Neuroscience is a discipline that integrates our understanding of:
- how the brain controls the internal functions of the body (bodily functions);
- how the brain controls behaviour and social relations (sensorimotor and social brain);
- how the brain generates the inner mental life and the sense of self (psychology).
As a discipline, Neuroscience encompasses many of the most dynamic areas of today's scientific research; it touches every aspect of our lives. From the function of single molecules to the behaviour of the whole human being; this is the domain of neuroscience.
The brain is the most complex kilogram of matter that we know. It develops from a single cell; how this happens is the subject for developmental neuroscience, one of the fastest moving areas of modern biology. Neuroscientists study how experience creates learning, and try to understand the changes in our nervous system as we age. The discipline includes the study of decision making, the nature of intelligence and creativity and our aesthetic sensibilities.
The remarkable performance of our nervous system is shown in stark relief when it goes wrong. Identifying the genes responsible for inherited brain disorders, through to understanding the effects of trauma, are also within the realm of Neuroscience.
The moment-to-moment control of nearly all of our internal organs is mediated by our nervous system, which also gives rise to our most complex abstract thoughts and our most subtle emotional experiences.
To understand our nervous system is to understand what makes us human. This is the aim of modern neuroscience. Members of SANI are internationally recognised for their contributions to all of these facets of neuroscience.