Issues in the Field of Neuroscience Essay

.....neuroscience is one of the most common scientific field of study that basically involves study of the nervous system. Most of the jobs in neuroscience involves dealing with some problems that do not necessarily involve working in the lab. An example of such jobs that interests me is neuropsychology, which is an area in neuroscience that focuses on the science of brain-behavior relationships. I find clinical neuropsychology as an interesting field of neuroscience since it combines concepts of psychology in the study of the nervous system, particularly brain-behavior relationships. Given the combination of neuroscience and psychology, clinical neuropsychology will enable me to feel empathy for my patients/clients when addressing their issues (Ogden, 2012). In light of my passion for this field, brain functions and neuroscience that I find interesting are neurobiological theories that explain dysfunctions in language, behavior networks, vision, memory, and emotion. These brain functions and neuroscience are interesting because they help in understanding the relationships between the brain and behavior. The academic training required in this field is an advanced degree in a neuropsychology educational program as well as clinical practicum. The types of employment opportunities available in this field include clinical neuropsychology, neuropsychology research, and child neuropsychology.



Week 2 Discussion



King et al. (2012) conducted a study in which they utilized the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) to examine post-concussive symptoms in its thorough evaluation of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The research was carried out on the premise that post-concussive symptoms such as sensory, somatic, and cognitive complaints tend to occur following mild traumatic brain injury. However, the symptoms are not specific to mild TBI and overlap with other disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The psychometric study utilized item properties, internal consistency, and external validity of Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory. The methodology used to carry out this psychometric evaluation was multisite, longitudinal research approach in which data was obtained from a federally-funded evaluation of the experiences of combat veterans. The participants were 500 Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom combat veterans, some of whom had experienced at least one traumatic brain injury (King et al., 2012). The study utilized several data collection instruments like neuropsychological interview, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Military Version, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory-II.



The study found that Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory is valid and reliable tool for evaluating post-concussive symptoms. The effectiveness of this tool is attributable to the fact that its scores appropriately distinguished veterans with a history of TBI from those without such history. The strength of this experimental study is that it provided a suitable framework for examining the effectiveness of NSI in determining post-concussive symptoms. However, the study is weak in the sense that the results may not…