Where a neurobiologist can get a job?

[Thallium]

I am so curious about this field, neurobiology. Could anyone tell me what a neurobiologist is doing and where a neurobiologist can get a job?

 

[SamLuc]

I'm not sure Thallium, but I've heard from some sources that they remove people's brains, probe them with funny-looking objects, and then eat them after several days of arcane ritual.
Other sources tell me they study phenomena related to the nervous system - such as emotion, behaviour, sensations, memory & learning etc.- and the mechanisms behind these.
The first description sounds more plausible to me, but I'm no expert.

 

[Moonbear]

Check out www.sfn.org It's the Society for Neuroscience website, and you can find out a lot about what people are doing there and what sorts of job opportunities are available. See the thread a little further down the page entitled "Neuroscience." I listed a lot of things neuroscientists do there.

I'm a neuroscientist most days :-) Currently I have a faculty position in a medical school. My research focuses on neuroendocrine control of reproductive function, so depending on the day, I'm a neuroscientist, an endocrinologist, a physiologist, a psychologist, or just plain insane. So, that's what one neurobiologist is doing and where one has gotten a job (actually, there are lots of us who have gotten jobs here). But there are other job options besides academics, and even the options within academics are varied...you can find a place to do mostly research or mostly teaching or a mix of both or teaching undergrads, or med students, or primarily grad students, etc. I only work in one tiny corner of neuroscience, so I can try to answer questions you have, but may not have all of them, depending on your interests.

 

[hitssquad]

Reboxetine and premature ejaculation

My research focuses on neuroendocrine control of reproductive function.

Then perhaps this would be in your field of expertise. I've been wondering why Reboxetine (Edronax; Morpholine; a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor used as an antidepressant, an anti-panic drug, and an anti-social phobia drug) causes premature ejaculation (and urinary hesitancy). Some of the articles on PubMed mentioned that it shouldn't really do this since Reboxetine does not affect acetylcholine receptors very much and so therefore should not affect the sympathetic nervous system (which in turn needs to be powered up in order to prevent premature ejaculations).


Relevant studies:

• Demyttenaere K, Huygens R.
  Painful ejaculation and urinary hesitancy in association with antidepressant therapy: relief with tamsulosin.
  Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2002 Aug;12(4):337-41.
  PMID: 12126873
  
  
• O'Flynn R, Michael A.
  Reboxetine-induced spontaneous ejaculation.
  Br J Psychiatry. 2000 Dec;177:567-8. No abstract available.
  PMID: 11102344
  
  
• Schatzberg AF.
  Clinical efficacy of reboxetine in major depression.
  J Clin Psychiatry. 2000;61 Suppl 10:31-8. Review.
  PMID: 10910015
  This drug has only a minimal affinity for muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and therefore causes less dry mouth, constipation, or other such effects than do the TCAs.
  
  
• Jannini EA, Simonelli C, Lenzi A.
  Disorders of ejaculation.
  J Endocrinol Invest. 2002 Dec;25(11):1006-19. Review.
  PMID: 12553564
  The physiology of ejaculation includes emission of sperm with the accessory gland fluid into the urethra, simultaneous closure of the urethral sphincters, and forceful ejaculation of semen through the urethra. Emission and closure of the bladder neck are primarily alpha-adrenergically mediated thoracolumbar sympathetic reflex events with supraspinal modulation. Ejaculation is a sacralspinal reflex mediated by the pudendal nerve. The most common ejaculation disorder is premature ejaculation, but there is little agreement regarding the definition of this disorder or its etiology, diagnosis, and treatment options. Premature ejaculation is in fact classically considered psychogenic in nature.

 

[Moonbear]

Hi Hitsquad. My expertise is more in female reproduction, but I will try to help.
There is believed to be a requirement for the noradrenergic system in male sexual behavior, though I'm not sure if it's directly associated with ejaculation, or just with general motivation. This reference might help.

Fernandez-Guasti A, Rodriguez-Manzo G. 8-OH-DPAT and male rat sexual behavior: partial blockade by noradrenergic lesion and sexual exhaustion. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1997

In addition, there's also a LOT we don't know about how ejaculation occurs. It's difficult to dissociate from all of the other behaviors involved in sex, and the models that attempt to isolate ejaculation from these other behaviors are controversial as to whether they reflect the way ejaculation is normally occurring. So there may be a noradrenergic link that isn't known yet. Just to provide an example to show the system controlling ejaculation is far from worked out in its entirety, here is an article from just 2 years ago reporting on a new group of cells in the spinal cord discovered to be required for ejaculation. That group is currently working on determining how those cells connect to the rest of the system required for ejaculation.

Truitt W and Coolen L. Identification of a potential ejaculation generator in the spinal cord. Science. 2002

 

[hitssquad]

Female ejaculation anything like male ejaculation (or real at all)

Thanks.

My expertise is more in female reproduction, but I will try to help.

So I guess you're saying the whole female ejaculation thing is phony or at least does not likely involve anything like the same systems that are in operation in the male?

 

[Moonbear]

Despite the testimonies otherwise, female ejaculation is nothing more than urination. There is no other organ besides the bladder present in the female to produce a large volume of fluid at the time of orgasm. The urethral opening is very close to the vaginal opening, and can be stimulated during intercourse, so someone who is not too familiar with their own anatomy (this is surprisingly frequent) might believe the fluid was emitted vaginally. The bladder is also very close to the reproductive tract and is also frequently stimulated during intercourse. All this together, along with the muscle contractions of a particularly intense orgasm (which includes contraction of abdominal muscles, not just vaginal muscles) can lead to an episode of incontinence. It's understandable someone would be reluctant to want to accept they have urinated during intercourse, so prefer to perpetuate the myth of female ejaculation. Unlike men, there is no sphincter in females that closes to prevent urination during climax.

 

[Thallium]

I thank those of you who answered my question. To those who made all the digression with female sexuality, please continue the discussion elsewhere.