NSC 307 - Neuroscience of Anxiety

Course unit(s): 1
Prerequisite or corequisite: PSY 101 Introductory Psychology , and PSY 215 Biological Psychology or NSC 310 Brain & Behavior .

Anxiety is not always a bad thing - it pushes us to achieve and helps to keep us alive. Anxiety becomes pathological only when it manifests in extreme or persistent ways. This seminar will examine anxiety from multiple perspectives (biological, psychological, social) and multiple levels of analysis (from molecular to systems). Readings will be based on case studies and empirical literature, and class meetings will follow a discussion-based format. Discussions will examine the distinction between anxiety and fear, neuroanatomical and neurochemical substrates of fear, and the translation of lab-based studies on fear to cutting edge clinical treatments for anxiety.
Neuroscience or Psychology majors only