PSY 350 Entire Course Weekly Discussions And Assignments

Methods. Chapter 1of your course text examines various methods that are employed in the field of neuroscience. Choose the technique that you think is the most powerful or useful for examining the relationship between biology and behavior. As part of your discussion, indicate the part of the nervous system that would most likely be studied using this technique. Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed source that was published within the last five years.

Neurotransmitters. This week you were exposed to a variety of neurotransmitters and neurotransmitter systems. The reading also discussed the role of these substances in response to drugs of abuse and psychological disorders.

Option A: Choose one of the neurotransmitters presented this week and discuss the role it plays in modulating responses to a drug of abuse. For example, you could choose the acetylcholine receptor system and discuss the role this neurotransmitter plays in addiction to nicotine. Your discussion should also indicate the neuroanatomical structures that may play a role in addiction to this substance. Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed source that was published within the last five years.

 Option B: Choose one of the neurotransmitters presented this week and discuss the role it plays in a psychological disorder of your choice. For example, you could choose the dopamine receptor system and discuss the role this neurotransmitter has in the development of schizophrenia. Your discussion should also indicate the neuroanatomical structures that may play a role in development of this psychological disorder. Your initial posting should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed source that was published in the last five years.

Final Project Topic Selection. Select a psychological disorder that you would like to study utilizing a biopsychological approach. For the Final Project, you will provide a detailed discussion of the psychological disorder that you select this week. While you may refer to other areas of psychology, the Final Project must focus on the biopsychological causes and treatment approaches for this disorder. You must utilize current research in this area to evaluate the major biopsychological theories about this disorder. Your research should also be used to discuss possible effective biopsychological approaches to treatment that incorporate the biopsychological causes of the disorder.

Select a disorder from the following list:

a. Schizophrenia

b. Depression

c. Anxiety

d. Substance Abuse (should focus on a single drug of your choice)

e. Autism

f. Neurological disorders

g. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

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Nervous System. This week, you will examine the major structures of the central and peripheral nervous systems, as well as the location and function of these structures. Search the Ashford University Online Library and locate a peer-reviewed research study that was published within the last five years, which examines the role of one of the structures reviewed in Chapter 4 of your course text. The research study you identify should evaluate the function of this structure in either normal or abnormal behavior. Your response must clearly identify the role of the structure in the identified behavior as well as your level of agreement with the results of the study and your rationale. Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed research study that was published within the last five years.

Movement. This week you were introduced to the role of the central and peripheral nervous system in controlling movement. The reading also discussed the role of these systems in movement disorders. One of the most well-known of these movement disorders is Parkinson’s disease.

Option A: Search the Ashford University Online Library for a peer-reviewed research study or review published within the last five years that discusses the cause of Parkinson’s disease. After reading this article and the text, what structure(s) and neurotransmitter(s) do you think are most important in the development of this disorder? What does this suggest regarding possible treatment strategies for this disorder? Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed research study that was published within the last five years.

Option B: Search the Ashford University Online Library for a peer-reviewed research study or review that was published within the last five years on the use of stem cells to treat Parkinson’s disease. Provide a brief summary of this article as part of your discussion. Do you agree with the argument that the article makes regarding the use of stem cells? In your discussion, be sure to address the likelihood of this being a successful treatment strategy. You should also discuss any ethical concerns with this treatment approach. Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed research study that was published within the last five years.

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Sensory Systems. This week you were introduced to the sensory systems, which include the visual, auditory, olfactory, taste, and the body senses. Evolution would suggest that each sensory system is of significant importance to maintaining the human organism. For this discussion, imagine you are a professor giving a lecture on the evolutionary importance of the sensory systems. Prepare a summary of your argument. Identify which is the most important sensory system for human survival. Your discussion should also indicate which system is the least important from the perspective of the “survival of the fittest”. Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed source that was published within the last five years.

Consciousness and Sleep. This week you were introduced to different but related topics, of sleep and consciousness. For this discussion, you will focus on a disorder of one of these topics.

Option A: Identify a peer-reviewed, research study that was published within the last five years, and focuses on elucidating the cause or a new treatment for one of the disorders of consciousness covered this week. Be sure to include a discussion of theories surrounding this disorder and how this research interacts with current theories. Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words.

Option B: Identify a peer-reviewed, research study that was published within the last five years, and focuses on elucidating the cause or a new treatment for one of the disorders of sleep covered this week. Be sure to include a discussion of theories surrounding this disorder and how this research interacts with current theories. Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words.

