PS 333

Drugs and Behavior

Time: MWF 4-5 SCI Rm. 115 (590 Commonwealth Ave.)

Instructor: Prof. Michael Hasselmo, http://www.bu.edu/people/hasselmo/

e-mail: hasselmo@bu.edu (e-mail is the best way to contact me) Tel: 353-1397

Office hours: Friday 2-4 pm, Room 105E, 2 Cummington St.

Teaching assistant:

Text: A Primer of Drug Action (8th Edition) by Robert M. Julien.

Grading: TWO MID-TERM EXAMS 66.6% of grade

Multiple-choice exams during regular class sessions.

Questions based on lecture materials and reading.

FINAL EXAM 33.3% of grade.

Multiple choice exam covering last section of course reading and lectures.

Topic: Overview of the effect of drugs on neurophysiology and behavior. Includes description of the functional role of neurotransmitters such as glutamate and GABA and neuromodulatory substances such as norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine and various neuropeptides. Topics in the course will include the anatomical distribution of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, physiological effects of drugs recorded in vivo and in vitro, behavioral evidence on the role of specific drugs, theories of the role of neuromodulators in mental and neurological disease, and computational modeling of neural circuits. For each section of the course, class sessions will first focus on physiological and anatomical data, and then on behavior and modeling. Note that the discussion of particular disorders after presentation of a particular neurochemical does not mean that particular neurochemical is the only one involved in the disorder.

Course outline:

Dates: Topic: Reading:

Sept. 3 Introduction, course overview.

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Sept. 6 No class - holiday

Sept. 8 Neuroanatomy Appendix IV
Sept. 10 Membrane potential (pp. 503-531)

Sept. 13 Action potential

Sept. 15 Synaptic transmission (synaptic potential)

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Sept. 17 Principles of drug action (delivery, lipid solubility) Chapter 1

Sept. 20 drug-receptor interaction, metabolism and excretion

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I. AMINO ACID NEUROTRANSMITTERS

Sept. 22 Brain slice example of excitatory and inhibitory transmission pp. 525-528

Sept. 24 Glutamate - AMPA and NMDA receptors (guest lecture) pp. 370-374

Sept. 27 GABA Benzodiazepines and barbiturates Chapters 2 and 4

Sept. 29 Symptoms of anxiety disorders pp. 429-439, 446-456

Oct. 1 Treatment of anxiety disorders

Oct. 4 Alcohol - effects on GABAA receptor Chapter 3

Oct. 6 Marijuana Chapter 11

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Oct. 8 EXAM #1 (all topics covered before this date)

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Oct. 11 No class - Columbus Day Holiday

Oct. 13 Phobias and panic disorders (video)

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II. ACETYLCHOLINE.

Oct. 15 Physiology and anatomy of cholinergic modulation pp. 516-521

Oct. 18 Muscarinic drugs, memory and sleep

Oct. 20 Effects of nicotine and caffeine Chapter 6

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III. CATECHOLAMINES

Oct. 22 Techniques of addiction research

Oct. 25 Substance abuse disorders (video)

Oct. 27 The schizophrenias (video)

Oct. 29 Anatomy and physiology of the catecholamines pp. 521-525

Nov. 1 Cocaine and amphetamines, ADHD Chapter 5

Nov. 3 Schizophrenia -- behavioral and cognitive symptoms pp. 443-445

Nov. 5 Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia - neuroleptics Chapter 9

Nov. 8 Other hypotheses of schizophrenia pp. 370-374

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Nov. 10 EXAM #2 (on topics III and IV)

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Nov. 12 Understanding schizophrenia, Understanding depression (videos)

Nov. 15 Parkinson's disease Appendix III

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IV. SEROTONIN

Nov. 17 Anatomy and physiology of serotonin pp. 525-526

Nov. 19 Hallucinogens Chapter 12

Nov. 22 Depression: Beyond the Darkness (video)

Nov. 24, 26 No class - Thanksgiving Holiday

Nov. 29 MAOIs and tricyclic antidepressants Chapter 7

Dec. 1 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

Dec. 3 Bipolar affective disorder Chapter 8

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V. NEUROACTIVE PEPTIDES

Dec. 6 Anatomy and physiology of neuropeptides

Dec. 8 Hormones and sexual reproduction Chapter 13

Dec. 10 Anabolic steroids, psychoneuroimmunology Appendix 1

Dec. 13 Opiates, analgesia and addiction Chapter 10

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FINAL EXAM - On topics covered since Nov. 10

(topics IV and V and Parkinson's disease).