Assignment: Biologic Basis of Neurologic or Psychiatric Disorder

Biological psychology seeks to understand behavior from the biological perspective. It is, of necessity, interdisciplinary. This rapidly-growing field has enabled scientists and clinicians to understand processes that are important in daily life and clinical conditions. Global surveys of neurologic and psychiatric conditions, including depression and anxiety disorders, find that 20–30% of the population has symptoms consistent with being diagnosed with a neurologic or psychiatric condition in any one year, and the lifetime incidence for being diagnosed with a few clinical conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, approaches 100%. Clearly, understanding the biological bases for these conditions provides a pathway for treatment, affecting positive social change.

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For this class, you will write a 10- to 15- page (not including the title or reference pages) APA-style final paper in which you will explore the biologic basis of a neurologic or psychiatric disorder.

You may choose schizophrenia, mood disorders, or anxiety disorders, which are described in Chapter 16, or you may choose another disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) published by the American Psychiatric Association. If you are selecting a disorder that is not found in Chapter 16 of your text, you must obtain Instructor approval. If you choose a disorder from the DSM-5, please obtain Instructor approval by the end of Week 4.

The first part of your paper is due in Week 5 and is worth 25 points. You will receive feedback from your Instructor by Day 7 of Week 6. You will then incorporate this feedback and extend the paper for the final submission, which will be due at the end of Week 10 for another 50 points. The full 75-point project constitutes approximately 21% of your final grade.

Research Guidance

The majority of your research should be done in the Walden Library. There, you should find scholarly resources such as peer-reviewed articles, textbooks, and handbooks.

You will find that Thoreau (multi-database search tool) is a good initial starting point for your research. From the Walden Library homepage, click on “Databases A-Z” to explore many other databases available in the library for information relevant to your topic (PsycARTICLES, PUBMED, CINAHL & MEDLINE Combined Search, and Embase are good places to start).
For more information on how to effectively search through the library databases, please review the links below.

- Database Search Skills
- Psychology Library Research: Basic Article Search

Before using any resources found outside of the library, you should confirm that they are of a caliber that will support your work. Reviewing the links below will help you to determine the strength of non-library resources.

- Evaluating Resources: Evaluation Methods
- Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine

Part 1: Neurological Basis of Disorder: Current Knowledge, Treatments, and Impacts

Due Day 7 of Week 5

Approximately 5 pages

25 points

In approximately 5 pages,

Describe your selected condition, including the incidence, symptoms, and societal impact.
Describe the neurologic basis of the condition, including the known neuroanatomy and neurophysiology associated with the condition.
Describe at least one treatment for the condition, considering how it impacts the biologic basis of the condition.

Note: It is entirely possible that some of these topics are not known at this time for some conditions. In that case, indicate the gaps in current knowledge and describe what the literature does include.

Adhere to APA style and formatting for your paper. Include proper citations and references.

Part 2: Neurological Basis of Disorder: Research Question and Experiment

Understanding the biological basis for a neurological condition provides the foundation upon which you can develop powerful questions and design experiments that support effective treatments. Given the prevalence of neurologic or psychiatric conditions in the population, development of strong treatments can lead to profound positive social change.

Due Day 7 of Week 10

Your paper should be 10–15 pages, including the portions submitted in Week 5.

Extend the sections of Part 1 as necessary based on the feedback from your Instructor.
For Part 2, develop a research question and propose an experiment related to the condition.
- If your research question is quantitative, this should include a hypothesis about what answer you expect to your question and some basics of the experimental design, such as your methods and your experimental and control groups.
- If your question is qualitative, identify a phenomenon of study, the population or context you intend to study, and your research question, which is typically open-ended and would begin “What…” or “How…”.