Final Project Outline. This week you will create an outline of the main points of your Final Project, using the psychological disorder that was selected and approved by the instructor in Week One. Refer to the Final Project prompt in Week Five for the section components that must be included in your outline. Each main heading and any subheadings must include at least a two to three sentence description. You must also identify a minimum of six peer-reviewed references that were published within the last five years, which you will use for your Final Project. At least two to three of these should be research studies. Indicate which section each reference supports within your outline. Your outline should be at least one to two pages in length (excluding title and reference pages). It may be longer, depending on how much information you choose to include and the depth of your descriptions. All citations must be formatted according to APA guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Gender Testing. For the discussion this week read the article by Schweinbenz & Cronk on gender testing of female Olympic athletes. The authors of this article argue that this is a discriminatory practice that should be abolished. After reading the chapter on regulation of sexual behavior, do you agree with their argument? Cite specific sexual development disorders as part of your discussion this week to support the stance you take. Should females who have androgen insensitivity or other sexual development disorders be allowed to compete as females? Does it give them an unfair advantage? Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed source that was published in the last five years.

Eating Disorders. Read the article by Wilson et. al. on the behavioral approaches to the treatment of eating disorders. Choose an eating disorder that is reviewed in this article and in the text. Review the proposed physiological and behavioral mechanisms of this disorder. Based on the proposed causes, which treatment strategy reviewed in this article do you think would be most successful in the treatment of this disorder? Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed source published in the last five years.

Brain Injury. View the Brain Injury video (http://searchcenter.intelecomonline.net/playClipDirect.aspx?id=E22DB555B562B463C0F5EE35DE315BCBC678A2745E8112F307C928E741870CF43A060BE5329016E2433239BB916CA4A8). What can the brain do to repair itself after traumatic injury? What does the recovery of the brain typically depend on? How does therapy facilitate in the restoration of lost brain function? Are there any other approaches, besides physical therapy that could assist in regaining the brain function lost from a traumatic brain injury? Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed source that was published within the last five years.

Schizophrenia and Smoking. Doctors have historically noticed that Schizophrenics smoke at a much higher rate than that of the typical population. This correlation is still evident today. Review the possible mechanisms of addiction and schizophrenia. Visit the Ashford University Library to locate at least one peer-reviewed article that was published within the last five years, which proposes a biological mechanism for the relationship between Schizophrenia and smoking. How does the data support the proposed mechanism in the article you chose? What other possible mechanisms might explain this relationship? Is it possible that biology has nothing to do with the relationship between smoking and schizophrenia? Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words and utilize at least one peer-reviewed source published in the last five years.

Focus of the Final Project

For your Final Project, you will use the psychological disorder that was selected and approved by the instructor in Week One. In your project, you will provide an overview of the major biopsychological theories of the disorder as well as a detailed discussion of the biopsychological causes and treatment approaches for the disorder. The Final Project must utilize peer-reviewed sources, published within the last five years, and cited according to APA guidelines, to support and enhance your analysis of the selected disorder. In addition to the general overview of biopsychological causes and available treatment approaches, locate two to three published research studies that support a discussion of possible, effective biopsychological approaches to treatment and incorporate the biopsychological cause of the disorder.

Paper Components:

Introduction

This section should provide a general introduction to the psychological disorder you have selected that includes the focus of your critique, as well as an overview of the background and history of the disorder. Additionally, it should provide demographic data that indicates the prevalence of the disorder in both general and specific populations. Finally, this section should clearly indicate the direction that the critique will take.

For example, there are many biopsychological theories of alcoholism. In this section you would express your intent to focus on the role of gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) in alcoholism. There should then be research on the role of GABA and GABAergic pathways in the development of this disorder. This is not to say that your paper must focus on only one biopsychological cause or system, but you should indicate your areas of focus in the introduction.

Discussion

In this section you will present a detailed discussion of the biopsychological etiology and treatment for the disorder you chose. Indicate if this disorder appears to be genetic in nature or due to factors in the environment. When discussing the biopsychological causes of this disorder, be specific. Your discussion should refer not only to specific systems (such as the GABA, noted previously) but also to the pathways in the brain that are believed to be involved. This section must utilize current, published research studies to support your discussion. This section should be the majority of your Final Project.

Conclusion

Provide a concluding summary of your findings regarding your selected disorder. Additionally, address the possible future research directions that could be taken to further examine the role of biopsychology in the expression and treatment of this disorder.

The Final Project should contain a minimum of eight to ten double-spaced pages (excluding title and reference pages) and must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. You must include a minimum of six to eight peer-reviewed sources that were published within the last five years, and at least two to three of these must be published research studies.