Not exactly sure what field of psychology this is?

[Catee]

Maybe this is sort of a silly question but I'm a first year student, so I'm still a bit confused when it comes to differentiating the different subfields within Psychology. I definitely enjoy the more biological and neural side, but I'm not exactly sure what you would call this..

I'm pretty sure I'd like to study purely human subjects (I realize there is a certain ethical code that must be followed when studying animals, only I just don't think I have it in me to experiment on animals anyway) and the thought and physical (brain) processes behind behaviour. More specifically, I think I would like to look at brain activity when dealing with mental illness or even brain damage, and would definitely prefer research to clinical work (although if I could do a bit of clinical work as well I think that would be great.)
What exactly would you "categorize" this into? I'm guessing it's Cognitive Neuroscience but... it's always nice to make sure.

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[Schooled]

There are a lot of words to describe this area. Technically, if you throw in the words "child" and "learning disability" anywhere up there you could be talking about school psychology.

I guess it depends what reason you need the appropriate nomenclature. Are you trying to look up programs, a journal, or what?

 

[BiopsychStudent]

I'm pretty sure I'd like to study purely human subjects (I realize there is a certain ethical code that must be followed when studying animals, only I just don't think I have it in me to experiment on animals anyway) and the thought and physical (brain) processes behind behaviour. More specifically, I think I would like to look at brain activity when dealing with mental illness or even brain damage, and would definitely prefer research to clinical work (although if I could do a bit of clinical work as well I think that would be great.)

There are several closely related subfields of psychology with deal with the relationship of the brain to cognition and behavior:

Clinical Neuropsychology seems to be what you're talking about; it studies the role of the brain and nervous system in mental illness and cognitive dysfunction.

Cognitive Neuroscience shares some of the methods of neuropsychology, but its an experimental field rather than a clinical field. Very generally it tries to determine the role of the nervous system in cognition; and how different structures and systems contribution to cognitive function. While patient populations sometimes contribute to this body of research its not always the case.

Behavioral Neuroscience tends be what uses animal subjects the most. As the name suggests it makes inferences from behavioral measures: e.i. investigating the anxiolytic properties of a drug by running rats through an elevated plus maze.

You'll get a much better idea of this, and the kinds of research you can do at your university by taking a class in physiological psychology.

 

[Psychology 76]

My guess is based off what you said you should look into cognitive neuroscience research that focuses on the neuroimaging components behind mental illnesses.

This is a new and exciting area. (not just because I want to go into it, well maybe )

 

[ReInventor]

Sounds like neuropsychology to me.