Behavioral Sciences Course Instructors
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Bill Greenough, Organizer
Art Kramer, Psychology
Sari Aronson, Psychiatry
Donna Korol, Psychology
Sarah Mangelsdorf, Psychology
Joe Goldberg, COM-UC
“Maintaining Health is as Important as
Treating Disease for both Mortality and
Quality of Life”
Planning our Meetings in a
Timely Manner Can Optimize our
Progress in Improving the
Curriculum
Behavioral Sciences Course Overview
• Basic Principles of Behavioral Sciences
• Brain-Behavior Relationships
• Psychiatric Disorders, Theories and
Treatments
• Human Sexuality
• Neuropsychology
• Stress and Health
• Death and Dying
• Health Care Systems
• Developmental Psychology
Behavioral Sciences Course Overview
• Basic Principles of Behavioral Sciences
• Brain-Behavior Relationships
• Psychiatric Disorders, Theories and
Treatments
• Human Sexuality
• Neuropsychology
• Stress and Health
• Death and Dying
• Health Care Systems
• Developmental Psychology
I.Basic Principles of Behavioral Sciences
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BASIC EXPERIMENTATION
MEMORY
LEARNING
PERCEPTION
DECISION MAKING
I.Basic Principles of Behavioral Sciences
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BASIC EXPERIMENTATION
MEMORY
LEARNING
PERCEPTION
DECISION MAKING
DECISION MAKING
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Cognitive heuristics and decision making
Other factors leading to cognitive biases
Probabilistic reasoning in Medicine
Applications of Bayes Theorem
Questions Regarding Course Style (1)
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(1) What do you teach and how do you choose what to teach?
Behavioral Sciences most relevant to medicine and Boards Part I.
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(2) How do you teach your material?
Both lecture and question/answer format. One set of workshops. Greenough and
Aronson team in a biologist-psychiatrist exchange on mental illness to illustrate
the relevance of basic science to clinical practice.
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(3) Is a guiding principle to provide a stock of fundamental information?
Focus on theory and experimentation – and on application to clinical medical
practice.
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(4) Do you put emphasis on providing a framework within which facts can be
organized?
Theory and clinical goals in each relevant area serve as the organizing
framework.
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Questions Regarding Course Style (2)
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(5) Are general mechanisms and explanations that can be applied to new
material presented?
• Encourage the students to think beyond the examples presented in class –
and test such generalization of learning on the examination.
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(6) What do you do to involve the active participation of students in
learning your discipline?
Encourage the students to ask both clarifying questions and questions
concerning the generalization and application of the material
The physical setting (lecture hall) inhibits connecting with the students.
Methods of involvement include an creating an atmosphere of interest in
what students have to say, asking students their thoughts on video
material, allowing time for questions in and after class.
(7) Do you provide the students with a written curriculum? If so, what is
it?
Typically lecture notes as well as all of our PowerPoint slides.
Questions Regarding Course Style (3)
• (8) Do you attempt to make explicit links to the content of other
M1 disciplines?
• Yes. Whenever possible.
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More knowledge of content of other courses would be of
significant value here
• (9) How do you attempt to show the clinical relevance of your
material?
• Through examples from clinical journals, newspaper and
magazine articles, etc. Aronson uses real case examples in lectures
on schizophrenia, depression, etc. While the clinical problem of the
week rarely fits the behavioral sciences, we have enormous
amounts of clinically-relevant material.
