Describe any potential risks (physical, psychological, social, legal, or other) and assess their likelihood and seriousness to the subjects.Describe planned procedures for protecting against or minimizing potential risks, including risks to confidentiality. Where appropriate, discuss plans for ensuring necessary medical or professional intervention in the event of adverse effects to the subjects.

Neuroscience research proposal outline

Describe the characteristics of the subject population, including their anticipated number, age range, and health status.

Identify the criteria for inclusion or exclusion of any subpopulation.

Explain the rationale for the involvement of vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women, children, institutionalized individuals, or others who may be considered vulnerable populations.

The inclusion of women and members of minority groups and their subpopulations must be addressed in developing a research design appropriate to the scientific objectives of the study.

Describe the composition of the proposed study population in terms of sex/gender and racial/ethnic group, and provide a rationale for selection of such subjects. Such a plan should contain a description of the proposed outreach programs for recruiting women and minorities as participants.

Describe any potential risks (physical, psychological, social, legal, or other) and assess their likelihood and seriousness to the subjects.

Describe planned procedures for protecting against or minimizing potential risks, including risks to confidentiality. Where appropriate, discuss plans for ensuring necessary medical or professional intervention in the event of adverse effects to the subjects.
Animal Subjects

If using animal subjects, you should, in lieu of a Participants section, have a separate subsection titled Animal Subjects in which you address the following five points (using a numbered outline is okay but not required).

Identify the species, strains, ages, sex, and numbers of animals to be used in the proposed work.
Justify the use of animals, the choice of species, and the numbers to be used. If animals are in short supply, costly, or to be used in large numbers, provide an additional rationale for their selection and numbers.

Provide information on the veterinary care of the animals involved.

Describe the procedures for ensuring that discomfort, distress, pain, and injury will be limited to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound research. Describe the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs and/or comfortable restraining devices, where appropriate, to minimize discomfort, distress, pain, and injury.

Describe any method of euthanasia to be used and the reasons for its selection. State whether this method is consistent with the recommendations of the Panel on Euthanasia of the American Veterinary Medical Association. If not, present a justification for not following the recommendations.

What type of study was it–a survey, case study, correlational study, or experiment?Do you see any problems with their conclusions or with the way the article interpreted the study’s conclusions?

Research study about Psychology

Popular media is full of stories about the latest and greatest scientific research; on the evening news, in magazines, in newspapers, and of course blogs. It’s important to evaluate these results with a critical eye.

For this assignment, go through a current newspaper (online or hard copy) and find an article that reports the results of a research study about psychology or a related field (medicine, economics, neuroscience, behavioral biology etc.).

Answer the following questions about the study as reported in the article:

(a) What type of study was it–a survey, case study, correlational study, or experiment?

(b) What variables did the researchers manipulate and/or measure?

(c) What did the researchers find? What did they conclude? and

(d) Do you see any problems with their conclusions or with the way the article interpreted the study’s conclusions?

 Describe any drug side effects and/or adverse effects of the drug treatment and their biological basis, including issues related to contraindications, interactions, drug metabolism, and elimination.In addition, explain risks, benefits, and ethical implications for high-risk and exceptional treatment conditions.

Psychopharmacology/Neuroscience: Drug treatments for OCD

Critical Review

The final assignment for this class will be a 10-12 page critical review of the drug treatment for OBESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER.

The review will use peer-reviewed and/or scholarly sources to provide an evidence base for the evaluation of current drug treatment modalities for the disorder.

The paper will be evaluated on the inclusion of the following information:
Introduction:

Evaluate OCD in terms of symptomatic and behavioral presentation.

Include the time, course, and progression of OCD.

Evaluate and explain special features of OCD epidemiology including risk factors for development of the disorder, lifespan and reproductive factors increasing risk of developing the disorder, and any genetic, environmental, or behavioral factors that increase risk.
Theory:

Evaluate the predominant theory or theories regarding the biological basis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Explain the OCD in terms of pertinent neurotransmitter and receptor theories and use your references to provide an evidence base for these theories.

Analyze neurotransmitter system(s) involved in the pathology of OCD, including a description of:

1) the involved neurotransmitter(s) and receptor(s)

2) regions of the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, or peripheral nervous system) involved with any pathological anatomical changes

3) abnormalities of neural circuits and pathways.

Include an explanation of how receptor agonists or antagonists would theoretically treat OCD to reverse the pathology and restore normal function, or why they would be expected to improve symptoms.
Treatment:

Evaluate drug therapies for treating the OCD based on the current understanding of the biological basis of the disorder.

Include a description of the behavioral symptoms and physical signs of OCD and identify the drug class(es) used in pharmacological therapy with a discussion of the mechanism of action of the drug class(es). (i.e. some classes of medications: glutamatergic agents, antipsychotics, and 5HT-3 antagonists, etc.)

Drug classes and drug types are not to be confused as they are two different things when explaining drug treatments.

Explain why the pharmacodynamics of the drug class(es) would affect the pathology of OCD to restore function and/or improve symptoms.

Include a discussion of the drug pharmacokinetics for each drug class.

Provide examples of available marketed drugs within each class.

Describe any drug side effects and/or adverse effects of the drug treatment and their biological basis, including issues related to contraindications, interactions, drug metabolism, and elimination.In addition, explain risks, benefits, and ethical implications for high-risk and exceptional treatment conditions.