PHAR 5091.011

Course Name: Fundamentals of Behavioral Pharmacology

Course Director: Dr. Charles France

Course Content:

Behavioral pharmacology is a synthesis of pharmacology and psychology that has been applied to the study of a wide variety of behaviors and many drugs from different pharmacologic classes.  This micro elective will provide a general introduction to fundamental principles in behavioral pharmacology by review and discussion of seminal papers in specific topic areas of behavioral pharmacology.  Readings will include primary literature as well as selected book chapters (see below).  Specific readings for the course might change over time, although the topics to be covered will remain the same.  The course will meet for 1 hour per week during a fall or spring semester and 2 hours per week during a summer semester.

Topics:

Classical and instrumental conditioning

Schedules of reinforcement

Dose response, agonism, antagonism, inverse agonism

Drugs and unconditioned behavior

Drugs and conditioned behavior

Drugs and stimulus control

Drugs as discriminative stimuli

Drugs as reinforcing stimuli

Tolerance, dependence and withdrawal

Readings:

Books

Ferster, C.B. and Skinner, B.F. (1957) Schedules of Reinforcement. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Julien, R.M. (1995) A Primer of Drug Action. New York: W.H. Freeman.

Poling, A. and Byrne, T. (2000) Behavioral Pharmacology.  Reno, NV: Context Press.

Representative primary literature

Barrett, J.E. (1977) Behavioral history as a determinant of the effects of d-amphetamine on punished behavior.  Science, 198:67-69.

Barrett, J.E. (2002) The emergence of behavioral pharmacology.  Molecular Interventions, 2:470-475.

Berger, B.D. (1972) Conditioning of food aversions by injections of psychoactive drugs.  Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 8:21-25.

Dews, P.D. (1955) Studies on behavior. I. Differential sensitivity to pentobarbital of pecking performance in pigeons depending on the schedule of reward.  Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 138:393-401.

Goldberg, S.R. and Schuster, C.R. (1967) Conditioned suppression by a stimulus associated with nalorphine in morphine dependent monkeys.  Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 10:235-242.

Kelleher, R.T. and Morse, W.H. Schedules using noxious stimuli.  Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 11:819-838.

Meisch, R.A. and Lemaire, G.A. (1993) Drug self-administration. In van Haaren, F (Ed) Methods in Behavioral Pharmacology.  Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Pickens, R and Thompson, T. (1968) Cocaine-reinforced behavior in rats: effects of reinforcement magnitude and fixed-ratio size.  Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 161:122-129.

Sepinwall, J., Grodsky, F.S. and Cook, L. (1978) Conflict behavior in the squirrel monkey: effects of chlordiazepoxide, diazepam and N-desmethyldiazepam.  Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 204:88-102.

Skinner, B.F. (1947) ‘Superstition’ in the pigeon.  Experimental Psychology, 38:168-172.

Smith, J.B. (1991) Situational specificity of tolerance to decreased operant responding by morphine and l-nantradol.  Psychopharmacology, 103:115-120.

Wuttke, W. and Kelleher, R.T. (1970) Effects of some benzodiazepines on punished and unpunished behavior in the pigeon.  Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 172:397-405.

Grading: Grading (letter grade) will be based on participation in class discussions (70%) and a final written paper (not to exceed 15 double-spaced pages) that will review a recent application of behavioral pharmacology to a current public health issue.

Pre-requisites: Consent of Instructor

Credit Hours: 1 credit

When offered: Any Semester