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Biological Underpinnings of Psychopathology

Vak
2020-2021

Important Note

  • All Semester II bachelor and master psychology courses and examinations (2020-2021) will be offered in an on-line format.

  • If it is safe and possible to do so, supplementary course meetings may be planned on-campus. However, attendance at these meetings will not be required to successfully complete Semester II courses.

  • All obligatory work groups and examinations will be offered on-line during Central European Time, which is local time in the Netherlands.

  • Information on the mode of instruction and the assessment method per course will be offered in Brightspace, considering the possibilities that are available at that moment. The information in Brightspace is leading during the Corona crisis, even if this does not match the information in the Prospectus.

Entry requirements

Open to MSc Psychology (research) students.

Description

This course consists of eight small-group interactive seminars. For each seminar, one expert speaker will provide an in depth lecture on their field of expertise. These topics relate to psychological and biological mechanisms of different psychiatric disorders.

For each seminar, students prepare by reading one or more papers. For each meeting, one or two students will present a brief summary of the preparation paper(s).

The provided literature and lectures will aid students in writing their own research proposal, which consist of a critical review of the literature relevant to the assigned topic, and a proposal for future research. A first draft of the research proposal will need to be written half-way through the course (on one of the seminar topics). After this, students will participate in peer review of a proposal, and of course will receive peer feedback as well to improve the proposal in a final version.

Course objectives

After successful completion of this course, you will have:

  • In-depth knowledge about timely theoretical and experimental frameworks related to psychopathology from a neurobiological perspective

  • Experience with writing a research proposal on a timely research topic related to biological underpinnings

  • Experience with reviewing research proposals from peers and providing feedback

Timetables

For the timetables of your lectures, work groups and exams, please select your study programme in: Psychology timetables

Lectures

Registration

Course

Students need to enroll for lectures and work group sessions. Master’s course registration

Reading list

  • Reviews/book chapters provided by lecturers (used for preparation and presentation)

  • Empirical papers provided by lecturers (used for written commentary)

  • Course information and presentation slides on blackboard

  • Peer review on your practice commentary

Assessment method

The research proposal and the peer review will be graded by the teaching staff.

  • Participation and presentation during the seminars (A: 1-10)

  • Peer reviewing (B: 1-10)

  • Final assignment: Final research proposal (C: 1-10) (1A + 3B + 6*C)/10

The Institute of Psychology follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of this fraud policy.

Contact information

Dr. Verena Ly v.ly@fsw.leidenuniv.nl