Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum,
- Read Chapters 4, 5, and 19 from the textbook.
- Visit the PubMed CentralLinks to an external site. website.
- You may also consider reviewing the PMC User GuideLinks to an external site. and PubMed® Online TrainingLinks to an external site. to help you navigate the resource more effectively.
- Review the Neural Communication and Drug Effects learning activity.
Use the Firefox or Chrome browser to view the learning activity.
Once you start the video present in the learning activity, scroll down within the video player to access the video player controls. Select Transcript to view the video transcript.
| Write
In this week’s discussion, you will learn about neural communication by discussing how a drug of your choice affects brain activity and human behavior. Then, you will explain one neuroscientific research method that interests you. Support your claims with at least one peer-reviewed article.
In your initial post, answer the following prompts:
- Choose one drug that interests you (street drugs or psychoactive medications).
- Explain your choice and why it is useful to study, including its impact on people and society.
- Identify the drug’s most notable effects (behavioral, cognitive, or emotional), which brain regions are most affected, and how you might use this information in daily life.
- Outline how the drug is thought to work. This is called its “mechanism of action,” and you can use Figure 4.7 of your text to help visualize how the drug may affect neurons, receptors, neurotransmitters, or other cellular components.
- Explain one neuroscientific research method used to study the drug’s actions or psychological effects using a recent peer-reviewed article from the PubMed CentralLinks to an external site. website.
- Include a brief discussion of any ethical dilemmas related to the research methods.
Textbook: Carlson, N. R. & Birkett, M. A. (2021). Physiology of behavior (13th ed.). Pearson Education.
