Do you Need to Know Programming to Study Neuroscience?

written by Adriana

posted on Nov 28, 2022

If you are considering becoming a neuroscientist, you may have heard that you need to have strong analytical and programming skills.

At this point you may be wondering if you need to learn how to code when studying a neuroscience degree.

And the short answer is yes – it’s best if you have some experience in programming before studying neuroscience.

With the increased size and number of data in neuroscience, manual work in the lab is converted into automated custom codes, that are time-efficient.

Since neuroscience is based on studying the brain and human behaviour via different techniques, programming in neuroscience gains lots of attention both in education and career-wise.

In this blog post, I will discuss why you may need to know programming to study neuroscience and whether you can enter this field without coding skills.

Do you need to know programming to study neuroscience?

You don’t need to know programming to study neuroscience, however, it may be advantageous and help you throughout the course as you won’t have to learn how to code from the start. How much programming you need to know depends on your area of interest and your course. Thus, it’s best to check course application requirements and whether it provides the opportunity to learn how to program.

One piece of advice I received from the behavioural scientist was to learn to program in Matlab. He shared his story of learning Python and E-prime, but not Matlab, which was the main programme used by the researchers at the universities.

Programming in neuroscience - is it essential for career progression?

If you are interested to pursue a further career as a neuroscientist, then programming is a skill worth investing in.

According to Prospects, neuroscientists should have a “willingness to develop computer and programming skills and to embrace statistical methods and mathematical analysis to work with data”.

“ The next generation of neuroscientists needs to learn how to code”

Juavinett, 2022

With the increased amount of data and new tools, neuroscience becomes more dependent on coding. Previously used programmes become inefficient, whereas the project often requires collaboration between different departments and researchers, who share expertise and together solve problems.

Thus, to get an advantage both in the interview process and on the job, you may wish to sharpen your programming skills.

However, if you have no previous programming experience and have never taken a Python or Matlab class, you may learn it in a few months during the course or as a part of training at work.

For example, you may have a previously used script, however for your specific project you may have to modify the script. This involves practical skills, analytical problem solving and familiarity with coding.

If you don’t have the skill yet, your supervisor or colleagues may help you, however, due to lack of time and resources, it may be something you are left to do in your free time.

How learning programming in neuroscience looks like?

Learning programming in neuroscience is a slow process, which is similar to learning a new language that you use not to speak to others, but to solve mathematical problems using your analytical and constructive thinking. It starts with a solid understanding and developing basic skills in programming tools such as R, Python, E-prime, Matlab, or SAS. The most widely used programming languages are R and Matlab.

We started our research module by learning Matlab basics: syntax, matrices, variables, input and output, loops, conditions, and if functions.

The next step was to use an additional tool called Psychotoolbox in the Matlab environment, which is great to run experiments in neurosciences or psychology.

Learning programming starts with writing scripts and understanding what happens after you write a specific input. When you understand it, you may play around and see what happens to get an idea that there are no limits to learning programming.

In each lesson, we were receiving specific problems to solve, which were designed to teach us how to approach problems and think about them in a constructive way.

Although it was a time-consuming process based on trial and error, we learned to be patient, and focus on details. In the end, we developed our own experimental programmes for a potential research study.

With guidance and mentoring, this process did not feel like lonely work, as we could ask questions and help each other with problem-solving.

For example, one PhD student had no clue how to code before starting her research study, however, she learned how to code in Matlab in 6 months. Thus, it solely depends on your willingness to commit, the interest and the support you get.

Be prepared to see lots of errors on your screen

Since your project and the area you specialise in may rely only on questionnaires and interviews, you may not need to do programming on your own.

But, if you aim to design your own experiment or be time efficient, rather than using manual questionnaires, you may decide to write a computerised programme.

Computational neuroscience - studying the brain by solving mathematical problems

Computational neuroscience is a field of neuroscience, which is dependent on programming. It includes solving mathematical problems to study how the central nervous system works.

Based on the idea that information processing systems of the computer hardware and software are similar to the brain and nervous system, it allows linking between the two fields.

So, if you are interested in computer science and enjoy programming, computational neuroscience may be the right course for you.

In a new field, dealing with data recordings, before interpreting data you need to filter data, extract useful information from data by writing a code to describe the events, and link them to the physiological state, you want the statistical test to check the significance of your results.

What programming language to go with?

Python and Matlab are the most widely used programming languages in neuroscience. Python is more popular, is free and there are a lot of packages, however, Matlab is more expensive.

However, it is more important that you develop constructive analytical thinking, which is the foundation of the programming.

You can’t learn programming just by reading books - you need to solve problems and work on the projects.

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Although the difference between programming languages exists, it is only the syntax, but other aspects such as conditionals, loops, and variables are the same.

To solve the problem with a creative solution, and convert representations of the data, you will require to practice algorithmic thinking.

If you want to learn more about programming in neuroscience, I would recommend this video by Artem Kirsanov, who is a computational neuroscience student and researcher.

Also, programming skills may help you open doors into nanotechnology: a growing field in computational neuroscience where the industry develops products allowing to analyse and interpret physiological data.

For example, it is possible now to track Parkinsons’ disease progression using sensors.

If you enjoy working with meaningful data, related to the brain, human behaviour and neurophysiology, and testing individuals using EEG or eye tracking, then studying neuroscience will be a cognitively demanding but a rewarding journey.

Final Word

If you are like me and had never programmed in your life, get a deep breath – you can still study neuroscience and learn to program when you start your course or get a job position!

But, you may need to do that in your free time, considering your life circumstances and whether you can commit to learning a new language.

Some courses don’t require you to be a programming guru, however, if you see yourself as a future neuroscientist or research assistant, it is definitely worth having a basic understanding of how Matlab or Python works.

It may take more than 6 months to learn a programming language, but you will have an advantage at university or at work when you can modify the code or solve technical problems.

What are your thoughts on programming in neuroscience? Do you think programming should be a compulsary? Let us know in the comments section below.

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A&A

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Thank you for stopping by! We are neuroscientists by day and digital creators by night who are passionate about self-development, personal growth and a healthy mindset. 🧠

We met when studying Master’s degree in Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience at City, University of London and instantly realised that we had a lot in common!

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