Difference between Neuroscience and Neurobiology?

What is the difference between the neuroscience fields and what is the specific research focus and methods used in each- behavioral.developmental. cellular.clinical.molecular.systems-neurobiology.?

• Answer:

  Neuroscience research is usually highly interdisciplinary. So even if one works, say, as a neurophysiologist, this would invariable involve some pharmacology, and possibly behavioral work too. There is always overlap because 'neuroscience' is a very broad subject area. A behaviorist in the field of neuroscience is rarely just interested in behavior per se. He or she uses behavior as a way of gaining insight into how the brain works, usually with surgical or chemical manipulations of specific regions. This kind of work could also be described as 'systems neuroscience' - because when one brain region is investigated, other brain regions must also be considered, i.e., as a system. Developmental neuroscience looks at structural and functional changes during embryonic and postnatal development, at the level of the cell all the way up to whole brain regions and even behavior. Thus, the repertoire of tools used would be quite broad, and would include (although not necessarily all at once) electrophysiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and behavioral/systems neuroscience. Molecular neuroscience investigates structural and functional changes at the level of the cell. This would include protein, enzyme and gene expression - and would also overlap with other areas too such as pharmacology and behavioral/systems neuroscience as a way of manipulating the subject before it is studied in fine detail. Clinical neuroscience relates to the study of the nervous system in a clinical context (i.e., using human subjects). Usually the people who carry out this work would have medical training. Neuro-active drug trials would an example of clinical neuroscience. Another would be clinical neurophysiology - the study of patterns of electrical activity in the nervous system and muscles for diagnostic purposes.