Why Study Neuroscience?

My interest in the field stems from a desire, rooted in philosophy, to know how the brain constructs the world around it.  To that end, my interest in the neuroscience of social behavior arises largely from a preoccupation with the manner in which our brains influence the way we interact in and model social situations. 

My particular curiosity regarding the subject was first piqued when Dr. Harris delivered a guest lecture in my Neuro101 class.  The part of the lecture that remains most prominent in my mind involves how the brain often processes certain individuals—the homeless, drug addicts, and the like—as something less than human, neurologically speaking.  This type of dehumanization phenomena continues to fascinate me, for it offers potentially remarkable insight into how people are susceptible to violating personal codes of ethics and societal norms when faced with these social outcasts: if the brain literally does not process them with the same mechanisms as it does for those of a social in-group—if it does not process them as fully human—this neurological dehumanization makes it all the easier to mistreat them.  Naturally, I’m excited in what this class offers in regards to the prospect of further insights into how the brain constructs the world, particularly how this influences our perceptions of other individuals. 

Moreover, and more practically, I am interested in pursuing a thesis in neuroscience, and the methods-based aspects of this class should familiarize me with the various methods of the field.  In this way, I may have a more fertile intellectual ground from which to pursue a research question. 

Finally, and quite simply and sufficiently for me, neuroscience is fascinating.  Why not study it?