Enrollment year
2020/2021
Academic discipline
BIO/14 (PHARMACOLOGY)
Department
DEPARTMENT OF BRAIN AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Course
PSYCHOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE AND HUMAN SCIENCES
Curriculum
PERCORSO COMUNE
Period
2nd semester (15/02/2021 - 11/06/2021)
Lesson hours
36 lesson hours
Activity type
WRITTEN AND ORAL TEST
Learning outcomes
The Neuropharmacology teaching course will provide a general view of the mechanisms of action and use of drugs acting on the central nervous system, with specific reference to major conditions and their pharmacological treatment. Students are expected to learn the basic principles of how, where and when a drug can interact with neural systems in a way that will impact on the course or clinical expression of a neurological or psychiatric condition.
Course contents
The course will include 1) an introductory section, where basic principles of pharmacology, such as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, along with major concepts regarding synaptic transmission and signal transduction in the brain will be discussed; 2) neural substrates of drug action will be then explained. This will include a description of major neurotransmission systems and transfer of basic concepts of functional neuroanatomy that will provide the basis for the understanding of how drugs acting within the central nervous system can modify the course of neurological or psychiatric disorders; 3) finally, we will discuss how centrally active compounds can impact on different diseases, characterized by relatively high frequency in the general populations - i.e., stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, migraine, mood disorders, etc. – and what future developments may be expected in the neuropharmacology field.
Teaching methods
On-site, frontal lessons (if possible) or on-line lessons, depending on the pandemics evolution in the next months.
Slides used for the lessons will be made available on request
Reccomended or required readings
-Goodman & Gilman's. The pharmacological basis of therapy (13th edition)
-Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience (4th edition)
Assessment methods
Written multiple choice test
Sustainable development goals - Agenda 2030
Università di Pavia - Offerta formativa