Studying the human brain

When you meet new people, why do you remember some names but not others? This is an example of a question that psychologists working in brain science and cognition seek to answer through their research.

These psychologists spend most of their time studying human thought processes and the capacity for understanding, interpreting and retaining information. They may choose to work in one particular specialty, such as memory or learning disabilities, or they may focus their career on a specific health issue or population.

Psychologists working in this field apply psychological science to address a wide variety of issues that affect a spectrum of populations. They work with infants and toddlers to address behavioral problems and developmental disorders. They work with adults to address memory disorders, substance use and health-related problems. Others study the brain’s capacity to do tasks, handle multiple demands or recover from injury.

In their work, many of these psychologists will drill down into intricacies such as how music therapy can help heal degenerative brain disorders or how quickly humans can learn a new language. Some study how the brain interprets smells. Others are working to decode the human brain.