A neurobiology student wears the lobster hat

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NEUROBIOLOGY 103
Neuropharmacology

Fall 2007

Class Schedule:

Date Topic Reading*/assignments
 
Sept.  5 Course Intro; course syllabus; MQ pp 1-6
Sept.  7 Neurons and Glia MQ Ch. 2
 
Sept. 10 Overview: electrical and chemical signaling MQ Ch3
Sept. 12 Principles of pharmacology MQ Ch 1
Sept. 14 Principles of pharmacology MQ Ch 1
 
Sept. 17 Neurotransmitters: Acetylcholine MQ Ch 6
Sept. 19 Neurotransmitters: Serotonin MQ Ch 6
Sept. 21 Discussion: Nicotine Maskos et al., 2005
 
Sept. 24 Neurotransmitters: monoamines MQ Ch 5
Sept. 26 Quiz; Neurotransmitters: monoamines MQ Ch 5; Ch 11
Sept. 28 Discussion: cocaine mech. of action TBA
 
Oct.  1 Neurotransmitters: amino acids MQ Ch. 7
Oct.  3 Neurotransmitters: peptides and purines MQ Ch. 10
Oct.  5 Discussion: MDMA (Ecstasy) TBA
 
Oct.  8 Reward systems and addiction MQ Ch 8; Lit review topic due
Oct. 10 Mechanisms of addiction; alcohol abuse Hyman et al., 2006
Oct. 12 Discussion: mechanisms of addiction TBA
 
Oct. 15 Review session
Oct. 17 Midterm Exam
Oct. 19 Addiction:  Alcohol abuse MQ Ch 9
 
Oct. 22 Fall Break
Oct. 24 Pharmacology of Alcohol MQ Ch 9
Oct 26 Discussion: Alcohol addiction TBA
 
Oct. 29 Parkinson’s Disease Dauer and Przedborski, 2003
Oct. 31 Huntington’s Disease Cattaneo et al., 2002; Marx 2005
Nov.  2 Discussion: Parkinson’s TBA
 
Nov.  5 No Class—Soc. For NS meeting
Nov.  7 Schizophrenia and Mood Disorders MQ Ch 8
Nov.  9 Discussion: Huntington’s Disease TBA; Lit review outlines due
 
Nov. 12 Depression MQ Ch 16
Nov. 14 Quiz; Anxiety disorders MQ Ch 17
Nov. 16 Discussion: Depression TBA
 
Nov. 19 Hallucinogens  MQ Ch 14
Nov. 21 Discuss literature review projects
Nov. 23 Thanksgiving break
 
Nov. 26 Cannabinoids MQ Ch 13
Nov. 28 Nitric oxide TBA
Nov. 30 Discussion: THC mechanism of action TBA
 
Dec.  3 Alzheimer’s Disease TBA; Literature reviews due
Dec.  5 Public Policy issues
Dec.  7 Discussion: Alzheimer’s Disease TBA
 
Dec. 10 Discussion: Nootropic agents TBA
Dec. 12 Wrap-up; course evaluations
 
Dec. 17 Final exam: 9 a.m.
 

*Supplementary reading, e.g., papers from the primary literatureor review articles, may be assigned for some lectures or discussions. Text chapters listed may not be covered in their entirety.

*Texts:

Required:

Optional:
(Available to borrow from KP):

Instructor Contact info:

Karen Parfitt
Office hours: by appt. (just email me: kparfitt@pomona.edu)
Office phone: 621-8604
Office: R.C. Seaver Biol. Bldg., Rm. 211
Lab: R.C. Seaver Biol. Bldg., Rms. 207-208
email: kparfitt@pomona.edu
website: pages.pomona.edu/~kdp04747/

Course description and goals:

Neuro 103: Neuropharmacology is an advanced lecture- and discussion-based course in which we will focus on molecular mechanisms of drug actions in the nervous system. We will discuss how drugs are used as tools to better understand the nervous system and behavior. Special attention will be given to the biochemical basis of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. By the end of the course students should be adept at critically reading and evaluating papers from the primary literature.

Responsibilities:

  1. Examinations.
    There will be one midterm exam, two quizzes, and a final exam. Quizzes will consist of short-answer questions, and their purpose is to make sure that you don’t fall behind in the reading. Exams will consist of short-answer questions (some factual, some conceptual), as well as longer-answer questions. The longer questions will often ask for interpretation of experimental results, or design of an experiment to test a hypothesis, rather than simple recall of facts. Quizzes will be 20 minutes long, and 25 points each. The midterm exam will be 50 minutes long and 100 points. The final exam, on December 17th (9 am), will cover material presented over the entire course.

