The Courses I teach:
Psychology 236 - Conditioning and Learning
How do psychologists characterize the most basic aspects of the learning process? While some emphasis is on analysis of the behavioral viewpoint (Pavlov, Skinner), students also examine approaches to how we learn which have grown out of recent cognitive and ecological (evolutionary) perspectives in psychology. The course includes lecture and laboratory work with nonhuman animals. Prerequisite: Psychology 125, or Biology 125. Offered each year.
Psychology 238 - Biopsychology
The student is introduced to the study of relationships between the brain and behavior which lie at the heart of modern neuroscience. Study of the brain and behavior from anatomical, physiological and biochemical perspectives focuses on neural factors which contribute to basic behavioral processes including sensation, movement, emotion, sleep and arousal, motivation, learning and psychopathology. Prerequisite: Psychology 125 or Biology 123 or 125. Biology 123 or 125 strongly recommended. Offered each semester.
Psychology 336 - Neuroscience of Addiction
This seminar explores current knowledge of mechanisms involved in behavioral responses to drugs of abuse at the systems, cellular, and molecular levels. The action of stimulant drugs, alcohol, and the opiates on reward pathways are discussed in terms of behavioral neurobiology, pharmacology, and gene expression. Consideration is given to the role of environmental cues and stress in relapse to drug-seeking both in animal models and human studies. Prerequisites: Psychology 231 and 238, or Neuroscience 234. Offered alternate years.
Psychology 338 - Neurobiology of Psychopathology
With recent advances in neuroscience, we can now describe the biological correlates of many psychological disorders, including schizophrenia, depression and anxiety disorders. In this discussion-based course, students use published research findings to examine the connections between the symptoms of these pathologies and changes in brain neurobiology, biochemistry, and physiology. Prerequisites: Psychology 231, 264, and 238, or Neuroscience 234. Offered alternate years.