Psychology 2020A-001

Drugs and Behaviour

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

Survey of the major drugs of abuse used to treat psychopathological disorders including a brief section on methods of administration, drug distribution and elimination, neurotransmitters. The history and patterns of use and abuse, clinic indications, neurochemical bases for action for a variety of licit and illicit drugs.

 

3 lecture hours, 0.5 course


2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

       Instructor:   Dr. John Campbell                    

       Office and Phone Number:  SSC 7440          

       Office Hours: By appointment                      

       Email: jcampb7@uwo.ca                              

 

      

       Time and Location of Classes: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30am – 1:30am, Room SSC-2036


If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you.  Please visit:  http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

Drugs, Behaviour & Modern Society, First Canadian Edition

Charles F. Levinthal, Hofstra University

 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the major drugs of use and abuse. Concepts pertinent to Drugs and Behaviour in general will be presented first (factors for drug-taking behaviour, methods of administration, nervous system basics, basic pharmacological concepts, pharmacological research, and physiological & psychological basis of drug dependence). This will be followed by an overview of both the historical & current trends and patterns of use, regulation, and the neurochemical basis of effects on the brain and behaviour for specific drug categories.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, the successful student should be able to:

  • Recognize and identify major drugs of abuse when they are discussed texts, news, public forums
  • Recognize and identify major concepts related to drug addiction
  • Recognize and identify major experimental procedures related to the study of drug addiction
  • Compare, classify, and interpret information about drugs and drug addiction as presented in texts, news, media or public forums.

 

5.0     EVALUATION

The weighting of the tests will be as follows:

 

Test1 - 30%

Test2 - 30%

Final exam - 40%


Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:


70%     1000-level and 2000-level courses
72%     2190-2990 level courses
75%     3000-level courses
80%     4000-level courses
   
The Psychology Department follows Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):

A+  90-100      One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A    80-89        Superior work that is clearly above average
B    70-79        Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C    60-69        Competent work, meeting requirements
D    50-59        Fair work, minimally acceptable
F    below 50    Fail



6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

Test 1 (Chapters 1,2, 3, 4) Thursday May 24

Test 2 (Chapters 5,6, 7,8,9) Thursday June 7

Final Exam (Chapters 10,12,13,15,16) Thursday June 21


7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Topic

Readings

Date

Introductory Concepts

Chapter 1

Tues.  May 15

How drugs work

Chapter 2 & 3

Thurs  May 17

Biological basis of drug addiction Stimulants

Chapter 4

Tues. May 22

Test 1 – 1.5 hours – Beginning of class

 

 

 

                                                                 

 

 

 

 

Thurs May 24

Narcotics

 

Hallucinogens       

Chapter 5

 

Chapter 6

Tues May 29

 

 

Marijuana

 

 

Chapter 7

Thurs. May 31

Alcohol

Chapter 8 & 9

Tues June 5

Test 2 – 1.5 hours – Beginning of class

 

 

Thurs June 7

Inhalants

 

Steroids

Chapter  13

 

Chapter  12

Tues June 12

Nicotine

 

 

Medicinal drugs

Chapter 10

 

Chapter 15

Thurs June 14

Medicinal drugs

Chapter 16

Tues June 19

Final Exam

 

Thurs June 21

8.0     STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link:  http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com

Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.



9.0    POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?Command=showCategory&PolicyCategoryID=1&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12 

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html


10.0        OTHER INFORMATION

Office of the Registrar web site:  http://registrar.uwo.ca

Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca

Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:

    http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html

- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2018 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.