Teaching and Training in Psychophysiology and Neuroscience

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About this Research Topic

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Background

Researchers in psychology are increasingly integrating psychophysiology and neuroscience to understand their topic of study. Given the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of psychological research, how do we train and prepare the next generation of psychophysiologists and neuroscientists to address rapidly evolving questions within the field?

The goal of this research topic is to encourage communication about best practices for training neuroscientists and psychophysiologists. This Topic is intended to be a resource for educators and trainees alike to encourage and exchange guidance related to best practices in teaching and training. Engaging in neuroscience and psychophysiology research is more popular than ever. Teaching about the brain and cognition is included in growing numbers of curricula, from secondary education through graduate study. Scholars of all levels are increasingly expected to be knowledgeable in these methods to establish or verify potential biomarkers of psychological constructs that they are studying. Yet, despite psychophysiology and neuroscience’s increasing ubiquity across disciplines, there are no established guidelines or best-practices on how to teach, train, mentor, or otherwise educate about the brain and how it is researched. In fact, to date, there are hardly any published articles dedicated to this topic at all and communication between labs and institutions can be difficult and time-consuming. As these methods increase in popularity, it is important to discuss best practices for training and pedagogy about neuroscience, from research design, methods, and the implications of research results.

Methods, systematic review, review, and mini-review papers are welcome for this Topic. Original research, if available, is also strongly encouraged. Submissions can include:

- Best practices for training students of all levels, secondary education through graduate study
- Postdoctoral training
- Early or late-career training for established labs
- Integration into clinical settings
- How to establish a lab, and more.

Additional topics include recommendations for establishing a lab for new faculty, reinvigorating or developing novel ideas for established labs, examples of interdisciplinary work, integrating neuroscience into the undergraduate or graduate curriculum. Updates on funding and equipment recommendations are also encouraged (endorsement of any one product should be avoided in most circumstances, but could be considered depending on the context), as are potential outlets for publication and presentation of trainees’ work.

Keywords: Neuroscience, teaching, education, learning, psychophysiology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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