Education Research: Explaining Neurophobia in Medical Students

Neurophobia, or the fear of the study and practice of neurology or neuroscience, plagues learners and practitioners of all types. Neurophobia is a global phenomenon and adversely affects medical education, the field of neurology, and ultimately patient care. Despite this, there is still much to be understood. It is reasonable to compare this relatively undefined phenomenon in medical education to lack of confidence or anxiety in other areas of education that are more well-understood. One of the best studied is the fear of mathematics, often referred to as math anxiety (MA). MA has 3 major causal categories relating to the learning environment, the material itself, and characteristics of the learner. We aim to have a deeper understanding of the causes of neurophobia for medical students while comparing this with MA.