A Career In Neuroscience

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Neuroscience Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system and its various components. All the hype began in the 1970s when it became possible to probe the brain nerve function without surgery. From there, research and interest has exponentially increased. With the integration of imaging techniques like PET (Position Emission Tomography) allowing scientists to provide images of a working brain, neuroscience is a hot topic of research (Lerner). I will discuss what the job entails, why I would like to pursue it, and the specific field within neuroscience that I’m interested in. The brain is 1.3 kg full of millions of individual nerve cells and millions of additional cells called glia. All of these cells are collectively responsible for our …show more content…
I want to combine my interest in neuroscience with my interest in criminals and forensics. Psychopaths think differently than the average person. My uncle is a neuroscientist at Duke University and I used to spend my summers with him at his work at a young age. He analyzes the brains of psychopaths, which I find extremely fascinating. He would examine the images of a psychopathic brain and compare them to the brain of someone who is normal and healthy. He looks for patterns, similarities, and differences in both types of images. It seems like it would be obvious--the similarities and differences--but it’s really not at all. I hope to carry on his work and make new discoveries that no one else has. While this is a far fetched goal, I want to make a difference in the way we look at the …show more content…
Psychopathy is a serious mental health disorder. People with psychopathy are glib with a lack of empathy, guilt, and remorse (Kiehl). Psychopaths are 20-25 times more likely to be in prison and 4-8 times more likely to violently act out on a regular basis (Kiehl and Hoffman). I find the brain chemistry of these people extremely interesting as they truly are another breed. I want to further explore the question of: can psychopaths be held responsible for their actions if they have a mental illness? If their brain chemistry is genuinely not like others, is it their fault for following their thoughts (Blakey et al)? Little is known about the brain disturbances that take place in those with psychopathy, which is why I want to conduct more research on the