NEUROSCIENCE OF PSYCHEDELICS

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: PSYCH/ZOOLOGY 523 , PSYCH/NEURODPT/NTP 611 , PHARMACY 770, PHM SCI 770 , or graduate/professional standing. Not open to students with credit for NTP 632. Course Designation: Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness Breadth - Biological Science Level - Advanced L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Describe experimental techniques and measurements used to probe changes in neuronal activity and connectivity and identify the major limitations of each method and propose approaches to overcome those limitations Audience: Graduate 2. Describe experimental techniques and measurements used to probe changes in neuronal activity and connectivity Audience: Undergraduate 3. Identify the major known classical psychedelic agents in terms of their chemical structure, targets (receptors, cells, brain areas) in the brain, duration of action, and suitability for administration in a clinical setting Audience: Undergraduate 4. Identify the major known classical psychedelic agents in terms of their chemical structure, targets (receptors, cells, brain areas) in the brain, duration of action, and suitability for administration in a clinical setting and also summarize the signaling pathways underlying cellular actions of psychedelic agents. Audience: Graduate 5. Demonstrate knowledge of the cell types and brain areas most likely to mediate distinct behavioral effects of psychedelics, and of the experimental support for these hypotheses. Audience: Undergraduate 6. Demonstrate knowledge of the cell types and brain areas most likely to mediate distinct behavioral effects of psychedelics, and of the experimental support for these hypotheses, and also demonstrate ability to identify gaps in experimental support for these hypotheses and to design experiments to fill those gaps Audience: Graduate 7. Identify and summarize the major behavioral assays of the psychedelic experience and of psychiatric disorders (e.g. depression scales). Audience: Undergraduate 8. Identify and summarize the major behavioral assays of the psychedelic experience and of psychiatric disorders (e.g. depression scales), and also identify and summarize the shortcomings of the major behavioral assays of the psychedelic experience and of psychiatric disorders (e.g. depression scales), and demonstrate ability to propose revisions of those scales to address those shortcomings. Audience: Graduate 9. Identify and summarize clinical applications of psychedelics, and the theories and factors contributing to their therapeutic benefit Audience: Undergraduate 10. Identify and summarize clinical applications of psychedelics, and the theories and factors contributing to their therapeutic benefit, and also demonstrate knowledge of the experimental support for each theory and factor. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Describe experimental techniques and measurements used to probe changes in neuronal activity and connectivity and identify the major limitations of each method and propose approaches to overcome those limitations Audience: Graduate 2. Describe experimental techniques and measurements used to probe changes in neuronal activity and connectivity Audience: Undergraduate 3. Identify the major known classical psychedelic agents in terms of their chemical structure, targets (receptors, cells, brain areas) in the brain, duration of action, and suitability for administration in a clinical setting Audience: Undergraduate 4. Identify the major known classical psychedelic agents in terms of their chemical structure, targets (receptors, cells, brain areas) in the brain, duration of action, and suitability for administration in a clinical setting and also summarize the signaling pathways underlying cellular actions of psychedelic agents. Audience: Graduate 5. Demonstrate knowledge of the cell types and brain areas most likely to mediate distinct behavioral effects of psychedelics, and of the experimental support for these hypotheses. Audience: Undergraduate 6. Demonstrate knowledge of the cell types and brain areas most likely to mediate distinct behavioral effects of psychedelics, and of the experimental support for these hypotheses, and also demonstrate ability to identify gaps in experimental support for these hypotheses and to design experiments to fill those gaps Audience: Graduate 7. Identify and summarize the major behavioral assays of the psychedelic experience and of psychiatric disorders (e.g. depression scales). Audience: Undergraduate 8. Identify and summarize the major behavioral assays of the psychedelic experience and of psychiatric disorders (e.g. depression scales), and also identify and summarize the shortcomings of the major behavioral assays of the psychedelic experience and of psychiatric disorders (e.g. depression scales), and demonstrate ability to propose revisions of those scales to address those shortcomings. Audience: Graduate 9. Identify and summarize clinical applications of psychedelics, and the theories and factors contributing to their therapeutic benefit Audience: Undergraduate 10. Identify and summarize clinical applications of psychedelics, and the theories and factors contributing to their therapeutic benefit, and also demonstrate knowledge of the experimental support for each theory and factor. Audience: Graduate