Course Information Document
BIOL4032
Introduction
Welcome to the final year of your programme. One of the
aims of the final year is to prepare you for the years ahead. The teaching will
be structured differently, and you will be encouraged to work independently. We
expect you to develop a breadth to your thinking and writing. This is the time
to bring together knowledge gained during the past three years, looking for
general principles which can be used productively. This mature approach should
be expressed in your coursework, project report and examination answers. The
key to success in final year is good time-management.
We recommend that you read this Course
Information Document at the start of your final year. In addition, there is important information about
regulations, assessment and progression in the Life
Sciences Handbook: Regulations & Advice; again, you should read this document at the start
of the year and you must refer to it as necessary.
While the information contained in the document is correct at the time of printing, it may be necessary to make changes. Check your online timetable, Moodle and your email messages regularly.
Final Year
Structure
Component courses
The five component courses which make up the final year of
your programme are:
1 x project or dissertation course (40 credits)
1 x the core course for your programme (20 credits)
3 x Honours options (3 x 20-credits)
Scheduling
Taught courses
(core course and options)
|
Semester |
Day |
Course block |
Suffix on Course Name |
|
1 |
Monday |
Core block |
"…4X core" |
|
1 |
Tuesday |
|
|
|
1 |
Wednesday |
|
|
|
1 |
Thursday |
|
|
|
1 |
Friday |
S1 option block |
"…4Y option" |
|
2 |
Monday |
S2-A option block |
"…4A option" |
|
2 |
Tuesday |
S2-B option block |
"…4B option" |
|
2 |
Wednesday |
S2-E option block |
"…4E option" |
|
2 |
Thursday |
S2-C option block |
"…4C option" |
|
2 |
Friday |
S2-D option block |
"…4D option" |
Project
You should devote THREE days per week to the research
phase of the project, normally all day Tuesday,
Wednesday AM and all day Thursday during 10 weeks of Semester 1. The remaining
half day can be undertaken Monday and/or Friday and/or Wednesday PM, depending
on your own taught course timetable and the nature of your project.
Honours Options
You take three Honours options in total: one in Semester 1
and two in Semester 2.
The Semester 1 options are usually taught on Fridays, and you choose one option from the 4Y list.
Semester 2 options are arranged in five blocks, one for each day of the week (4A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E options). You choose two options from these five blocks, but no more than one for any block.
Once enrolment opens in August, you choose the options that you wish to study in final year. Please note that the list of offered Honours options changes slightly each year as options are introduced, withdrawn or moved to a different block; therefore, options you see in your MyCampus My Requirements report may not be available for you to choose when you reach final year.
Available option choices:
You do not have a free choice when choosing options. The
following factors determine which options you can take.
Each programme specifies which options are compulsory
and recommended for that programme. You must choose options which satisfy the
stated Requirements for your programme.
In addition,
each option specifies restrictions on admission (“Requirements of Entry” or
“Enrolment Requirements”) to ensure that only students with the necessary
academic background can enrol on that option. A few options allow any Life
Sciences final-year student to enrol while other options only accept enrolment
from students registered for a particular programme or set of programmes (for
example Behavioural Ecology 4B option specifies the following: “Normally, only
available to final-year Life Sciences students in the Animal Biology group
programmes”).
A few options require
you to apply in advance during Year 3. You cannot take one of these options if
you have not been approved in advance. Currently, these are:
Tropical Marine Biology
(with Field Course) 4Y option
Marine Mammal Biology
(with Field Course) 4Y option
Ecology &
Conservation of African Ecosystems (with Field Course) 4Y option
Investigating Biological Function 4B option
Most options limit the number of students that may enrol. For many options, the limit is around 30 students but some options have a lower or higher limit on class size. Enrolment is on a first-come, first-served basis.
An option may be cancelled if too few students wish to do it or if there are other circumstances which mean an option cannot run.
Honours Project or
Dissertation
You undertake a piece of independent work in final year,
either a project or a dissertation. University regulations stipulate that you
MUST obtain at least D3 in the “independent work” course for an Honours degree
to be awarded.
During Year 3, you choose which type of final-year project you would like to do. There are four types of project within the Life Sciences portfolio:
Investigative (both laboratory-based “wet” projects and traditional “dry” projects)
Dissertation
Outreach (both School and Public Engagement)
Internship *
* Although the Internship type of project is available in theory to students on any programme, this will depend on internships being offered which are suitable to the programme. Until now, internships have only been available to students in Physiology & Sports Science.
