After reading all of the class projects,
complete this assignment - deadline = 11 May, 2005
After reading all of the class projects,
evaluate your team and its work - deadline = 11 May, 2005
ADVANCED PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
Psychology 572 (CRN# 23161) Spring, 2005
Dr. John M. Morgan Tues & Thurs 8 - 9:20 am NR 201
REQUIRED TEXT: Drugs and Human Behavior
by Tibor Palfai & Henry Jankiewicz, Second Edition
McGraw-Hill Primis Custom Publishing, 2001
ISBN 0-07-252486-3
Clinical Psychopharmacology: Made ridiculously simple
by John Preston & James Johnson 4th ed. (2000)
MedMaster Inc., P.O.Box 640028, Miami, FL 33164
ISBN 0-940780-44-5
Clinical Psychopharmacology will focus on both the basic
research and applied aspects of the drug <-> brain <-> behavior
complex interactions. We will examine the history of drug use;
research philosophy, strategies, techniques and data for the
development of psychoactive drugs; their routes and limitations
of entering the body/brain; their effects on the human brain
and consequent behavior changes; the complex interactions of
long term drug use and the brain/behavior complex as well as the
clinical indications and contraindications of drugs on human behavior.
This method of conducting my courses stems from
the philosophy that the students should bear a reasonable share
of the work of a course. The semester will be divided into
three projects. Each project will be published on the Internet
on our class's home web page for anyone in the world to read.
The class sessions will consist of discussions of the subject of
the texts and coaching of the teams by the instructor and
teaching assistants.
The projects will explore the workings of drugs on the brain
by requiring that each student team explore the mechanisms by
which drugs affect the human brain and, therefore, the person's
behavior. The teams will consist of 3 or 5 students from our
class and each student will accept responsibility to research,
explore and describe for the team and the rest of the class one
of the factors listed below. Each student will select a
different team topic and a different individual topic for each of
the three projects during the semester.
I. Possible student's topic (include human and non-human
research models and data, and data derived from
Psychopharmacology research methods):
Chemistry of the drug and route of access of drug
Synaptic Transmitter(s) involved
Part of the neuron affected
(Dendrites, cell body, terminal boutons, post-synaptic,
autoreceptors)
Inhibitory or excitatory potential changes
Ion channels effected
Physiological (whole body) changes
Primary behavior changes
Side effect behavior changes
Effects reported by users and/or survivors of the use of
drug
II. Each team will explore the above different aspects of one of
the following drug classifications:
Anti-Schizophrenics:
Phenothiazine, e.g. Chlorpromazine
Butyrophenones, e.g. Haloperidol
Atypical, e.g. Clopazine
Anti-Depressants:
Tricyclics, e.g. amitriptyline
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors, e.g. Phenelzine
Selective Serotonin Receptor Inhibitors, e.g.
Fluozetine (Prozac)
Manic-depressive treatments, e.g. Lithium
Hallucinogenic, e.g. LSD, Psilocybin, Marijuana
Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder, e.g. Ritalin
Drugs often abused:
Opiates, e.g. heroin
Amphetamines, e.g. speed
Cocaine, e.g. crack
Designer drugs, e.g. MDMA
Legally available, e.g. Nicotine, Caffeine, Alcohol
Anxiolytics, e.g. Benzodiazepines
A team can negotiate with me for acceptance of another drug
group
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III. Process of the project:
Solo Each student selects a drug group in which to
participate (II. above)
Solo Each student selects the aspect of the brain effected
by the drug (I. above)
Team Members of the team negotiate with each other so that
each student is assigned a different brain aspect
on which to concentrate (I. above)
Solo Each student researches his/her topic and assimilates
the material, then writes a 2 page report in the
format and style agreed upon by the team.
Team Members of the team meet during class time and produce
a team report that integrates each of the member's
reports in a publishable format and that maintains
each student's section separate and signed.
IV. Resources:
Text book of the course
Book section (stacks) of the library (use the library's on-
line index - Catalyst)
Periodical section of the library (see attached list of
Neuroscience journals)
Search of electronic indexes through the library, e.g.
Medline, Psychlit, ERIC, etc.
Internet newsgroups and lists (see attached list for
examples)
Search internet for specific topic home pages
FDA and/or Drug company reports on internet or in the PDR
Physician, Patient and/or survivor home pages and/or
newsgroups on internet
V. Final Report will be published on the Internet as a product
of our class. Only those reports that are of sufficient quality
will earn course credit and be published for all to read. The
reports will be typed in either Wordperfect or Word word
processing computer programs with one inch margins all around and
a font of 10 characters per inch (12 point size).
Graphs, charts, pictures, figures are welcomed and, in fact,
recommended. Please include them, not in the text, but in a separate
file on the same CD or floppy disc with an indication in the text
where you wish the figure to be placed. Please use APA format style.
The individual student will write his/her part
individually but the team will be responsible to insure that each
part fits well with each other part. Therefore, the team needs
to meet during the class periods in order to insure that the
individual reports mesh together in substance and style. Each
section needs to use some of all of the resources listed above
and referenced on the fifth page of each individual report for
all to reference. The individual reports should be 4 single-spaced,
full pages.
Each of these reports needs to be highly compacted with knowledge
and data written in a very concise form. There is no room for
sentences which do not materially advance the topic or that
repeat a previously state thought. Personal, unsubstantiated
opinions have no place here. This is not an "I think" piece or a
composition for an english class but a report on hard data that
extends the textbook treatment of the topic.
Please be sure to follow these guidelines:
1 Establish your specific topic with the other members of your
team after repeated meetings.
2 Research and write your part of the team report in the word
processor of your choice consulting periodically with
your team members.
3 When completely finished with your part, examine it to
follow these cautions:
a Use only one set of formatting codes and place them
only at the beginning of your report.
b Use Courier or New Courier font.
c Use 12pt font size only - do not change this anywhere
in the body of your report.
d Use single space vertical line spacing only.
e Use 1" margins at the top, bottom, left and a 1.5"
margin at the right. Otherwise, the lines may
overrun the viewers screen.
f Do not use hyphens anywhere in the text. They will not
translate well.
g Do not use fancy formatting anywhere in the text, e.g.
avoid hanging indents for the bibliography.
h. Avoid underlines, italics, etc. because they will not
translate to the web.
PLEASE USE ONLY MICROSOFT'S WORD WORD PROCESSOR!
4. Save your work to floppy disc using only ASCII (DOS) TEXT
file type, not ASCII delimited file type.
5. Get together with the rest of your team and join all of your
team member's individual reports together as one
sequential team report, eliminating any formatting
codes in the body of the team report and placing them
at the very beginning of the document only.
VI. Chronology:
First Team Project 6 weeks - Jan 18 to Feb 24, 2005
Second Team Project 5 weeks - Mar 1 to Mar 31, 2005
Third Team Project 4 weeks - Apr 5 to May 5, 2005
VII. Evaluation: Total
Points
Mandatory:
Class period attendance and participation 300
3 projects: Solo portion @ 100 points each 300
Team portion @ 25 points each 75
3 Take home exam over the published team
projects @ 30 (use on-line form) 90
3 Team peer evaluation @ 15 45
---------------
Total for the Semester 810
Voluntary extra credit:
1 extra credit term paper can increase your letter
grade by either 1/3 or 2/3 or 1 letter grade.
Go back to the beginning
Copyright © 2005, Dr. John M. Morgan, All rights reserved -
This page last edited 12 Jan, 2005
If you have any feedback for the author, E-mail me
