Addiction and the Brain
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| PSGY1005 | Psychology | 1 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- PSGY1005
- School
- Psychology
- Level
- 1
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
Proposed lecture series:
1. Introduction and basics of neurotransmission
2. Addiction theory 1
3. Addiction theory 2
4. Brain substrates
5. Cocaine
6. Amphetamines
7. Opioids 1
8. Opioids 2
9. Hallucinogens 1
10. Hallucinogens 2
11. Inhalants 1
12. Inhalants 2
13. Alcohol 1
14. Alcohol 2
15. Cannabis
16. Cannabis/caffeine
17. Nicotine 1
18. Nicotine 2
19. Revision 1
20. Revision 2
Target Students
Only available for UG students. This module is not available for Year 3 Psychology students.
Assessment
- 100% ExamSys (2-hour): ExamSys
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
The aim of the module is to provide a broad understanding of the behavioural and biological mechanisms underlying drug and behavioural addictions. In terms of content, there will be three key components to the course to: (1) introduce popular drugs of abuse; (2) identify common themes of addiction and the underlying mechanisms.Learning Outcomes
1. Knowledge and understanding:
a. Generic knowledge benchmarks
i. Demonstrate understanding of how addictive behaviours are defined
ii. Demonstrate understanding of different levels of explanation of addictive behaviours
b. Module-specific Knowledge Benchmarks
i. Demonstrate knowledge of, biological, and psychological approaches to the study of addiction
ii. Demonstrate knowledge of theories of reward and addiction
2. Intellectual Skills:
a. Generic knowledge benchmarks
i. Locate primary resources in the library and electronic databases.
ii. Critical appraisal of primary sources.
iii. Evidence of intellectual development through independent reading.
b. Module-specific Knowledge Benchmarks
i. Apply evidence-based reasoning and logic to evaluate the merits of competing theories seeking to explain addictive behaviours
ii. Identify common theoretical themes between different addictive behaviours
3. Professional Practise Skills:
i. Evidence of academic skills including scholarly research.
4. Transferable Skills:
i. Demonstrate evidence-based decision making.
ii. Demonstrate an ability to perform effective literature search.