Psychopharmacology

Catalog description

The purpose of this course is to present basic issues related to psyphopharmacology. This material will begin with a review of neurobiology, including basic biomedical experimental techniques as well as methods used primarily with humans. From this foundation, we will consider the most important models of drug distribution and action. As part of our understanding of basic pharmacological processes, we will consider how differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in different human populations may alter the expected therapeutic and side effects profiles of pshychoactive drugs. In the second half of the course, students will be expected to apply their knowledge of how neurobiological systems function and how they integrate with other behaviorally important biological substrates in the body to aid their understanding how the actions of drugs alter neuronal funtioning and thereby alter behavior. The primary focus of this portion of the course will be on understanding the pharmacological effects of a variety of standard psychotherapeutic drug classes and will consider how these effects may alter ongoing behavior and psychological processes.