Neurology is a medical specialty that focuses on brain and nervous system disorders. Neurological disorders include all diseases that affect the central, peripheral, or autonomic nervous systems. This can include diseases affecting the blood vessels, muscles, and nerves. A neurologist is a physician who specializes in surgical procedures for the treatment of neurological disorders, while a neurosurgeon is a surgeon who specializes in surgical procedures for the treatment of neurological disorders.
Neurology is more than just a brain-related field. Neurological disorders include progressive diseases like Huntington’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease, as well as demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis, as well as migraines, epilepsy, and headaches, behavioral and cognitive disorders, brain cancer, and traumatic brain injury. Neurological diseases include diseases of the spinal cord, peripheral nerves and muscles, and neuromuscular junctions.
Because the nervous system is so large, one of the most important aspects of neurological disorder diagnosis is determining where the pathology of the disorder is located. This entails determining where the symptoms originate in the body, as well as whether the nervous system is involved. Cranial nerve tests and mental status tests, as well as reflexes, sensation, coordination, and strength tests, are all part of a neurological examination.
Neurology education requirements vary around the world, but they all require an average of twelve years of education and clinical training. Candidates must complete a four-year undergraduate degree, a four-year medical degree, and a four-year residency in their specialty in the United States and Canada, for example. After completing their residency, students can choose to pursue additional specialty training.
Candidates in the United Kingdom and Ireland spend between five and nine years in medical school before becoming a hospital house officer. They can begin neurology training after this and after passing an examination. To fulfill residency requirements in Germany, students must complete a year of psychiatry training.
Between neurology and psychiatry, there is a great deal of overlap. Although some mental illnesses are thought to be neurological disorders, they are classified as psychiatric diseases. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are two such diseases that are thought to be caused a neurochemical imbalance but are diagnosed and treated psychiatrists. Many neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s, cause psychiatric symptoms, which is another example of overlap. Depression, mood disorders, and cognitive dysfunction are common in people with these disorders, and can be treated a psychiatrist.