Which is more interesting: genetics or neurobiology?

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alphamine

alphamine

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When I get to junior year I can apply for one of these two majors (I don't want to major in only biological sciences; I'm not interested in studying things that don't involve humans).

I just won't have enough courses by then to really break the tie between the two. I really like genetics, but neurobiology sounds pretty cool to me, too. Any input for those of you who have had more classes than I in these subjects?
 
This is a question you have to answer for yourself. Something that interests me may not interest you. Which field do YOU find more interesting?
 
MrLogan13 said:
This is a question you have to answer for yourself. Something that interests me may not interest you. Which field do YOU find more interesting?
Click to expand...

I don't really have much knowledge of neurobiology, so I can't really say which ones interests me more. I suppose I just wanted to see common opinions. 🙂
 
alphamine said:
I don't really have much knowledge of neurobiology, so I can't really say which ones interests me more. I suppose I just wanted to see common opinions. 🙂
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Fair enough. I suggest you read up on the subject and see if it interests you.
 
I just graduated with a major in neurobiology. I think the more important question is which classes appeal to you, rather than which field itself. At my school at least my major ended up being much less work (for me) and more enjoyable because the upper division classes were just much more concept based and less math based (like biochem or genetics).
 
I am a little biased since I am finishing my Masters in Neurobiology, but I think that studying neurobiology should help with understanding some of the higher level physiological concepts you may encounter in medical school, like hormone/neurotransmitter synthesis and release, mechanisms of addiction/obesity/mental disorders, neuroanatomy, etc. Genetics may have some application to the MCAT but not sure how useful it is in med school beyond the basic concepts.
 
Man you're just posting threads left and right lololololol

But will neurobiology courses count toward your science GPA or not? I know that most genetics courses do. That would be one of my deciding factors.
 
I already took genetics and it was not easy. Although it was very interesting, if you are willing to put in some hard work then take it.
 
Neurobio!

alphamine said:
When I get to junior year I can apply for one of these two majors (I don't want to major in only biological sciences; I'm not interested in studying things that don't involve humans).

I just won't have enough courses by then to really break the tie between the two. I really like genetics, but neurobiology sounds pretty cool to me, too. Any input for those of you who have had more classes than I in these subjects?
Click to expand...
 
jeffk805dent said:
Real serious with this but if your school offes paleontology, I'd major in that.

Dinosaurs are awesome!
Click to expand...
Dinosaurs are amazing! I'm not a paleo major but I've done some paleo research ;D

As to the majors, it depends on how much you like math vs physiology. Which one is more appealing? I'm currently working in a neurobiology lab and the information is heavily weighted on understanding the physiology. The courses taken should count as science if applying to medical school (my school has neuro classes and I've taken them as well). However, if you prefer a lot of math (mainly statistics), I would go with genetics. Genetics is constantly growing and expanding and some of the concepts may be tricky, but the information is so interesting. Genetics was one of the best classes I've ever taken.
So, I would go with whatever you feel most comfortable with 🙂
 
I will never understand how genetics is not everyone's favorite subject. It's where it all begins!
 
onyisraw said:
Man you're just posting threads left and right lololololol
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I've posted a grand total of 2 threads in the past few days. Wow, I guess you're right, I'm posting left and right!

:eyebrow:.

It's not my fault people post on my previous threads and bump them to the top of the list.
 
Oh and thanks everyone else who was helpful🙂 I'll look into neurobio a bit more because I definitely love physiology.
 
GonnaBeADocOneDay said:
I am a little biased since I am finishing my Masters in Neurobiology, but I think that studying neurobiology should help with understanding some of the higher level physiological concepts you may encounter in medical school, like hormone/neurotransmitter synthesis and release, mechanisms of addiction/obesity/mental disorders, neuroanatomy, etc. Genetics may have some application to the MCAT but not sure how useful it is in med school beyond the basic concepts.
Click to expand...

I'd say they are both fairly low yield.
 
In medical school, I have found neuro to be much more difficult than genetics.

The more familiar you can become to these God-awful pathways, the better.
 
alphamine said:
When I get to junior year I can apply for one of these two majors (I don't want to major in only biological sciences; I'm not interested in studying things that don't involve humans).

I just won't have enough courses by then to really break the tie between the two. I really like genetics, but neurobiology sounds pretty cool to me, too. Any input for those of you who have had more classes than I in these subjects?
Click to expand...
687871_o.gif

Why don't you study one and do undergrad research in another?

I personally recommend a good background in genetics and jumping into neuroscience research with faculty. You'll learn alot of applicable molecular and genetics doing this as well... You may not know much physio at this point, but you'll be able to pick up on a lot of it quick doing literature readings. Genetics is harder to pickup, which is why I recommended some formal classes on it. If your neuroscience faculty has a lot of cash, you'll be able to learn how to do immunochemistry, gel electrophoresis, qRT-PCR, and other staples of genetics research.

Now, unless your school is affiliated with a medical school, you'll likely do preclinical research with rats. The foundations for next-gen medical therapeutics are deeply rooted in pre-clinical research, so don't tell me "I don't want to do it because it doesn't involve humans".
 
i have a grad degree in neuroscience, and i'm going into psychiatry so of course the brain is interesting to me.

but personally i think that genetics is more broadly interesting. genetics is fundamental to all of human biology, including neurobiology. but neurobiology isn't fundamental to other areas of biology.

especially if you can take some of the more theoretical evolutionary biology courses... that stuff is more fascinating than actually knowing how many base pairs away the promoter is from the exon.
 
acceptmeplease said:
In medical school, I have found neuro to be much more difficult than genetics.

The more familiar you can become to these God-awful pathways, the better.
Click to expand...

Which pathways would that be? Corticospinal? Spinothalamic? DCML? Dentatorubrothalamocortical? 😉
 
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