Neuroscience is a field defined, not by a specific intellectual approach or experimental technique, but by its subject matter: the cells of the nervous, sensory, and muscular systems. Because of the variety of methods that must be brought to bear, the optimal training for a career in neurobiology includes an in-depth exposure to the principles of biochemistry, molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, immunology, pharmacology, and physiology. 
 

Understanding the nervous system is the goal of neuroscience, and as such has become one of the most challenging quests in all of biological science. Fascination with the brain and its centrality in human endeavors can be traced at least as far back as Greek civilization. In the words of Hippocrates : 
 

"Men ought to know that from the brain, and from the brain only, arise our pleasures, joys, laughter, and jests, as well as our sorrows, pains, griefs and tears. Through it in particular, we think, see, hear, and distinguish the ugly from the beautiful, the bad from the good, the pleasant from the unpleasant". 
 

Neuroscience is one of the most diverse disciplines in biology, encompassing a number of subdisciplines including neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, and neuropharmacology. These areas are all represented in the research programs of the 
Neurosciences Department of New Jersey Medical School, thus offering graduate students working toward a Ph.D. degree a broad diversity of possible research projects. This is also a clinical department, providing the advantage of fruitful interactions between clinicians and basic research scientists. 
 

Much of the research of the Neurosciences Department is focussed on neurological disorders, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, neuronal and retinal regeneration, Parkinson's disease, peripheral neuropathy, obesity, violence and aggression, learning disabilities resulting from membrane anomalies, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Because of the eclectic nature of our department, some of our research projects are directed towards revealing the basic mechanisms of disease, while other projects focus on improving clinical therapies.