Drugs and Behavior



Drugs and Behavior

Neuroscience NROSCI 0081-1070

(11262)

Fall Term 2012 (2131)

Lectures: M/W/F 1:00 – 1:50 PM

L9 Clapp Hall

Instructor: Teaching Assistant:

Debra Artim, Ph.D. Rachel Schassburger

Department of Neuroscience Department of Neuroscience

Office: 571A Crawford Hall E-mail: rls127@pitt.edu

Phone (voice mail): (412) 805-3128 Office hours: by appointment

E-mail: dea20@pitt.edu

Office hours: Tues. 2:30-3:30 PM

Wed. 2:00-3:00 PM

Office hours: If you have any questions or need help with any course material, please feel free to stop by during office hours or contact the instructor or the teaching assistant via e-mail to set up an appointment.

Course description: This course serves as an introduction to the fields of neuroscience and pharmacology by examining the effects of various substances on brain function. We will focus on the biological mechanisms through which psychoactive drugs produce changes in behavior. We will take an in depth look at commonly abused drugs such as amphetamine and alcohol, and discuss current theories of addiction. In the later lectures, we will focus on drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression, and how the mechanisms of action of these drugs give us insight into the biological basis of mental illness. There are no prerequisites for this course, but a high-school level course in chemistry and/or biology would be helpful.

Text: There is no required text for this class. Two optional texts are Drugs and Behavior: An Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology by William A. McKim and Drugs and Human Behavior by David M. Grilly.. A copy of each textbook will be placed on reserve at Langley Library.

Lectures: Lectures will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1:00 to 1:50 PM. Because we will cover material in class that is not provided in the course notes, students are strongly encouraged to attend all lectures and take good notes.

Course Website: Course information including the syllabus, lecture notes and grades will be available online at: . Lecture notes will be posted on CourseWeb at least 1-2 days prior to class time. It is recommended that you print out the notes to bring to each lecture. CourseWeb will also be used to post announcements as needed. Important announcements may also be sent to your university e-mail account (name@pitt.edu). If you use another account, please make sure that your Pitt account is forwarded. The CourseWeb Discussion Board will be used to solicit questions, and to post answers to commonly asked questions. This should be a valuable resource while studying for this course.

Information for students with disabilities: If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, you are encouraged to contact both the instructor and the Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890/(412) 383-7355 (TTY), as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.

Academic Integrity: Students in this course will be expected to comply with the University of Pittsburgh's Policy on Academic Integrity. Any student suspected of violating this obligation for any reason during the semester will be required to participate in the procedural process, initiated at the instructor level, as outlined in the University Guidelines on Academic Integrity. This may include, but is not limited to, the confiscation of the examination of any individual suspected of violating University Policy. Furthermore, no student may bring any unauthorized materials to an exam, including dictionaries and programmable calculators

Examinations and grading:

Examinations: The course is divided into three sections with an exam covering each section (100 points each). In addition there is a cumulative final exam (150 points). Exams will cover all of the material in class (unless the instructor indicates otherwise) and on any handouts. Therefore it is in your best interest to attend lectures and take good notes.

Make-up exams: If you are unable to take one of the exams, you must contact the instructor or the teaching assistant BEFORE the date of the exam to arrange a make-up.

Quizzes: There will be a total of 10 quizzes, each worth 10 points. The quizzes will be available on CourseWeb 3-4 days prior to the due date. Students must post their answers before class on the indicated due dates to get points for correct answers. The purpose of the quizzes is to encourage you to study and become familiar with the material as well as the types of questions that will be on the exams. Quizzes should be a good way to help students prepare for the exams.

Grading: Your final grade will be based on the total number of points you earn through exams and quizzes. The maximum number of points available for the course is 550. The final grade for the course will be assigned according to the following grading scale:

Final Grading Scale: Fixed

A+ ≥97% A = 93-97% A- = 90-92%

B+ 89-87% B = 83-87% B- = 80-82%

C+ 79-77% C = 73-77% C- = 70-72%

D+ 69-67% D = 63-67% D- = 60-62%

Below 60% F

Course Schedule

Day Date Topic / Deadlines

M Aug. 27 Introduction

W Aug. 29 Principles of Drug Action

F Aug. 31 Pharmacokinetics

M Sept. 3 No Class – Labor Day

W Sept. 5 Neuroanatomy

F Sept. 7 Quiz 1 due

Neuroanatomy

M Sept10 Neurophysiology

W Sept.12 Neurophysiology - continued

F Sept 14 Quiz 2 due

Neurotransmission

M Sept. 17 Neurotransmission

W Sept. 19 Neurotransmitters

F Sept. 21 Quiz 3 due

Addiction – tolerance and dependence

M Sept. 24 Tolerance and dependence

W Sept. 26 Exam 1

F Sept. 28 Theories of addiction

M Oct. 1 Reinforcement / animal models

W Oct. 3 Drug Classification

F Oct. 5 Quiz 4 due

Stimulants: amphetamine and cocaine

M/T Oct. 8-9 No class – fall break

Monday classes meet on Tues. October 9

Stimulants continued

W Oct. 10 Stimulants: caffeine and nicotine

F Oct. 12 Quiz 5 due

Alcohol

M Oct. 15 Alcohol

W Oct. 17 Cannabis

F Oct. 19 Quiz 6 due

Cannabis

M Oct. 22 Opiates

W Oct. 24 Opiates

F Oct. 26 Quiz 7 due

Psychedelics and hallucinogens

M Oct. 29 Psychedelics - continued

W Oct. 31 Exam 2

F Nov. 2 Affective disorders

M Nov. 5 Antidepressants / mood stabilizers

W Nov.7 Anxiety disorders

F Nov.9 Quiz 8 due

Anxiolytics and sedative - hypnotics

M Nov.12 Inhalants

W Nov. 14 Schizophrenia

F Nov. 16 Quiz 9 due

Antipsychotics

M Nov. 19 MPTP – Parkinson’s disease

W Nov. 21 No class – Thanksgiving break

F Nov. 23 No class – Thanksgiving break

M Nov. 26 Parkinson’s disease

W Nov. 28 Alzheimer’s disease

F Nov. 30 Quiz 10 due

M Dec. 3 Disorders in children

W Dec. 5 Pharmacotherapy for other disorders

F Dec. 7 Exam 3

F Dec. 14 Final exam – 8:00 – 9:50 AM

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