Psychology 325 - Psychopharmacology

Fall
2016
01
4.00
Sarah Turgeon
MWF 11:00AM-11:50AM
Amherst College
PSYC-325-01-1617F
MERR 315
smturgeon@amherst.edu
PSYC-325-01,NEUR-325-01

(Offered as PSYC 325 and NEUR 325.)  In this course we will examine the ways in which drugs act on the brain to alter behavior. We will review basic principles of brain function and mechanisms of drug action in the brain. We will discuss a variety of legal and illegal recreational drugs as well as the use of psychotherapeutic drugs to treat mental illness. Examples from the primary scientific literature will demonstrate the various methods used to investigate mechanisms of drug action, the biological and behavioral consequences of drug use, and the nature of efforts to prevent or treat drug abuse.


Requisite: PSYC 212 or PSYC/NEUR 226, or consent of the instructor. Limited to 22 students. Not open to five college students. Fall semester.  Professor Turgeon.

Permission is required for interchange registration during all registration periods.