BIONB 3920 - Drugs and the Brain

(PBS-AS)

Fall. Offered alternate years. 4 credits. Student option grading.

Prerequisite: BIONB 2220 or equivalent course in neurobiology by permission of instructor. Recommended prerequisite: knowledge of biochemistry. Enrollment limited to: 85 students.

R. M. Harris-Warrick.

Introduction to neuropharmacology, with an emphasis on the neural mechanisms of psychoactive drugs. Topics include a brief introduction to neuropharmacology and a discussion of the major neurotransmitter families. The rest of the course covers the major psychoactive drugs, including cocaine, heroin, psychedelics, marijuana, and alcohol, as well as pharmaceuticals for the treatment of anxiety, schizophrenia, and depression. Includes a term paper in the form of a grant proposal to study a current problem in neuropharmacology. The course will use i-Clickers, which the students should have before the first class. BioNB3920 website

Outcome 1: Master the basics of pharmacology and understand the biochemical, physiological and neural pathways of drug actions in the brain.

Outcome 2: Understand the neural mechanisms of addiction and withdrawal of psychoactive drugs, and the therapeutic actions of major psychiatric drugs in the brain.

Outcome 3: Critically analyze and evaluate papers from the neuropharmacology literature.

Outcome 4: Design research plans utilizing modern neurobiological techniques to test hypotheses in neuropharmacology.

Outcome 5: Search the literature, to propose solutions to currently unsolved problems in neuropharmacology, and to test them experimentally.