BSc Medical Physiology with a Modern Language

Drugs and the Brain outlines the important types of drugs, including anaesthetics, antipsychotics and antidepressants, which are used to influence activity in the brain. You will learn how these drugs act on neurotransmitters and the side effects that their actions can cause.

BIOL21312 Pre-requisites are BIOL10822 OR BIOL10832 Or BIOL11822 OR BIOL11821(students only need to have taken ONE of the compulsory pre-requisites)

To describe the aetiology and symptomology of a range of brain disorders the range of mechanisms by which drugs can interfere with neurotransmission in the central nervous system (CNS) how neurotransmitter activities can be modified by drugs leading to the rational treatment of CNS disorders how an understanding of neurotransmitters and mechanisms of drug action can lead to more selective treatment of CNS disorders.

After completing the unit and recommended reading, students should have an understanding of: basic mechanisms of brain disorders important classes of drugs used in medicine and/or biological research to influence central neuronal activity, particularly in humans the mechanisms of action of these drugs in terms of their effects on major neurotransmitters mechanism-related drug side-effects

•    Introduction to neuropharmacology

•    The central synapse: neurotransmitter systems as targets for drug therapy

•    Accessing the central synapse: the blood-brain barrier to drugs

•    Pharmacology of neurodegenerative disorders  

•    Pharmacology of general anaesthetics and local anaesthetics

•    Pharmacology of antipyretic-analgesic drugs

•    Pharmacology of opioid analgesic drugs

•    Pharmacology of antiepileptic drugs

•    Pharmacology of anxiolytic drugs

•    Pharmacology of CNS stimulants and psychotomimetics

•    Pharmacology of antipsychotic drugs

•    Pharmacology of antidepressant drugs 

Core taught material: 33 hours

Students will be expected to complete 1 eLearning module per week, containing approximately 1 hour of pre-recorded video content or equivalent.

Each week there will also be 1 hour of live-lecture content that builds on the eLearning module and a 1 hour face-to-face active learning session.  
 

On campus written exam (1.5 hours) comprising two sections. Section A: a choice of 3 out of a choice of 4 short note questions; Section B: a choice of 5 out of 6 short note questions 

Written feedback on coursework. Post-exam guidance. 

Tuition fees for home students will be £10,050 for the 2027/28 academic year. In England and Wales, tuition fees for home undergraduate students are subject to the Government fee cap, which the Government has announced will be £10,050 for the 2027/28 academic year.

Government policy is to increase the fee cap on an annual basis to reflect inflation (i.e. increasing costs), and the tuition fee home students pay in subsequent academic years will reflect any increases in the Government fee cap (which we will communicate to you as soon as we can in advance of the relevant academic year).

Tuition fees for international students will be £38,000 for the 2027/28 academic year. For subsequent academic years, the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fee by up to 7% each year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our education and wider student experience.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Tuition fees are considerably lower for your placement year. Please see the fees page for full details.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Students participating in placements outside the UK may be able to apply for funding from the UK's Turing scheme depending on eligibility. Priority will be given to students from low income households.