Neuropsychiatry

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/P_MNPSTRY

Course Objective

At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- Describe the neurobiological and neuropsychological mechanisms associated with symptoms and symptom clusters of different psychiatric disorders
- Understand the main neurobiological and neuropsychological models of different psychiatric symptoms and symptom clusters, and their implications for diagnosis and treatment
- Formulate research questions and hypotheses regarding the neurobiological and neuropsychological mechanisms associated with different psychiatric symptoms and symptom clusters
- Critically reflect on the strength and weaknesses of the main methods in cognitive neuropsychiatry
- Critically review research papers within the domain of neuropsychiatry

Course Content

The objective of this course is to understand how cognitive neuropsychiatry may contribute to our understanding of the development and persistence of psychiatric symptoms, and how this may advance diagnosis and treatment. The course will discuss current neuroanatomical, neuroendocrine, neuropsychological, and/or neuropharmacological models of different symptoms and symptom clusters in psychiatric disorders. Students will learn to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the most commonly applied methods and research designs in cognitive neuropsychiatry The course consists of a series of (guest) lectures, in which each lecture covers a specific psychiatric symptom cluster from a cognitive neuropsychiatry perspective. The students will also gain practice in reviewing research papers in this domain, providing peer review and presenting their review to the group.

Teaching Methods

(Guest) Lectures and individual assignment

Method of Assessment

The assessment consists of an exam with open questions (70%) and a writing assignment (30%). Both the exam and the assignment will have to be graded with at least a 5.5 to pass the course.

Literature

Scientific papers (will be provided via Canvas)

Recommended background knowledge

Basic knowledge of psychiatric disorders, brain structure and function, cognitive neuropsychology, and neuropharmacology is required.