Psychopharmacology

Catalog description

Description: The course will begin with an introduction to aspects of the brain and genes relevant to neuropsychopharmacology, including, but not limited to: structural and chemical neuroanatomy, genetics/ epigenetics, neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, receptors and transporters, signal transduction, psychoneuroendocrinology and the brain-immune system, etc. The basics of psychopharmacology including an introduction to pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics will be covered. We will then study the primary classes of psychopharmacological agents: antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, antidepressants, anxiolytics, sedative-hypnotics (sleep medications), psychostimulants, medications for substance use disorders, etc. We will also briefly review the other "somatic" therapies in psychiatry, e.g., vagus nerve stimulation, deep brain stimulation, ECT and rTMS. We will discuss the emerging field of psychodynamic psychopharmacology.We will also address salient ethical and cultural factors in psychopharmacology. In brief, we will approach the complex field of neuropsychopharmacology through the multiple lenses of genome/ epigenome, brain, mind and culture.