Neurophobia Lowers Neurology Interest Among Hispanic Medical Students

Among Hispanic medical students, neurophobia — the fear of neurology due to its perceived complexity — significantly decreased their likelihood of selecting neurology as a future career, according to study results presented at the 2025 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual meeting, held from April 5 to 9, 2025, in San Diego, California.

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study among 209 medical students at different points in their training (preclinical, clinical, and internship phases) across various universities throughout Ecuador. The study objective was to investigate the relationship between neurophobia and the probability of specializing in neurology as a future career path.

The researchers evaluated the degree of neurophobia using the Neuro-Q test and the interest in neurology as a future career path using the Likert scale. Of the 209 medical students (mean age, 21 years; women, 62.6%), 31.6% demonstrated neurophobia and were less likely to choose neurology as their top career path, scoring lower on the Likert scale (5 out of 23) compared with students without neurophobia (18 out of 23).

Analysis using the Pearson Chi-Square test and the Fisher’s exact test confirmed a significant association between neurophobia and a future career path in neurology (Pearson Chi Square test: P =.007 and Fisher’s exact test: P =.010).

The researchers further analyzed the strength of this relationship using Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation tests. The presence of neurophobia demonstrated a significantly negative correlation with future career interests of medical students (Pearson’s correlation: R = -.197; P =.004 and Spearman’s correlation: R = -.195; P =.005).

“Neurophobia has a significant impact on students’ career preferences, deterring them from choosing neurology,” the researchers wrote. “Educational reforms that reduce the perceived complexity of neurology could help alleviate neurophobia and increase interest in this critical specialty among medical students.”