Drugs and Behavior-PSY 245—Spring Semester, 2016
Tuesday/Thursday 9:30 AM-10:45
PM: Morton 100 Auditorium
Dr. Mark Galizio (galizio@uncw.edu)
Course website:
http://people.uncw.edu/galizio/galizio.htm
Office = TL 2078, Office Hrs: TBA or by
appointment
Textbook: Maisto, Galizio, & Connors (2015). Drug use and abuse, 7th Ed., Wadsworth/Cengage Press.
Course Outline
I. Introduction to Drugs
and Behavior
A. Psychoactive Drugs:
An Overview
1. History
2. Drugs and the Legal
System
B. Some Preliminaries:
The Nervous System
1. The Central Nervous
System (CNS)
2. The Autonomic Nervous
System (ANS)
3. Neurotransmitters:
The Chemistry of Thought and Emotion
C. Psychopharmacology:
An Emerging Science
1. Basic Principles
2. Methodology: Rats,
Double Blinds and Placebos
3. Ethical Issues in
Drug Research
Exam 1: c. Feb 11;
Readings: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5
II. The Grand Tour: The
Major Psychoactive Drugs
Discussion of the
history, mechanism of action, medical and psychotherapeutic use, physiological
and psychological effects of the following drug groups:
A. Stimulants:
Amphetamines, Cocaine; Methcathinone (bath salts),
Caffeine, Nicotine, Ritalin,
B. Depressants: Alcohol,
Barbiturates and Sedatives
C. Psychiatric drugs:
Major and Minor Tranquilizers, Antidepressants
D. Over-The-Counter
drugs, Miscellaneous Prescription drugs, Herbal Preparations
Exam 2: c. March 22;
Readings: Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, & 14
III. The Tour
(continued)
E. Marijuana and
synthetic cannabinoids
F. Hallucinogens: LSD,
MDMA (ecstasy), Psilocybin, Mescaline, 2C-I and other phenethylamines, Cholinergic
Drugs, PCP & Ketamine, etc.
G. Opiates
IV. Drug Use as a Social
Phenomenon
A. The Social Context of
Drug Use
B. Social and
Personality Correlates
C. Mechanisms of Use and
Dependence
D. Therapy and Social
Control of Abuse
FINAL EXAM Thursday, May
3—8:00 PM-11:00 PM; Readings: Chapters 10, 11, 12, 15, & 16
The final exam will be comprehensive, but will
focus on the readings and lectures of Units III & IV.
Learning Outcome Objectives
1. Student will be able
to describe how drug use and abuse has changed over the years and how drug laws
developed.
2. Student will be able
to describe how drugs affect the brain via neurotransmitter systems and how
these brain actions determine the acute and chronic effects of drugs.
3. Student will be
able to identify the basic principles of psychopharmacology and describe the
methodology that defines this field.
4. Student will be able
to discuss key ethical issues associated with modern drug use and abuse.
5. Student will be able
to describe the history, mechanism of action, medical and psychotherapeutic
uses, physiological and psychological effects of the following drug groups:
stimulants, depressants, psychiatric drugs, over-the-counter drugs, marijuana,
hallucinogens, and opiates.
6. Student will be able
to discuss drug use and abuse as a modern social issue and be able to describe
theories of drug dependence, therapies for dependence and strategies for
prevention of drug problems.
Movie/Book Reviews
You will be asked to
view a movie/video or read a book with a substance abuse theme and submit a
short (2-3 page) review. A list of acceptable titles and detailed instructions
will be provided on the website. Your review will be due on April 21st.
An additional Web site review may be submitted for a small amount of extra
credit also due April 21st.
Grading
Exams 1 and 2 will
comprise 25% of your grade
The Final Exam is
comprehensive, but will emphasize Unit III and will be weighted as 30% of your
final grade.
Pop Quizzes will account
for an additional 10% of your grade.
Your review will account
for the remaining 10% of your final grade.
Grading is basically on
a 10-pt scale. Plus/minus grades will be used only in borderline cases as
follows: >89.9=A, 89.0-89.9=A-, 87.0-88.9=B+, >79.9=B, and so on....
Electronic Device Policy
Electronic devices such
as cellphones, smartphones, etc. should be switched off or in airplane mode during
the class period. You may use laptops or tablets or other electronic devices to
take notes. Any electronic device that is active during a quiz or exam
invalidates your performance on that exam and is sufficient grounds for a zero
to be assigned.
Attendance Policy
Regular attendance is
strongly recommended, but I will not attempt to take attendance in a class this
size. This course is an elective for you, and I believe that it can be one of
the most interesting and worthwhile experiences you can have at UNCW. However,
without regular attendance, your experience will lack continuity and will not
be as positive. I have found that students who miss many classes usually also
perform poorly on my exams. In order to encourage both regular attendance and
prompt completion of reading assignments, I will schedule frequent pop
quizzes throughout the semester at the beginning or end of class. There will be
no make-up quizzes. If you are not present at the time a quiz is given you will
receive a zero on that quiz. However, to make up for this draconian policy, I
will drop your lowest 2 quizzes. If there are special issues that affect your
attendance (e.g., UNCW athletics or other authorized activities; medical
issues, please see me about adjustments to this quiz policy). Thus, if you miss
two quizzes, those zeroes will be dropped. These quizzes will be very brief
(usually 1-3 questions) and will address material covered in lecture or
readings assigned for the previous week according to the following schedule:
Week of:
___________________________Chapters:
Jan 19.....................................................................1,
2
Jan 26…....................................................................3
Feb 2…....................................................................4
Feb 9......................................................................5
Feb 16.......................................................................6
Feb 23......................................................................7,
8
Mar 1.......................................................................9,
13
Mar 15.......................................................................14
Mar 29…....................................................................11
Apr 5.......................................................................12
Apr 12.....................................................................10
Apr 19.....................................................................15,
16