    Conflicts regarding the scheduling of the midterm exam must be discussed and addressed within the first two weeks of class (Sept. 5th-Sept. 14th). There will be no make-up exams for the quizzes, midterm or final. Students seeking exception to this must provide a note from the dean’s office or from the health center. Students with undocumented absences for exams will receive a grade of zero for that exam.
  2. Literature review
    The course involves a great deal of reading and discussion of papers from the primary literature. Along with one or two of your classmates, you will be responsible for leading two discussion sessions. This means that you will have read the assigned paper(s) in much greater detail than your fellow classmates, and you will prepare by reading additional papers related to the assigned paper(s) and addressing the following:
    1. events leading up to the paper in question (look up and read references cited in the introduction of the paper you’re presenting)
    2. objectives of the work. Why is it important? What is their hypothesis?
    3. methods used by the authors to fulfill those objectives
    4. results of the paper (what’s in the figures? Is it presented clearly?)
    5. the conclusions drawn from these results, and whether they are appropriate conclusions. Are there other plausible explanations for the data?
    6. issues/questions that the authors did not address
    7. possible controversies surrounding the paper(s)
    8. what to do next (what questions are left unanswered?)
    You and your fellow discussion leader(s) will probably want to meet with KP before leading your discussion. Additional guidelines and suggestions for these discussions will be provided. If you are not a leader on any given discussion day, you will need to turn in a 1-page summary (hard copy only!) before the discussion starts that addresses the following for each paper to be discussed:
    1. What is the central hypothesis that the authors are testing?
    2. Describe one important experiment from the paper that tests that hypothesis (include mention of controls, where relevant).
    3. Why do you think the experiment you described is a key experiment for this study?
    4. Provide two or more questions that you would like to address in our discussion. Bring a hard copy of the paper to class for discussion, and write down your two questions on the hard copy of the paper.

Evaluation:

Your grade for the course will be determined by the following:

Midterm exam: 20%
Final exam: 30%
Literature review: 20%
Leading paper discussions (2 x 5% each): 10%
Paper summaries: 5%
Quizzes: 5%
Participation: 10%

In addition, several biology, chemistry, and/or neuroscience seminars will be scheduled throughout the semester. A one-page synopsis of each talk can be submitted for extra credit for this class. These summaries should include a description of the speaker’s research goals, the work described, questions that you asked or would have liked to have asked, and your general reaction to the talk. Each summary can boost your grade one percentage point, and you may submit up to 3 summaries. If you are attending a seminar to fulfill a requirement for another course, you cannot receive extra credit for this course (i.e., no double-dipping!).

I will announce upcoming seminars in advance, in class and via email. Summaries are due by 5 pm Dec. 12th (though it’s better to submit them shortly after attending a talk, while you remember the content).

Please turn in papers directly to me, into our departmental mailbox, or slide the paper under my office door if the door is closed. If our office is open, put the paper on my chair where I will see it. Be sure to label the paper with the date of submission, AND send an electronic copy as a Word attachment (to kparfitt@pomona.edu) to verify the time of submission. A networked laser printer is available for your use in the Neurobiology lab. It prints double-sided — save paper!

All written and oral work must be completed in order to pass the course.

Approximate grading scale (i.e., if you achieve at least this score, you will get at least this letter grade):

90% and above A 70-75% B-
85-90% A- 65-70% C+
80-85% B+ 60-65% C
75-80% B 55-60% C-
etc.

What do I need to know before taking Neuropharmacology?

The prerequisites for this course are Pomona’s Bio 40 and Bio 41C (formerly Bio 41M), or the equivalent. A pre-requisite for those courses are General Chemistry. Familiarity with organic chemistry will be helpful but is not required. In particular, you should be able to answer the following questions:

  1. One of the simplifying principles of biology is that all living organisms are made of four principle types of molecules — nucleic acids, polysaccharides, peptides, and phospholipids. Describe these polymers and the monomers from which they are synthesized. Where might these polymers and monomers be found in neurons? What are some examples of each, and functions that they serve in neurons?
  2. How is molecular information encoded in cells? Describe the Central Dogma of molecular biology. In addition, discuss the basic structure (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary) of proteins, and factors that dictate the structure. Which amino acids are nonpolar, which are polar, and which are polar and charged? Which amino acid can form disulfide bonds, and which amino acids are substrates for phosphorylation? Can you think of any examples in which a change in protein structure results in a change in the protein’s function?
  3. How do enzymes interact with their substrates? What properties of the enzyme and substrate dictate the specificity of these interactions? How are enzyme-substrate kinetics affected by the presence of a competitive inhibitor? How are they affected by the presence of a non-competitive inhibitor?
  4. Discuss how newly-synthesized and processed membrane proteins are trafficked in non-neural cells and in neurons. How is vesicle trafficking different in neurons? How is it the same? How could you investigate whether a substance is transported down axons, and the rate of this transport?
  5. What are some important molecules that neurons require for (1) electrical signaling and (2) chemical communication with other cells? What categories discussed in question 1 do these special molecules fall into?
  6. Discuss the various ways that a chemical signal acting upon a cell (e.g., a neuron) is “transduced” by molecules in the cell membrane, cytosol, and cellular organelles. For starters, how would you categorize the receptors that perceive the presence of the chemical signal?

If you need a review session to discuss these questions, I would be happy to help you organize one.

The Parfitt Lab · Department of Biology · Pomona College
R.C. Seaver Biology Building, Rooms 207/208· 175 W 6th Street · Claremont, CA 91711
909.607.3360 · Fax: 909.621.8878 · karen.parfitt@pomona.edu