Issues in brain and behaviour
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| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
This course draws on biological and social sciences to investigate addiction and neural ageing. In Addiction, you’ll consider the definition and understanding of addiction; explore the factors – neurobiological and psychological – that lead to addiction; and investigate therapies such as behavioural techniques. In Neural Ageing, you’ll draw on neurobiology, genetics, physiology, psychology and sociology to examine ageing and notions of ‘normal’ and ‘pathological’ neurodegeneration (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease). You’ll also investigate changes that occur in the brain and nervous system during ageing, and the role of genetics, nutrition and oxidative processes.
Course content
The course investigates two topics – addiction and neural ageing – through a collection of guided readings (about twelve weeks of study time), progressing towards the literature research (the remainder of the course).
During the early weeks you study both addiction and neural ageing. Integrated within the course material is appropriate background reading to support the study of selected articles. The guided readings look at the way in which many different disciplines can contribute to an explanation of issues in brain and behaviour. Following this, you are then asked to specialise in studying either addiction or neural ageing – the literature research. In each case biological, psychological and social perspectives are examined.
The first topic looks at theories that try to explain addiction and raises questions about the appropriate way to understand this aspect of behaviour. It asks questions such as: Can we understand drug taking mainly in terms of the mental state of the person concerned? Can it be useful to compare an addiction to drugs with an addiction to, say, shopping or internet use? You are asked to hold such conceptual issues in mind as you read the original papers. In addition, the topic explores the meaning, the mechanism(s) and the treatment of addiction. You may elect to focus on one of the aspects of addiction covered in the literature research and produce an original, contemporary and in-depth review of your chosen subject.
In the second topic you are asked to consider the ageing process, as it applies to brain and behaviour. But is it inevitable? Can the ageing process be slowed, or stopped altogether? Many of the articles consider the question, ‘How do we age?’ and between them present a fascinating array of mechanisms and consequences. Neural ageing can be studied from several different perspectives, drawing on neurobiology, genetics, physiology and psychology and encompasses certain age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Again, you may elect to focus on one of the aspects of ageing covered in the literature research and produce an original, contemporary, in depth review of your chosen subject.
You will learn
The aims of the course are to:
- present an unbiased and broad view of addiction and neural ageing
- emphasise the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to studying contemporary issues in science, using addiction and neural ageing as examples
- develop an understanding of the current biological and psychological bases of addiction and neural ageing
- develop the transferable personal and academic skills appropriate to study at masters level, so that you can both communicate your understanding of neural ageing and addiction and apply the same skills to other areas of study.
By the end of the course you should be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of the nature of addiction and neural ageing from both biological and psychological perspectives
- relate information from different disciplines, showing how each discipline contributes to our understanding of addiction and neural ageing
- use electronic means of communication and search and retrieve information electronically
- critically assess secondary literature and some primary literature about addiction and neural ageing
- demonstrate a basic knowledge of the experimental methods that are commonly used to study addiction and neural ageing
- prepare and discuss a poster on a relevant topic
- prepare an extended, cogently argued piece of writing that summarises a particular aspect of addiction or neural ageing.
Entry
You can count this course towards our MSc in Science and certain other qualifications. To register for any of the science masters courses you must, normally, hold a qualification equivalent to a UK honours degree in science or a science-related subject; however, applicants with relevant experience or other study that may equip them to study at masters level will be considered by our Admissions Panel. Depending on your qualifications or particular area of expertise, then some background reading may be necessary prior to the start, or during the early part of the course. If you are uncertain, please contact the MSc in Science Programme Office, Faculty of Science, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, email us or look on our website.
Outside the UK
Students outside the UK can choose to replace attendance at UK-based assessment events with equivalent live alternatives.These will use the Open University’s conferencing software (called Elluminate) for which you will require a combined headphone/microphone headset.
Qualifications
SD805 is an optional course in our
- Postgraduate Certificate in Social Sciences (C24)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Social Sciences (D41)
- MSc in Psychology (F15)
- MSc in Science (F12)
- MA in Social Sciences (F09)
Some postgraduate qualifications allow study to be chosen from other subject areas. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
The course depends heavily on reading and writing text on computer screens, and some of the material will be presented on DVD-ROM so you will need to spend considerable amounts of time using a personal computer and the internet. The printed course materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and scientific materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Your course requires you to access literature resources electronically. If you use a screen reader to access material on screen, you should check that it is compatible with the Open Library's electronic databases and resources before you start the course.
Other parts of the course are presented as video and audio clips on DVD-ROM and transcripts are available. The printed course material is available in comb-bound format. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials, audio and visual materials and interactive software on DVD-ROM, course website and forums.
Computing requirements
This course has online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. The course software is provided on CD-ROM or DVD.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you can use an Apple Mac or Linux computer if you can run Windows using Boot Camp or similar.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. Electronic communication will be used extensively. There will be two day schools, the first at the beginning of the course is optional, but if you are resident in the UK you are required to attend the second one in July to present a poster. In each case a limited choice of venues is offered. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You must use the online eTMA system to submit some of your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs). The assessment of your poster at the second day school also contributes to the continuous assessment.
The end-of-course assessment will be a critical review and takes the place of an examination.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2010. We expect it to be available once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
A postgraduate course in Psychology and Science.
Study explained
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