-ology, -logy, -ologist, -logist

(Greek: a suffix meaning: to talk, to speak; a branch of knowledge; any science or academic field that ends in -ology which is a variant of -logy; a person who speaks in a certain manner; someone who deals with certain topics or subjects)

The word -ology is a back-formation from the names of certain disciplines. The -logy element basically means "the study of ____". Such words are formed from Greek or Latin roots with the terminal -logy derived from the Greek suffix -λογια (-logia), speaking, from λεγειν (legein), "to speak".

The suffix -ology is considered to be misleading sometimes as when the "o" is actually part of the word stem that receives the -logy ending; such as, bio + logy.

Through the years -ology and -logy have come to mean, "study of" or "science of" and either of these suffixes often utilize the form of -ologist, "one who (whatever the preceding element refers to)".

The examples shown in this unit represent just a small fraction of the many words that exist in various dictionaries.

neuropharmacology, neuropharmacological
1. The study of the action of drugs on the nervous system.
2. The branch of pharmacology concerned with the effects of drugs on the nervous system.
3. The branch of pharmacology dealing especially with the action of drugs upon various parts of the nervous system.
neurophenomenology
neurophysiology
1. The branch of physiology that studies how the nervous system functions.
2. Physiology of the nervous system of the human body.
neuropsychology (s) (noun), neuropsychologies (pl)
1. The field of study concerned with the relationship between behavior and the mind on the one hand, and the nervous system; especially, the brain, on the other; neurological psychology.
2. A specialty of psychology concerned with the study of the relationships between the brain and behavior, including the use of psychological tests and assessment techniques to diagnose specific cognitive and behavioral deficits and to prescribe rehabilitation strategies for their remediation.
neuropsychopharmacology (s) (noun), neuropsychopharmacologies (pl)
1. A branch of medical science combining neuropharmacology and psychopharmacology.
2. The study of the effect of drugs and medicines on psychological processes.

An interdisciplinary science related to psychopharmacology (how drugs affect the mind) and fundamental neuroscience. It entails research of mechanisms of neuropathology, pharmacodynamics (drug action), psychiatric illness, and states of consciousness. These studies are instigated at the detailed level involving neurotransmission or neuroreceptor activity, bio-chemical processes, and neural circuitry.

neuroroentgenography
Radiology of the nervous system.
neurotechnology
neurotheological (adjective)
A reference to the concept that within the brain are neural structures which provide a potential for religious experiences: "Some neurotheological experiences suggest that there are people who have a better understanding about their existence in the world, and how everything suddenly becomes filled with divine significance and meaning."
neurotheology, neuro-theology (s) (noun), neurotheologies, neuro-theologies (pl)
1. The search for the place, or places, in the brain where religious beliefs originate: "Neurotheology mixes terms and methods from science and religion in an attempt to confer the authority of science upon religion."

"In neurotheology, psychologists and neurologists try to determine which regions turn on, and which areas turn off, during experiences that seem to exist outside time and space."

2. The scientific study of religious or spiritual feelings by using the tools of psychology and neuroscience to probe the neural basis of religious experience: "Neurotheology is said to be a passion for uncovering the neurological evidence of spiritual and mystical experiences; for discovering, in short, what happens in people's brains when they sense that they "have encountered a reality different from—and, in some crucial sense, higher than—the reality of everyday experiences."

"Research in this field of neurotheology roughly divides into two types: (1) either stimulating spiritual experience with drugs, or (2) studying brain activity during such experiences using imaging techniques to see which regions of the brain are changing; and for some researchers, 'these moments of calm or absence of mental stress are little more than common deviations or variations in brain chemistry'."

neustonology
The study of neuston; those organisms living at the air/water interface of water bodies.
nidologist (s) (noun), nidologists (pl)
Someone who studies bird nests and their related avian behaviors and associations: Steven and the other nidologists do research in the way different species of birds produce retreats for their young and how the various newly hatched birds are cared for.
nidology (s) (noun), nidologies (pl)
The study and comparisons of bird nests: George and the specialists in nidology focus on a variety of environmental conditions that influence the way sparrows, for example, provide for their young.
nomology
noologist
Someone who is versed or who specializes in noology.
noology
1. The study of intuition, reason, and comprehension.
2. The science of the intuitive truths of reason.
3. Science of the intellect, intellectual phenomena, or understanding.
4. The doctrine of the mind.
Cross references of word families related directly, or indirectly, to: "talk, speak, speech; words, language; tongue, etc.": cit-; clam-; dic-; fa-; -farious; glosso-; glotto-; lalo-; linguo-; locu-; logo-; loqu-; mythico-; ora-; -phasia; -phemia; phon-; phras-; Quotes: Language,Part 1; Quotes: Language, Part 2; Quotes: Language, Part 3; serm-; tongue; voc-.