The type of project you are allocated determines which project course you enrol on in MyCampus.
It may not be possible to allocate projects in line with your aspirations but staff seek to maximise each student’s preference. Your grades from Year 3 may be taken into account when project allocations are being made.
If you are a student in the Animal Biology Group (Marine & Freshwater Biology or Zoology), you are encouraged to think up possible projects yourself. However, you must find a member of staff willing to act as your supervisor.
Please refer to the current session’s Project Course Information Document for more information.
Course Contacts
Course Coordinators
Course Coordinator: Dr Graeme Sills
Email: Graeme.Sills@glasgow.ac.uk
Deputy Course Coordinator: Professor Brian Morris
Email: Brian.Morris@glasgow.ac.uk
Programme
Coordinator for Final Year
Programme Coordinator: Professor Simon Kennedy
Email: Simon.Kennedy@glasgow.ac.uk
Teaching Staff
External Examiner
Dr David Morgan, Keele University
Life Sciences
Office
The Life Sciences Office is located in
Room 354 of the Sir James Black Building. Opening hours for enquiries are: Monday to Friday: 9:30am to 4:30pm.
Course Summary
Course Code
BIOL4032
Course Title
CNS Neurotransmitters and Drug Development 4Y option
Academic Session
2023-24
Short Description of the Course
This course explores the broad range of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators that are active in the CNS, the ways in which clinically and experimentally used drugs interact with these molecules to alleviate CNS disorders and/or produce undesired effects, and emerging classes of drugs that interact with endogenous neurotransmitter systems.
Requirements of Entry
Normally, only available to final-year Life Sciences students in a Human Life Sciences programme. Visiting students may be allowed to enrol, at the discretion of the Life Sciences Chief Adviser and the Course Coordinator.
Associated Programmes
This course is offered by the Pharmacology programme.
Available to visiting students
Yes
Available to Erasmus students
Yes
Typically offered
Semester 1
Timetable
There are normally 3 hours of teaching on Fridays, which may be split over more than one session.
Course Aims
This course aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of neurotransmission within the CNS and how drugs that modulate neurotransmitter function can be used to treat CNS disorders.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Discuss the key proteins and processes that serve as drug targets in the CNS;
Assess the relative contributions of individual neuromodulators and neurotransmitter systems to the functioning of the CNS in health and disease;
Evaluate the mechanisms of action, efficacy and adverse effects of current experimental drugs and licensed medications and their utility in the exploration of CNS function and the treatment of CNS disorders;
Critically appraise the therapeutic potential that resides within individual neuromodulators and neurotransmitter systems in terms of future CNS drug development.
Minimum Requirements for Award of Credits
Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course’s summative assessment.
Description of Summative Assessment
The course will be assessed by a 2-hour examination (75%) and in-course assessment consisting of a single written assignment (25%).
Are reassessment opportunities normally available for all summative assessments in this course
Not applicable for Honours courses
Formative Assessment and Feedback
Staff will provide verbal feedback during interactive, student-led teaching sessions. Students will also benefit from peer-to-peer exchange during in-class group work. Generic feedback on the general performance of the class will be provided for the written assignment, along with individual written feedback on coursework to support preparation for future assessments.
Examination Diet
April/May
Total Exam Duration
120 minutes
Additional Reading
There is no set reading programme for this course.
Teaching sessions may incorporate “journal club” style activities that require
students to read a specific research paper in advance and to discuss / present
that paper, typically as a group, during the session. You will be notified of
any such required reading via Moodle announcement, usually 3 to 5 days prior to
the respective session.
In addition, teaching staff may post review articles on Moodle that are relevant to the content of their session(s). These should be considered as “additional” rather than “essential” reading. They will give you a broader perspective on the subject area and may provide additional information that can be used to demonstrate wider reading in assessments.
Students are also encouraged to undertake further, independent reading of the scientific literature, identifying relevant research papers and review articles by searching databases such as Web of Science, PubMed and/or Google Scholar using keywords sourced from the taught content of the course. This will, again, give you a broader perspective on the topic, an insight into the origins of current understanding, an appreciation of the methods employed in this field of study, and awareness of any gaps or inconsistencies in existing knowledge.