell biology|cellular]] studies of individual neurons to [[neuroimaging|imaging]] of [[Sensory neuron|sensory]], [[Motor neuron|motor]] and [[Cognition|cognitive]] tasks in the brain.