The variety of tools available reflects the diversity of the researchers who consider themselves neuroscientists. "Neuroscience represents a fusion of several scientific disciplines--biophysics, biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, pharmacology, and psychology--all focused on acquiring an ultimate understanding of the relationships between brain and behavior," explained the National Advisory Mental Health Council to Congress in a 1988 report on opportunities for neuroscience research.
The field came into its own only two decades ago, and has grown explosively. When it was founded in 1969, the Society for Neuroscience comprised 500 original members. Today, the society's rolls hold 17,000 names, with 15,000 people expected to attend this week's 20th annual meeting in St. Louis (October 28-November 1).
More than 250 exhibitors at this year's meeting are expected to display products of use to the scientists attending, diverse not only in the disciplines they represent, but also in the levels at which they study the nervous ...
