Prospectus

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Depression and other Stress Related Disorders

Course
2015-2016

Admission requirements

  • Successful completion of How To Write A Research Proposal is helpful.

  • The course will be given at first year Master level. An introductory seminar will review both level and course content at the start of the course.

Description

Period: November 23 – December 18, 2015

This advanced course combines clinical aspects with fundamental issues in neurobiology, pathogenesis and treatment of stress-related brain diseases.
The course is a ‘joint venture’ of the departments of Psychiatry and Human Genetics.

Specific topics are:

  • Clinical phenotyping, symptoms and diagnosis of depression and anxiety.

  • Pharmacology of depression and anxiety: efficacy and new drug development.

  • Epidemiology, genetics and etiology of depression and anxiety.

  • Comorbidity of stress-related syndromes with other CNS diseases (e.g. migraine, anorexia nervosa, post traumatic stress disorder, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome).

  • Pathogenesis, molecular mechanisms and novel drug targets.

  • Theoretical and practical experience in stress and depression research in the departments of psychiatry and Human Genetics (expert meetings).

  • Assignments to explore dedicated topics in the form of critical evaluations, research proposals and literature reviews.

The student will report the results in a research proposal and in an oral presentation.

This course will particularly work on:
Research competences:
Defining a research question, writing a research proposal, integrate different biomedical disciplines.
Professional competences:
Commitment, digesting other people’s opinions.

Course objectives

The student has a good understanding into:

  • main issues and methodology in the study of depression and other stress system disorders.

  • proposed theories and current scientific questions and how to evaluate them critically.

  • the student can convey this knowledge and its discrepancies in views to the other students.

  • finally, students have to implement this knowledge into short reviews and in a research proposal which (s)he will also present orally.

Mode of instruction

Interactive lectures, patient demonstrations, work groups, active participation in symposium.

Assessment method

Clinical and preclinical esearch proposals; input in theorea and oral presentation.