Neuroscience Resources
This page is meant to provide free resources for learning about neuroscience. According to NatureResearch: "Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary science that is concerned with the study of the structure and function of the nervous system. It encompasses the evolution, development, cellular and molecular biology, physiology, anatomy and pharmacology of the nervous system, as well as computational, behavioural and cognitive neuroscience."
Learning Resources
- Neuroscientifically Challenged
- Neuroscience Online
- Neuroanatomy Online
- Dana Foundation
- Neuroscience for Kids
- Neuroscience Core Concepts by BrainFacts.org
Research
Research in Neuroscience is published in research journals. Subscriptions can be pricey but luckily there's been an increase in free journals and papers referred to as open access. Traditional journals are not open access but they may offer open access papers. Information is constantly changing and peer-reviewed research can provide the most recent information. Here are some links to open access journals:
Questions
- How do I know if an article/ paper is open access if it's in a journal that is not open access?
Open access papers will usually be labeled as "open" or "open access". - How do research journals ensure quality?
There is a peer-review process where specialists gather to approve of incoming papers before publishing. Not all journals are peer-reviewed, but most will tell you if they are as it is a bonus to them. When searching for peer-reviewed papers some search engines let you limit your search to peer-reviewed papers in advanced settings. - What is the difference between open access and non-open access/ traditional journals? Is there a difference in quality?
As long as both are peer-reviewed, both can be trusted in terms of quality. In order to publish research papers, researchers have to pay application fees which vary from journal to journal. Open access journals can have higher fees than traditional journals, which may deter researchers with less funds to apply, especially since application does not guarantee acceptance. Researchers also do not make money from published works. The money you pay for research papers goes to the publisher (e.g. Elsevier). - Is there an effort to make scientific research available for free? Yes. You may find the work of Alexandra Elbakyan, creator of Sci-Hub, of particular interest. Sci-Hub aims to provide free access to scientific works, but has been under scrutiny for its legal standing. Feel free to watch the interview below!
- Is there a recommended method for reading and understanding research papers?
Research papers will usually have an abstract that gives a written overview of the whole paper. Some papers have started to use graphical abstracts composed of diagrams and images. The abstract will help you determine if the paper is relevant to you. Some proposed reading strategies are listed below: - Here is an infographic by Natalia Rodriguez
- Here is a handout by Srinivasan Keshav
- Here is a video by Kevin Jubbal
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Jaqueline C. Garcia
