Teaching

Drugs and the Brain

Psychopharmacology is the study of the effects of drugs on behaviour, cognition, and emotion. There are many different classes of drugs that act within the central nervous system to alter behaviour, coginition and emotion. Some have been designed for the treatment of mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. Other drugs are known primarily for their social or recreational abuse potential. This course will provide an introduction to basic principles of psychopharmacology with a specific focus on drugs of abuse.

In the first part of the course, a range of topics pertinent to the study of psychopharmacology are covered, including behavioural pharmacology and pharmacokinetics, neurobiological mechanisms of drug action, tolerance and dependence, and classification of psychotropic drugs. In addition, the behavioural and neurobiological effects of each of the major classes of drugs of abuse will be examined. Having established these basic principles and concepts, the second part of the course focuses on some of the theories and ideas that have been seminal in shaping and guiding the field of drug addiction research over the past several decades.