PSY7320 examines the biological underpinnings of psychological disorders through an advanced lens, focusing on current research problems and methods in biological psychology. Students move beyond introductory neuroscience to engage with the clinical implications of biological factors in psychopathology — how genetic predispositions interact with environmental stressors to produce psychiatric conditions, how physical and emotional trauma alter brain structure and function, how addictive processes engage reward circuitry, and what biological findings mean for evidence-based treatment planning in clinical and counseling psychology.
Biological bases of psychopathology
Core topics
- Genetics and psychopathology: Behavioral genetics research methods (twin studies, adoption studies, genome-wide association studies) and their findings on heritability of major mental disorders — schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorder — including gene-environment interaction models and epigenetic mechanisms that explain how genetic risk is expressed or suppressed by environmental factors
- Neuroscience of major psychiatric conditions: The neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological abnormalities identified in major psychiatric conditions — structural and functional differences in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, and limbic system across depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and PTSD — and what these findings mean for understanding psychopathology
- Trauma and the brain: How physical trauma (traumatic brain injury, TBI) and emotional/psychological trauma (adverse childhood experiences, PTSD) alter brain structure and function — changes in the stress-response systems (HPA axis), hippocampal volume reduction, amygdala hyperreactivity, and prefrontal cortex hypoactivation — and their clinical implications for trauma-informed treatment
- Addictive phenomena: The neurobiology of addiction — how substances and behavioral addictions engage the dopaminergic reward system, the role of the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal circuits in craving and relapse, neuroadaptation and tolerance, and the biological rationale for pharmacological treatments of substance use disorders
- Biological considerations in treatment planning: Translating biological knowledge into clinical practice — when to recommend psychiatric consultation, the evidence base for psychotropic medication in combination with psychotherapy, how knowledge of biological mechanisms informs the selection and rationale for evidence-based psychological interventions
PSY7320 assignments include biological literature critiques, case analyses integrating neuroscience, and treatment planning papers
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Frequently asked questions
Contemporary evidence supports a biopsychosocial model of mental health in which biological, psychological, and social factors interact to produce mental disorders — no single level of analysis is sufficient. For doctoral-level clinicians, understanding the biological dimension matters for several practical reasons: knowing when a patient's symptoms may have a medical etiology that requires referral, understanding the mechanism of action and evidence base for psychotropic medications that co-therapists prescribe, recognizing how trauma has altered the neurobiology of stress response in PTSD patients (which informs somatic and trauma-focused approaches), and being able to explain the biological rationale for evidence-based treatments to patients. A psychologist who is biologically uninformed is less equipped to collaborate with psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and neurologists — the interprofessional partners who are increasingly central to integrated behavioral health care. PSY7320 provides the advanced biological foundation that doctoral practice requires.