This exam will consist of 40 multiple-choice questions, with 5 response options. This exam will assess material covered in Weeks 1-4 of the neuropsychopharmcology component (PSYN841) of this unit. You will have 40 minutes to complete this exam. 

For those of you doing PSY977, this assignment is linked to that unit. You will be provided with two case descriptions. You simply need to choose one of these cases. You should use the same case across units.

For this unit, you need to consider the case carefully and decide which “disorder” best fits the case’s main or primary problem. Next, select a single theoretical model of that disorder, which has reasonable empirical support.

In part 1 of the assignment, you need to describe the details of the theory/model and briefly review the empirical evidence for it. In other words, first provide a brief summary of the key elements of the theory/model. This should be as clear and logical a description as possible, while remaining brief. Next, you should provide a brief summary of the key empirical evidence that supports the main points or predictions of that model. This does not need to be a thorough literature review, but an illustration of some findings or reviews of literature. As much as possible, remember to be a scientist and ensure you consider the value and strength of the research in a critical way.

In part 2 of the assignment, you need to develop a formulation of the various features of the case in terms of the theory/model that you have selected and its empirical support. You should consider how well the theory/model describes the important aspects of your case and how it adds to (or limits) your understanding of the case. How does the model help us to better understand aspects of the case? What aspects of the case do not seem to be covered by the model or do not fit with the model? What additional information do we need to know or might we ask from our case to see if it fits?

The case report should be between 1400-1600 words in length (excluding references). Citations and references should conform to APA Style rules as described in the sixth edition of the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association."

Your case reports should be easy to read. The report should be clearly organised, with smooth transitions. In addition, sentences should be concise, with precise word choice. The tone should be formal and all technical terms should be clearly described.

Note

An overall goal of this course is to develop critical thinking skills. Because the field changes over time and much of what we will discuss in this unit are “constructs,” which are not things, but rather hypothetical tools used to facilitate the understanding of human behaviour, it is vital that you develop critical thinking skills. As such, the case vignettes may or may not reflect psychopathology covered up until Week 7. If the problems discussed in the vignettes seem new to you, you will need to demonstrate your critical thinking skills. This will involve developing a hypothesis, consulting the DSM, and reading the literature in an informed manner. This will be good practice for when you are out in the field and do not have an expert readily available. 

This exam will consist of a dozen short answer questions. These questions assess material covered in the lectures and in the assigned readings and will focus on diagnostic and theoretical issues. Answers should be brief--half a page or less. 

You are to submit 5 abstracts printed from a biomedical database (such as PubMed or Medline, NOT PsychINFO). Each abstract is to be of a different psychopharmacological drug acting to treat a psychiatric disorder. This submission needs to include a cover page that includes the following information: 1. Your name and student ID. 2. First Author and year of for each publication. 3. For each abstract, name the drug and it’s mechanism of action (i.e. how it works). 4. For each abstract, name the psychiatric disorder that the drug is used to treat.

Please see task sheet on PSYN841 iLearn page for more information.