Question by Imad N: What are the difference between these Neuro- terms?
I am confused between these terms:
neurology
neuroscience
neurophysiology
neuropsychology
Can you please tell me what is the difference between them
Best answer:
Answer by jannsody
The “merriam-webster dictionary” (as opposed to “just” websters) defines “neurology” as “the scientific study of the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, nerves) especially in respect to its structure, functions, and abnormalities.” (Just an fyi that “ology” means “the study of”, and “neuro” stands for “nerve,” “nervous tissue” or “nervous system”.) Therefore, a neurologist is a medical doctor (licensed physician) who specializes in those with disorders of the nervous system.
I’m just an everyday person, but neuroscience deals with the study and research of disorders of the nervous system. A neuroscientist usually has a Ph.D. in order to possibly get a job performing clinical research. People interested in neuroscience may first get a bachelor’s in cognitive (thought processes) science and/or linguistics (but not necessarily “just” those major/s).
The “medi lexicon” site — and just an fyi that the url/uniform resource locator is “.com” which usually means commercial or for-profit — merely defines neurophysiology as “physiology of the nervous system” 🙂 According to the same site, a physiology is “the science concerned with *normal* vital processes of animal and vegetable organisms rather than to their anatomic structure, the biochemical composition, or how they are by drugs or disease.”
With regard to neuropsychology, it is the study of how the brain affects behavior. A clinical neuropsychologist needs a Ph.D. in order to possibly get a job. They may work with people with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), stroke (“brain attack”) which is a type of brain injury, dementia (cognitive decline) or other neurological disorders that affect cognition and behavior of the individual.
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