Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system from a scientific standpoint. It is a multidisciplinary discipline that brings together physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developmental biology, cytology, computer science and mathematical modeling to better understand the fundamental and emergent features of neurons, glia, and neural circuits.
The "epic challenge" of the biological sciences, according to Eric Kandel, is to comprehend the biological basis of learning, memory, behaviour, perception, and consciousness. The field of neuroscience has evolved over time to include a variety of methods for studying the nervous system at various scales. From molecular and cellular investigations of individual neurons to imaging of sensory, motor and cognitive functions in the brain, neuroscientists' tools have vastly improved.

The second half of the twentieth century saw a tremendous increase in the scientific study of the nervous system, owing to discoveries in molecular biology, electrophysiology, and computational neuroscience. This has enabled neuroscientists to investigate the nervous system in all of its features, including how it is organized, how it performs, how it develops, how it malfunctions, and how it may be altered. For example, it is now possible to comprehend the intricate processes that occur within a single neuron in great detail. Neurons are communication-specialized cells. They can communicate with neurons and other cell types via synapses, which are specialized junctions where electrical or electrochemical impulses can be passed from one cell to another. Many neurons extrude an axon, a long thin filament of axoplasm capable of swiftly transmitting electrical messages and regulating the activity of other neurons, muscles, or glands at their termination ends. A neurological system is formed by a collection of neurons that are connected to one another.

The central nervous system (which includes the brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system make up the nervous system of vertebrates. The nervous system is the most complex organ system in the body in many animals, including all vertebrates, with the brain housing the majority of the complexity. The human brain alone includes roughly 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses; it is made up of thousands of distinct substructures linked together in synaptic networks whose subtleties are still being unraveled.

At least one-third of the human genome's approximately 20,000 genes are expressed primarily in the brain. The structure of synapses and the functions they produce change during life due to the human brain's great plasticity. The dynamic complexity of the nervous system is a tremendous scientific challenge. Finally, neuroscientists want to know everything there is to know about the nervous system, including how it works, develops, malfunctions, and may be altered or fixed. The nervous system is thus studied at numerous levels, from the molecular and cellular to the systems and cognitive.

Specific research topics evolve with time, owing to an ever-growing body of knowledge and the availability of increasingly sophisticated technical approaches. Technology advancements have been the fundamental drivers of progress. Progress has been fueled by advances in electron microscopy, computer science, electronics, functional neuroimaging, genetics and genomics.

The so-called "cell kinds" problem, which refers to the categorization, characterization, and identification of all neuronal/astrocytic cell types in an organism, is perhaps one of the most important unsolved challenges in modern neuroscience. This usually refers to the mouse brain, as understanding the mouse brain is viewed as a prerequisite for comprehending the human brain.

Electrophysiological recording, single-cell genetic sequencing, and high-quality microscopy have recently been combined into a single method pipeline called Patch-seq, in which all three methods are applied simultaneously using miniature tools, allowing for modern advances in the classification of neuronal cells.
Because of the method's efficiency and the enormous amount of data gathered, researchers were able to draw certain broad conclusions about cell kinds, such as the fact that the human and mouse brains have various versions of fundamentally the same cell types.

With Regards,
Joseph Kent
Journal Manager
Journal of Brain, Behaviour & Cognitive Sciences