12 EC
Semester 1, period 1
5234ADP12Y
| Owner | Master Biomedical Sciences |
| Coordinator | dr. A. Korosi |
| Part of | Master Biomedical Sciences, track Psychopharmacology and Pathophysiology, year 1 |
Brain disorders form a heavy and increasing burden for society. They affect the essence of human functioning and an individual’s personality, often in a progressive manner. They thereby affect society as a whole and contribute largely to our healthcare budget.
Advances in genetics have helped to establish that it is an interaction of genetic make-up as well as (early) environmental factors that determine the vulnerability to neurodevelopmental, psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
However, for many of these disorders, still too little is known about their pathophysiological mechanisms, the biological substrate and the role of the environment early in life, and during adulthood, in their onset. What are the unique developmental mechanisms by which early experiences can, positively and negatively, have long-term consequences for risk and resilience to brain disorders? As a result, treatment options are often limited with frequent side effects and recovery options are poor.
The main aim of this course is therefore to familiarize the student with the pharmacotherapy and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying common brain disorders including depression, anxiety disorders, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson’s disease, eating disorders, addiction and epilepsy.
Relevant review papers will be made available beforehand on Blackboard.
Master students will attend specialized classes and workshops aimed at understanding and targeting the fundamental mechanisms at play in human psychiatric and neurological brain disorders. An overall goal of the course is to reflect on scientific research in different settings (academia vs private institutions).
After the course, the student is able to:
Activity | Number of hours |
Hoorcollege | 69 |
Tentamen | 4 |
Werkcollege | 62 |
Zelfstudie | 201 |
The programme does not have requirements concerning attendance (OER-B).
Additional requirements for this course:
| Item and weight | Details |
|
Final grade | |
|
35% Exam | Must be ≥ 5, Allows retake |
|
40% Statement Paper | |
|
10% Debate | |
|
10% Presentation of research papers | |
|
5% Save the Dutch Pharma assignment | |
|
Career prospective assignment |
The date, time and location of the inspection moment are in the DataNose timetable.
In groups of 3-4, you summarize and discuss conflicting or contradictory papers on a given topic and then decide and state your own opinion in this matter. And propose a virtual experiment that solve the matter.
In groups of 2 against 2, you will prepare arguments in favour or opposing a statement on an assigned topic to debate this.
In couples, you will give an oral presentation of assigned research paper.
Critically relfect on research environments and career prospectives.
In groups of 6 you will prpopose innovative solutions for the future of pharmaceutical companies in the Netherlands.
Onderstaande opdrachten komen aan bod in deze cursus:
Dit vak hanteert de algemene ‘Fraude- en plagiaatregeling’ van de UvA. Onder plagiaat of fraude wordt verstaan het overschrijven van het werk van een medestudent dan wel het kopiëren van wetenschappelijke bronnen (uit bijvoorbeeld boeken en tijdschriften en van het Internet) zonder daarbij de bron te vermelden. Uiteraard is plagiaat verboden. Hier wordt nauwkeurig op gecontroleerd en streng tegen opgetreden. Bij verdenking van plagiaat wordt de examencommissie van de opleiding ingeschakeld. Wanneer de examencommissie overtuigd is dat er plagiaat gepleegd is dan kan dit maximaal leiden tot een uitsluiting van al het onderwijs van de opleiding voor een heel kalenderjaar. Zie voor meer
informatie over het fraude- en plagiaatreglement van de Universiteit van Amsterdam.www.uva.nl/plagiaat
Course structure and deadlines can be found on Blackboard.
The course schedule can be found at
This course has a Blackboard site.
Course will be taught in English.