PSYC 256 - Neuropharmacology

Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Winter 2014

This course combines lecture and seminar elements to explore the physiological bases for drug action in the nervous system with emphasis on molecular mechanisms. The course begins with an overview of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and then proceeds to examinations of major neurotransmitter classes, functional neural circuits, and a survey of recreational drugs, drug abuse, and drug dependence. The course concludes with a consideration of pharmacotherapies for selected disorders of cognition and affect. The role of neuropharmacology in the growth of our understanding of normal neurochemical function is stressed throughout. Stewart.