Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, and Psychology: What’s the Difference?

I want to do a quick post defining some things this week. Good definitions are useful to have. When commonly accepted definitions exist, it makes any discussion much easier. For this reason, it is important to talk about the massive and similar, yet distinct fields of Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, and Psychology.

Neuroscience is the study of the structure and function of the nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord and nerves. Researchers in the field are interested in understanding how the nervous system stores, represents and processes information and how this system gives rise to thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

Cognitive Science is the study of the mind and how its processes enable us to learn and understand the world. Researchers in this field are interested in studying attention, perception, language, decision-making and more. It is less concerned with biological processes in favor of mental ones.

Psychology is the study of behavior and the mind, uniquely addressing social, developmental and clinical aspects. It is concerned with what people do and why they do it. It is common to see case studies referenced in this field.

These three topics of study are interdependent in many ways. Any pursuit of knowledge in one of these fields relies on and informs the research in the other two. A finding in biological research could have implications for mental processes that a cognitive scientist is interested in. This could eventually result in studies for psychologists, interested in the broader world implications.

For instance, Neuroscience research could reveal a novel activation pathway of neurons which forms a biological basis for understanding behavior and thought.

Cognitive scientists could then be inspired to explore the involvement of this circuit in specific mental processes like decision-making or memory.

Psychologists could then apply these studies in real world situations, determining how this circuit functions in normal cases and affect social interactions, individual wellness or learning outcomes. The knowledge could even inform and explain research done by people before. Thus, in this one example, we can see how these fields may interrelate and build upon our collective knowledge.

As we explore the topics of this newsletter, a lot of new and familiar terms will come up. I will make these sorts of posts defining things every now and then as I come across them in the literature.

If you have questions or want me to explore a specific topic in depth on this newsletter, let me know with a reply! Forward this newsletter to someone you know who is interested in neuroscience, the mind and its relation to technology.

Take care,
Eashan Kotha