Behavioral Sciences Course Overview
• Basic Principles of Behavioral Sciences
• Brain-Behavior Relationships
• Psychiatric Disorders, Theories and
Treatments
• Human Sexuality and Neuropsychology
• Stress and Health
• Death and Dying
• Health Care Systems
• Developmental Psychology
II. Brain-Behavior Relationships
• Brain Organization and Imaging
• Neuropsychology, Neuropsychological
Disorders
• Brain Development and Plasticity
• Sleep and Circadian Rhythms
• Psychoneuroimmunology and Stress
• (Biological Motivation - Removed for
mandatory shortening)
II.a. Brain Organization and
Imaging
• Basic Functions of Major Brain Regions,
including cerebral cortex, basal forebrain,
brainstem
• Brain Imaging (MRI, CT, PET, etc.) and
their uses, including functional imaging
• Information necessary for subsequent
lectures
II.c.Brain Development and
Plasticity
• Critical Periods in Sensory Development
• Clinical Relationship: Amblyopia
• Experience and Cognitive Development
(Zero to Three starts too late and ends too
soon)
• Social Development
• Mental Retardation/Developmental Delay
III. Psychiatric Disorders, Theories and
Treatments
• Schizophrenia
• Mood and Anxiety Disorders
• Substance Abuse and Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome
• Personality, Psychopathology and Stress
(Includes Psychoanalysis, Biology)
• Treatment of Personality Disorders
• (Self-Injurious and Risk BehaviorsRemoved for Shortening)
III.a. Schizophrenia
• Neuroscientist and psychiatrist
collaboration
• Neurobiology of schizophrenia
• Understanding the experience of the patient,
symptoms, the basics of diagnosis
III.b. Mood and Anxiety
Disorders
• Neuroscientist and psychiatrist
collaboration
• Neurobiology of Mood and Anxiety
Disorders
• Understanding the experience of the patient,
symptoms, the basics of diagnosis
III.d. Personality and
Psychopathology
• Approaches to understanding personality
from psychoanalytic, behavioral, and
family/systems points of view
• Psychotherapies derived from each of these
perspectives
IV.a. Human Sexuality (2 lectures)
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Culture and Attitudes
Patterns of Sexual Behaviors across the lifespan
Reproductive System Development
Physiology of the sexual response
Hormones and Sexual Behavior
Hormones, Gender and Cognition
Sexual Disorders and their Etiologies
Medication and Sexual Behavior
Aging and sexuality
IV.b. Sexuality Workshops (1 lecture)
I. Decision-making and contraception: Sexuality issues
guiding contraception choice
As a couple discusses which contraceptive method will be their best choice, sexual
implications of each method should be considered. In this workshop we will cover the
following contraceptive methods and their sexual ramifications. Please come prepared
with your questions as to the pros and cons regarding the following methods: Rhythm
method, Injectable contraceptives (Depo Provera, Lunelle), Condoms, Intrauterine device,
Contraceptive foams and gels, Tubal Ligation, Diaphragm/Cervical cap, Vasectomy, Oral
Contraceptives
II. The Physician as a Sexual Being
As physicians you will be faced with a variety of medical issues that involve your
patients’ sexuality. This workshop will address the interplay between your own feelings
and reactions as a person with your responsibility as a health care practitioner. Come
prepared with 3 scenarios involving some aspect of sexuality that a health care provider
might encounter.
III. Living with STDs
Individuals with sexually transmitted diseases are confronted with many issues and
stigmas associated with their disease. One responsibility of health care providers is to
inform and to educate these individuals about their disease state and transmission,
especially with respect to sexuality. Come prepared with questions concerning the role of
the health care practitioner in counseling patients about sexual practices.
IV.c. Neuropsychology (3 lectures)
• Brief Review of Neuroanatomy
• Hemispheric Localization of Function
• Disorders of Function (e.g. agnosias, spatial language,
memory)
• Assessment of Neuropsychological Function
• Cognitive Changes and Neuropathology Associated with
Dementias (Alzheimer’s Disease and Alcohol-related
dementia)
V. Stress and Health (1 Lecture)
• Effects of Stress on Disease
• Stress and the Brain
• Pain
VI. Death and Dying (One Lecture)
• Confronting one’s Own Feelings on
Mortality
• Depression and Death
• Stages of Patient Acceptance of Death
• Anticipating Death of a Loved One
• Grief
VII. Health Care Systems
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Joe Goldberg:
Legal Terminology
Health Care Spending, Supply and Demand
Health Care Delivery
VIII. Developmental Psychology
(6 Lectures)
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Families
Prenatal Development and Newborn Capabilities
Child Abuse (physicians are mandated reporters)
Learning in the Newborn
Childhood, Social Development
Adolescence
Adult Development
Aging
VIII. b. Prenatal Development and
Newborn Capabilities
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Fetal Learning
Teratogens
APGAR Scores
Reflexes
Sleep in the Newborn
Newborn Crying
Newborn Sensory Abilities