Neurology and Psychology

A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder is a behavioural or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitting, or occur as single episodes. Many disorders have been described, with signs and symptoms that vary widely between specific disorders. Such disorders may be diagnosed by a mental health professional, usually a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist.

A seizure, informally known as epileptic seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with loss of consciousness , to shaking movements involving only part of the body with variable levels of consciousness (focal seizure), to a subtle momentary loss of awareness (absence seizure). Most of the time these episodes last less than two minutes and it takes some time to return to normal. Loss of bladder control may occur.

Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each.If the elevated mood is severe or associated with psychosis, it is called mania; if it is less severe, it is called hypomania. During mania, an individual behaves or feels abnormally energetic, happy or irritable,and they often make impulsive decisions with little regard for the consequences. There is usually also a reduced need for sleep during manic phases. During periods of depression, the individual may experience crying and have a negative outlook on life and poor eye contact with others. The risk of suicide is high; over a period of 20 years, 6% of those with bipolar disorder died by suicide, while 30–40% engaged in self-harm. Other mental health issues, such as anxiety disorders and substance use disorders, are commonly associated with bipolar disorder.

Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behaviour, emotion, and thought, which could possibly be understood as a mental disorder. Although many behaviour could be considered as abnormal, this branch of psychology typically deals with behaviour in a clinical context.

Trauma is the response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope causes feelings of helplessness, diminishes their sense of self and their ability to feel a full range of emotions and experiences.

Neuro-oncology is the study of brain and spinal cord neoplasms, many of which are (at least eventually) very dangerous and life-threatening (astrocytoma, glioma, glioblastoma multiforme, ependymoma, pontine glioma, and brain stem tumours are among the many examples of these). Among the malignant brain cancers, gliomas of the brainstem and pons, glioblastoma multiforme, and high-grade (highly anaplastic) astrocytoma/oligodendroglioma are among the worst. In these cases, untreated survival usually amounts to only a few months, and survival with current radiation and chemotherapy treatments may extend that time from around a year to a year and a half, possibly two or more, depending on the patient's condition, immune function, treatments used, and the specific type of malignant brain neoplasm. Surgery may in some cases be curative, but, as a general rule, malignant brain cancers tend to regenerate and emerge from remission easily, especially highly malignant cases. In such cases, the goal is to excise as much of the mass (tumor cells) and as much of the tumor margin as possible without endangering vital functions or other important cognitive abilities. The Journal of Neuro-Oncology is the longest continuously published journal in the field and serves as a leading reference to those practicing in the area of Neuro-oncology.

Behavioural genetics tells how the genetic composition of a person, the environment they are exposed to affect the behaviour of that person. The technological advancements of genetic engineering in 21st Century have made it possible to measure and modify the genome of a person which is the key to behavioural genetics and later the Eugenics movement.

Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, including sensation & perception, memory, cognition, learning, motivation, emotion; developmental processes, social psychology, and the neural substrates of all of these.

Clinical Neuroscience is a branch where it studies all mechanisms and changes during a brain or nervous system disorder, and it tries to develop new methods of treatment approach for these disorders, this branch of neuroscience is of more research oriented and experimental.

Neurology is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal cord and the peripheral nerves. Neurological practice relies heavily on the field of neuroscience, the scientific study of the nervous system.

Biological Psychology is the only branch that says that there is an underlying physiological cause for all our emotions, thoughts, and feelings. For example the release of oxytocin in females leads to bonding behaviour and so on... As behaviour is controlled by central nervous system, physicians are trying to understand how the brain works to different stimuli like sense, perception, and motivated behaviour.

Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.

Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms .Social psychologists typically explain human behaviour as a result of the relationship between mental states and social situations, studying the social conditions under which thoughts, feelings, and behaviours occur, and how these variables influence social interactions.

Neurological disorders are diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system. In other words, the brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves, peripheral nerves, nerve roots, autonomic nervous system, neuromuscular junction, and muscles. These disorders include epilepsy, Alzheimer disease and other dementias, cerebrovascular diseases including stroke, migraine and other headache disorders, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuroinfections, brain tumours, traumatic disorders of the nervous system due to head trauma, and other neurological disorders as a result of malnutrition.

Experimental psychology explores basic concepts, such as memory and motivation, in many areas, such as child, social and educational psychology. Almost all Experimental psychology work is conducted in controlled environments, such as university research labs. While every branch of psychology strives to understand human behaviour and thought, experimental psychology solely focuses on controlled experiments with designated variables, test subjects and statistical results.

Cognitive neuroscience is the study of how the brain influences the mind. Cognitive science uses the experimental methods of cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence to create and test models of higher-level cognition such as thought and language. Cognitive Neuroscience acts as a bridge between brain and method.

Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development .Central to its practice are psychological assessment, clinical formulation, and psychotherapy, although clinical psychologists also engage in research, teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration.In many countries, clinical psychology is a regulated mental health profession.

Neurobiology is the branch of biology that deals with nervous system functions and structures. More specifically, neurobiology focuses on the cells and tissues of the nervous system and ways in which they can form structures and circuits (pathways) for controlling the body. This system includes common structures, such as the brain and spinal cord, and nerves. Neurobiology can be classified as a sub-discipline within the broader field of physiology.

The Scientific study of mind and behaviour is called Psychology .The study of conscious and unconscious events, such as emotions and thoughts, is included in psychology. It is a field of study that bridges the natural and social sciences and has a huge scope. Psychologists are interested in learning about the brain's emergent features, which connects psychology to neuroscience. Psychologists seek to comprehend both individual and community behaviour in their roles as social scientists.