Drugs and Behavior
Neuroscience NROSCI 0081-7010
(12089)
College of General Studies
Fall Term 2012 (2131)
Lectures: Tuesdays 6:00 – 8:30 P.M.
241 Crawford Hall
Instructor: Debra Artim, Ph.D.
Department of Neuroscience
Office: 571A Crawford Hall
Phone (voice mail): (412) 805-3128
E-mail: dea20@pitt.edu
Office hours: . Tuesday 2:30-3:30 PM and Wednesday 2:00-3:00 PM or by
appointment. 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 via phone
or 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 Tuesdays from 6:00 to 8:30 P.M. 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. A 15 minute
break will be given in the middle of each class.
Course Website: Course information including the syllabus, lecture notes and
grades will be available online at: http://courseweb.pitt.edu. 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 BEFORE the date of the exam.
Quizzes: There will be a total of 8 quizzes, each worth 10 points. The lowest
quiz score will be dropped when calculating your final grade. The quizzes will be
available on CourseWeb approximately one week prior to the due date. Students
must post their answers before class on the indicated due dates to get points for
correct answers. More information on how to do this will be given in class. 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. Since we
meet only once a week, we will cover a good deal of material in each class and
the quizzes should be a good way to help students prepare for the exams.
Extra credit paper: Students wishing to raise their grade may complete a paper
on a chosen drug-related topic, which will add a maximum of 15 points to your
cumulative score. This option will be discussed in more detail following the first
exam. Any students interested in writing the optional paper will need to meet
with Dr. Artim.
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 520 (excluding extra credit). The final grade for the course will be
assigned according to the following grading scale:
Final Grading Scale: Fixed
A+ ≥97%
B+ 89-87%
C+ 79-77%
D+ 69-67%
Below 60%
A = 93-97%
B = 83-87%
C = 73-77%
D = 63-67%
F
A- = 90-92%
B- = 80-82%
C- = 70-72%
D- = 60-62%
Course Schedule
Date
Topic / Due dates
August 28
Introduction
Principles of Drug Action
September 4
Quiz 1 due
Neuroanatomy
Neurophsyiology: resting potential
September 11
Quiz 2 due
Neurophysiology: action potentials
Neurotransmission
September 18
Quiz 3 due
Neurotransmitters
Addiction: tolerance and dependence
Review for Exam 1
September 25
Exam 1
Addiction: reinforcement and animal models
October 2
Extra credit topic due
Stimulants: amphetamine and cocaine
October 9
No class – fall break
(Monday classes meet)
October 16
Quiz 4 due
Stimulants: caffeine and nicotine
Alcohol
October 23
Quiz 5 due
Cannabis
Opiates
October 30
Quiz 6 due
Psychedelic Drugs
Review for Exam 2
November 6
Exam 2
Depression / Antidepressants
November 13
Anxiety / Anxiolytics
November 20
Quiz 7 due
Schizophrenia / Antipsychotics
November 27
Quiz 8 due
Extra credit paper due
Parksinson’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease
Review for exam 3
December 4
Exam 3
Review for final exam
December 11
Final exam