SFKBIL004U Neuropharmacology

Volume 2020/2021
Education

BSc Programme in Pharmacy - elective

Content

This course will cover the neurobiology and pharmacological treatment of major psychiatric disorders, disorders of sleep and chronic pain. For each disorder, students will learn about the neurotransmitters, receptors, and neurotransmitter interactions involved, as well as different hypotheses linking dysfunctional neural circuits to clinical symptoms.

Based on this, the course will focus on the pharmacological profiles of drugs targeting each disorder, specifically discussing how the diverse pharmacological actions couple to therapeutic efficacies and adverse side effects. In this regard, comorbidities, pharmacodynamic and -kinetic interactions with other pharmacotherapeutics, and individual life style differences, will also be adressed to discuss issues of contraindications.

For each disorder, current and potential future therapeutic principles and novel pharmacological targets will be discussed. In this regard, the challenges of drug discovery and development will be addressed, including the choice of animal models to predict clinical efficacy and side effects.

Learning Outcome

At the end of this course, students are expected to be able to: 

Knowledge 

  • describe the structure and function of the brain, with emphasis on brain regions, neurotransmitters systems and their interactions.
  • describe the different types of psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, and chronic pain states, including symptoms, the neurotransmitter systems involved, and pharmacological treatments, as well as knowledge about common animal models used in the research on the different types of psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, and chronic pain states.

 

Skills

  • discuss differences and similarities between the disorders covered and how this pertains to the possible pharmacological treatment approaches
  • discuss the rationale behind current and novel pharmacotherapeutic strategies.

 

Competence

  • combine elements of their understanding to form ideas of new treatment strategies using available drugs or drugs with novel pharmacological profiles. 

Stahl’s “Essential Psychopharmacology”, 4th ed., 2013.

Selected scientific articles (original investigations and review articles) available at the course web page.

Teaching is based on the assumption that the students have acquired knowledge, skills and competences corresponding to those obtained by completion of the first five semesters of the BSc Programme in Pharmacy.
Lectures and tutorials
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 60
  • Class Instruction
  • 10
  • Preparation
  • 110
  • Exam Preparation
  • 24
  • Exam
  • 2
  • Total
  • 206
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination, 2 hours under invigilation
A mix between multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions and questions requiring descriptions and evaluation (essay-type questions).
Aid
Without aids

There is access to the following at the exam on Peter Bangs Vej:

  • R – Statistical programme
  • MathType formel programme
  • Maple

 

 

 

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Criteria for exam assesment

To achieve the grade 12 the student must be able to:

Knowledge 

  • describe the structure and function of the brain, with emphasis on brain regions, neurotransmitters systems and their interactions.
  • describe the different types of psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, and chronic pain states, including symptoms, the neurotransmitter systems involved, and pharmacological treatments, as well as knowledge about common animal models used in the research on the different types of psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, and chronic pain states.

 

Skills

  • discuss differences and similarities between the disorders covered and how this pertains to the possible pharmacological treatment approaches
  • discuss the rationale behind current and novel pharmacotherapeutic strategies.

 

Competence

  • combine elements of their understanding to form ideas of new treatment strategies using available drugs or drugs with novel pharmacological profiles.