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Clinical Neuroscience: Brains, Drugs and Psychiatry

Module description

This module will introduce you to the state-of-the-art research in human neurosciences employed to explore – and treat – psychiatric disorders ranging from schizophrenia to depression, dementia and addiction. Through a combination of lectures, student-led workshops and lab visits, you’ll be introduced to brain anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and brain imaging tools such M/EEG and MRI. Our focus will be on the clinical application of these tools – probing the experimental approaches that are leading to breakthroughs in understanding and treating psychiatric illness.

This module will be highly interdisciplinary in nature, but is especially suited to those students with interests in clinical neurosciences, neuroimaging and pharmacology.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The primary objective of this module is to equip you with an understanding of the key methodologies in clinical neuroscience research – including the promises and pitfalls of each method in aiding our understanding of psychiatric illness.

Topics will cover neurophysiology, brain imaging technologies, pharmacology, clinical trials and novel therapeutics, and models of the brain. Alongside a scientific introduction to crucial methods, sessions will focus on the application of methods to understanding the neurobiology of a variety of psychiatric illnesses.

Through this module, you will:

• Understand key principles in human neuroscience and clinical research
• Develop an interdisciplinary approach to tackling research problems
• Understand crucial methods – from brain imaging biophysics to conducting clinical trials
• Develop your ability to read and evaluate scientific literature
• Work in a group to evaluate relevant literature and present your findings in a coherent narrative
• Explore a corner of (clinical) neuroscience research tailored to your own professional or scientific interests
• Visit an active research lab carrying out neuropharmacology and neuroimaging research (at St Luke’s campus)

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Evaluate and critique papers from neuroscience journals
• 2. Select appropriate and innovative experimental methods and design to address key questions in the field
• 3. Understand the key neurobiological theories of many psychiatric illnesses

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Review and critique published work in the field
• 5. Understand neuroscientific terminology

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Work within groups to understand the literature on a particular topic, create a compelling scientific narrative and present it clearly to an audience
• 7. Manage your own learning, using the resources available (lectures, ELE and suggested reading)
• 8. Engage fully in journal clubs and debates
• 9. Manage time effectively to meet deadlines

Syllabus plan

Indicative topics that will be covered during the sessions include:
(*note - this is not a week-by-week schedule)

• Introduction to the brain (anatomy, physiology, neurobiology)
• Introduction to clinical neurosciences (psychiatry & neurology)
• Introduction to (neuro)pharmacology
• Brain imaging methods - structure vs. function - key applications to clinical questions
• Brain imaging methods - evoked, induced and oscillations - key applications to clinical questions
• Brain imaging methods - model neurons, networks and machine learning - key applications to clinical questions
• Clinical trials and imaging: from depression to dementia
• Psychedelics, plasticity & psychiatry: novel therapeutics?
• Lab visit(s) and hands-on neuroimaging data analysis workshop 
• Student led journal clubs, debates and seminars on suitable topics

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Two assessments are required for this module. Where you have been referred/deferred in the examination you will have the opportunity to take a second examination in the August/September re-assessment period. Where you have been referred/deferred in the essay you will be required to resubmit the essay. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%; deferred marks are not capped.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

• Singh, K. D. (2012). Which ‘neural activity’ do you mean? FMRI, MEG, oscillations and neurotransmitters. NeuroImage, 62(2), 1121–1130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.01.028
• Lambert, D. (2004). Drugs and receptors. Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain, 4(6), 181–184. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjaceaccp/mkh049
• Muthukumaraswamy, S. D. (2014). The use of magnetoencephalography in the study of psychopharmacology (pharmaco-MEG). Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), June. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881114536790

Clinical imaging and neuropharmacology:

• Thakkar, K. N., Rösler, L., Wijnen, J. P., Boer, V. O., Klomp, D. W. J., Cahn, W., Kahn, R. S., & Neggers, S. F. W. (2017). 7T Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Glutamate, and Glutamine Reveals Altered Concentrations in Patients With Schizophrenia and Healthy Siblings. Biological Psychiatry, 81(6), 525–535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.04.007
• Sanacora, G., Zarate, C. a, Krystal, J. H., & Manji, H. K. (2008). Targeting the glutamatergic system to develop novel, improved therapeutics for mood disorders. Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery, 7(5), 426–437. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd2462
• Aan Het Rot, M., Zarate, C. a., Charney, D. S., & Mathew, S. J. (2012). Ketamine for depression: Where do we go from here? Biological Psychiatry, 72(7), 537–547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.05.003
• Routley, B., Shaw, A., Muthukumaraswamy, S. D., Singh, K. D., & Hamandi, K. (2020). Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy shows increased posterior theta, and reduced sensorimotor beta resting connectivity. Epilepsy Research, 163, 106324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2020.106324
• Shaw, A. D., Hughes, L. E., Moran, R. J., Coyle-gilchrist, I., Rittman, T., & Rowe, J. B. (2019). In Vivo Assay of Cortical Microcircuitry in Frontotemporal Dementia: A Platform for Experimental Medicine Studies. 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhz024
• Shaw, A. D., Knight, L., Freeman, T. C. A., Williams, G. M., Moran, R. J., Friston, K. J., Walters, J. T. R., & Singh, K. D. (2019). Oscillatory , Computational , and Behavioral Evidence for Impaired GABAergic Inhibition in Schizophrenia. 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbz066
• Shaw, A., Brealy, J., Richardson, H., Muthukumaraswamy, S. D., Edden, R. a., John Evans, C., Puts, N. a J., Singh, K. D., & Keedwell, P. a. (2013). Marked reductions in visual evoked responses but not γ-aminobutyric acid concentrations or γ-band measures in remitted depression. Biological Psychiatry, 73(7), 691–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.09.032

Key words search

Neuroscience, psychiatry, neurobiology, physiology, pharmacology