Teaching Psychopharmacology for Undergraduates

Abstract

Psychopharmacology is the study of the effects of drugs on behavior, cognition, and the mind. It is the field dedicated to understanding the way human and nonhuman animals respond to both recreational drugs and drugs to treat mental illness. Undergraduate students are statistically very likely to have exposure to or experience with many psychoactive substances, but few have had a comprehensive and accurate education on the effects these drugs have on behavior and on the central nervous system. This chapter is meant to offer ideas for the development of learning objectives and best practices for teaching a psychopharmacology course to undergraduate students. The proposed learning objectives were derived, in part, from national organizations in North America dedicated to educating professionals in the field and the suggestions for assessments and deep learning activities are based on empirical research. Though the target