What Makes You Interested in Neuroscience?

I want to study psychology because I wanna help people with their mental health! Mines probably not really good because I’m growing up in a family that doesn’t know what that word is or just ignores it in a whole :) I live in the Bible Belt hehe :(( I’m 13 and I hope my dumb self can actually get me to college to get a scholarship and degree! I’m poor :)

Just like you, I knew since I was 13 that I wanted to study Psychology (I´m studying it in college rn). I just love how the brains works so perfectly and wisely, it´s impossible for me not to be attracted to that. My favorites areas are Behaviorism, experimentalism and neuroscience.

I actually didn't think much about it until I was looking for what to do in university. I was looking for what medical paths I thought would best suit me and I thought psychiatry would be a good fit. Once I made that decision though I became very interested, which is nice because I didn't know I would be into it. I've always loved philosophy and spirituality and I think psychology and the science of the mind closely ties into those things!

I am like most of you; I wanted to learn more about why people do certain things, so I read psychology textbooks for fun as a middle schooler. At first, I was interested in criminal behaviour, but over time, I developed a greater fascination with understanding the underlying cause of why people make certain decisions. Such as why does one person have the capacity to make this decision (i.e. a criminal act) while someone else cannot? Essentially, what are the individual differences in their decision-making? 

This kind of pushed me more into the neuroscience field, as to me, everything that is the basis of human behaviour isn't just a social phenomenon but also has a biological reasoning or effect. I ended up doing my undergrad in neuroscience and graduated with a BSc Honours degree. I then pursued a Master's in neuroscience, which I am now finishing up before I start my PhD in the fall! I love what I do, and I think by doing research, I get the opportunity to answer those questions I had when I was younger. Which, surprisingly, there is still a lot more to be investigated about in this field, and I encourage anyone who is interested in these bigger questions to pursue research!