NS Career 1 Cognitive Neuroscientist

Cognitive Neuroscientist

What is a cognitive neuroscientist?

Cognitive neuroscience is a relatively new field, and the coining of this term actually has a very short, yet interesting, history. In the 1970's, a small group of scientists and psychologists planned a dinner. Besides good food and banter, these dinner plans also included discussing how the brain enables the mind. Two attendants made a fateful decision to share a taxi to get to the dinner. It just so happens that these two gentlemen, Michael Gazzaniga and George Miller, were a neuroscientist and a cognitive psychologist. Cognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrates underlying cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates of mental processes. It addresses the questions of how psychological/cognitive functions are produced by neural circuits in the brain.

1. What tools do they use?

Absolutely critical to being able to understand brain function in children have been neuroimaging techniques, first EEG & ERPs, then fMRI, and more recently NIRS, MEG, & TMS that look at function and MRI, DTI, & MRS that look at structure, connectivity, and metabolism. Before functional neuroimaging techniques scientists were constrained to trying to understand function from dysfunction (i.e., trying to understand how the brain works from seeing what deficits occur when the brain is damaged or impaired). It is difficult to understate how important technological advances have been to the emerging field of developmental cognitive neuroscience.

What do you need to do to become an cognitive neuroscientist?

Because cognitive neuroscience is a vast mixture of several different disciplines, individuals interested in becoming cognitive neuroscientists may pursue a few different educational paths. A four year bachelor's degree is often the starting point for a cognitive neuroscientist. In fact, some cognitive neuroscientists may even have more than one bachelor's degree to start with.Psychology, neurology, neuropsychology, or psychiatry degrees are all good places to start. Pursuing a cognitive neuroscience career also usually requires advanced degrees as well. For instance, most will go on to earn their master's degrees and doctoral degrees. Besides a number of biology and psychology courses, future cognitive neuroscientists will also usually take several courses in mathematics and research methods.

What Does a Cognitive Neuroscientist Do?

A cognitive neuroscientist is primarily a researcher, on a quest to find out how our brains contribute to our cognitive function. These professionals might conduct research a few different ways.With today's technological boom, scientists and researchers are using computers more and more. A cognitive researcher is no exception. He might use computer simulations, for example, to test theories and hypotheses. A cognitive neuroscientist career might also involve monitoring a patient's brain activity with special equipment. A cognitive neuroscientist might also study and test samples of brain tissue, in order to better understand the mysteries of the human mind.

Where Do Cognitive Neuroscientists Work?

When first starting their careers, cognitive neuroscientists will first usually complete a fellowship, which are very similar to internships. During a fellowship, a cognitive neuroscientist will work alongside experienced professionals in the field. Most cognitive neuroscience fellowships last a couple years. After completing their fellowships, cognitive neuroscientists are then able to look for permanent employment in a number of different facilities.

What type of salary do they earn?

The type of facility that a cognitive neuroscientist works in will also have an impact on how much he makes. For example, the median annual salary for biological scientists in 2010 was $71,310. Those that worked at educational institutes made less than that, however, with a median salary of $59,200. The same type of scientists working for pharmaceutical companies, on the other hand, made slightly more, with the median salary being $74,670.

What are some of the top schools for this career?

Stanford University 

Harvard University 

UCSD

Carneige Mellon University

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