Psychopharmacology & Mental Health
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| LIFE4134 | Life Sciences | 4 | 10 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- LIFE4134
- School
- Life Sciences
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- 10
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
Lecture topics will include discussions of the latest research in the following areas of Psychopharmacology and Mental Health:
- Early-life stressors (physical, pathophysiological and emotional) and their effects on brain development
- Psychological stress in adolescence and brain maturation
- Risky behaviours, substance misuse and addiction in early adulthood
- Addiction, Reward and Synaptic Plasticity
- Psychosocial stress, Sleep disorders and Depression in adulthood
- Cannabis, alcohol and mood disorders
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) versus current pharmacological approaches to treating depression
- Pharmacology and chemistry of psychedelics and their effects on treatment-resistant depression
- Talking therapies, Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and the effects of exercise on mood
- Genetics, Precision Medicine and new avenues for treatment-resistant depression.
Target Students
This module is primarily targeted at 3rd and 4th Year Neuroscience students. Neuroscience students contemplating a PhD in psychopharmacology research or with an interest in stress, addiction, mental health and the pharmacological action of psychedelic drugs on the brain would find this course interesting.
Classes
This module may be delivered through lectures, seminars, workshops and labs etc
Assessment
- 100% Exam (3-hour): One 3 hour written exam. The exam paper will typically ask students to answer 1 question out of a choice of 2 essay titles.
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
This module will explore the effects of early-life adversity and stress on predisposition to addiction, depression and mental health conditions in adolescence and adulthood. Lectures will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the pharmacological actions of various psychedelic drugs and their potential to guide new drug discovery for treatment-resistant depression. Moreover, the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy versus newer psychotherapeutic approaches to treating depression will be examined. Furthermore, precision medicine-based approaches for treating sub-groups of people with depression will be discussed. Finally, students will learn about state-of-the-art research methods in psychopharmacology and how to interpret data and results presented in pioneering research articles in the field.Learning Outcomes
Demonstrate (by explaining and describing in diagrams and prose) an in-depth understanding of the scientific / clinical significance of recent findings in the psychopharmacology literature.
Read, understand, integrate information and critically discuss and critique the data and results presented in scientific publications in the field of mental health research.
Appraise, evaluate and contextualise both novel and older methodologies used to treat depression in distinct patient sub-populations.