The Branches of Neuroscience

From molecules to minds: a map of the sub-fields of neuroscience — molecular, cellular, systems, cognitive, computational, clinical and more — and what each one actually studies.

Because the nervous system can be studied at so many scales, neuroscience has grown into a family of overlapping sub-fields. Most working neuroscientists belong to one or two, and borrow methods from the rest.

From the smallest scale up

Molecular neuroscience studies the proteins, genes and chemicals of the nervous system: ion channels, receptors, neurotransmitters and the genes that build them. Cellular neuroscience studies how individual neurons and glial cells work — how they fire, grow and connect. Systems neuroscience studies circuits and networks: how groups of neurons work together to produce vision, movement or memory.

Behavioral neuroscience (sometimes called biological psychology) links brain activity to behaviour, often in animals. Cognitive neuroscience studies the brain basis of mental processes such as attention, language, memory and decision-making, frequently using brain imaging in people.

Theory, development and clinic

Computational neuroscience uses mathematics and computer models to explain how neural circuits compute. Developmental neuroscience studies how the nervous system builds itself from a single fertilised egg. Clinical neuroscience covers the disorders: neurology deals with conditions such as stroke, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease, psychiatry with conditions such as depression and schizophrenia, and neurosurgery operates on the brain, spine and nerves.

Newer and cross-over fields

Newer branches keep appearing: neuroengineering (brain-computer interfaces, neural prosthetics), social neuroscience (the brain in relationships and groups), affective neuroscience (emotion), neuroeconomics (the biology of choice and value), neuroimmunology (the brain and the immune system), neurogenetics, and neuroethics, which asks what all this knowledge means for privacy, responsibility and identity.