Neurobiology of Mental Disorders

The program aims to offer a global picture of the neurobiology of mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, depression, and anxiety

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CIVIS focus area
Health
Open to
  • Master's
  • PhD candidates/ students
Field of studies
  • Medicine and Health
  • Social Science and humanities
Type
  • Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)
Course dates
28 April - 23 May 2025

This is the second edition of the program, after a big success in the number of applicants and in the developmentof the program at its first edition.

The course will address the neurobiological bases of mental disorders from a global point of view to a more particular approach to each of the disorders. The different approaches used to study mental disorders, such as genetic studies, post-mortem human studies, animal models, in-life programs, and neuroimaging studies, will be addressed and their benefits and disadvantages analysed in a critical way.

This program will mainly have a basic character and its main objective is to bring the student closer to the triggering causes of mental illness from a biological point of view. However, the highlights of the clinical part and psychological treatment will also be addressed, in order to help students acquire a more complete vision.

Main topics addressed

  • Describe from ancient times to the present day the process of psychiatry as a science and scientific discipline. 
  • Address the genetic study of mental illnesses, mentioning the latest advances and how they have been reached. 
  • Indicate that possible neurodevelopmental alterations can trigger mental illnesses. Neurotransmitters and their role in disease.
  • Identify the environmental factors that condition mental illness. The main factors that affect human behavior and that can cause the triggering of mental illness will be detailed. 
  • Address the methodology of mental health research. The main aspects of research in different areas of mental illness will be introduced, such as genetics, animal models, care etc.
  • Describe the different mental illnesses and their causes, signs, and symptoms. 
  • Know the psychological therapies that are applied today. The main therapies currently being carried out for patients with psychiatric illnesses will be presented. 
  • The neurobiological bases of some specific biological and psychological processes will be analyzed and understood, basic clinical aspects will be addressed. These processes include eating, parental behavior and sexual differentiation, addictive behaviors, pain, neuroimmunology and neuroendocrinology, psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, sleep and its disorders, hearing, vision, and aging.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, the students will:

  • know the main genes involved in the development of psychiatric diseases, as well as the environmental and developmental causes, in order to become familiar with the techniques that allow the study of these factors and the methodology applied in each case;
  • be able to differentiate and categorize the different psychiatric disorders and their specific causes establishing a relationship between the cellular-histological-anatomical structure and function and the observed pathological consequences;
  • know the history of pharmacological/ psychiatric/ psychological treatments along with recent advances and future research directions in this field;
  • be able to work in teams and to distinguish important information in scientific papers related to neurobiology of mental disorders, for organizing the information and present it in groups to specialized audience.
Dates: 28 April - 23 May 2025 Total workload: 80 hours
Format: Blended ECTS: 3*
Location: Madrid, Spain Language: English (B2)
Contact: javier.gilabert@uam.es  

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university.

Physical mobility

The physical mobility part will be running between 19-23 May 2025, in Madrid - Spain. During the 5 weekdays, the students will attend classes related to the new knowledge in the field of research on mental disorders such as genomics, neuroimaging etc. The latest theories of treatments and hypothesis of the neuropathology will also be discussed.

During the second part, the student will perform the group task. The group task is the preparation of a seminar related to one of the topics of the course. Students will have to carry out a bibliographical search to support some of the latest hypothesis or techniques in the field of the neurobiology of mental disorders.

At the end of the week, the students will deliver a seminar to the rest of their classmates and teachers where the exposed ideas will be discussed. For this task, the students will be divided into groups of 4-5 and a professor will supervise the development of the work.

Finally, students will have some practical experiences by evaluating the behavior of animal models of anxiety and stress, analyzing the human postmortem brains, and interpreting the symptoms of patients with recorded interview. For the practical classes, the students will also be divided into groups and supervised by several professors.

Virtual part

The online classes wil take place between 28 April - 16 May 2025. The synchronous and asynchronous theoretical classes will be taught by professors from the CIVIS universities involved and invited speakers.

The students will be introduced to the basics of the neurobiology of mental disorders and the main types of disorders. These classes will be recorded and accessible to the students online. 

Requirements

This course is open to Master's students of a master in neuroscience (or similar like biomedicine, medicine, etc.) or PhD's students in neuroscience, medicine, psychology, or any other related discipline at CIVIS member universities. Students in their last years of their degree in biology, biomedicine, medicine, psychology, or similar could be accepted too.

Also, the participants should have excellent English skills (B2) and:

  • basic knowledge about mental disorders and the world related to these disorders such as research, treatment; 
  • the ability to organize information related to mental illnesses and argued discussion of issues related to these diseases;
  • to have been initiated in mental health research from the basic and clinical point of view;
  • the ability to accurately communicate the scientific terminology involved in general knowledge of the nervous system and in the study and research of specific areas of the same; 
  • the ability to critically assess the methods used for experimentation in Neuroscience in general and its different branches, and report on them, including those that involve the handling of experimental animals.

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. Click here to learn more about the eligibility criteria.

Students from CIVIS’ strategic partner universities in Africa cannot apply for participation in this course.

Application process

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 31 October 2024, including:

  • CV
  • Motivation letter

  • Level of english (According to CEFR)

Applications will be evaluated based on the association with the subject (Bachelor + Master+ PhD) and research projects related to Environmental Sciences.

Apply now

Assessment

The BIP will be included in the Neuroscience Master's programme of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, therefore the assessment of the students will be adapted to the master's requirements.

  • implication in the theoretical classes with the questions or the discussions raised - 30% of the final mark
  • punctuality and attendance to all the activities organized by the course - 20% of the final mark 
  • group tasks (seminars) - 50% of the final mark 

In the group tasks we will address the involvement of the students, the performance of the task (power point preparation and bibliographic research) and the outcome (delivery of the seminar and feedback given to the peer’s seminars). Also, the students will have to wrap the knowledge acquired during the classes, seminars, and practical part to develop a correct seminar to study the posed scientific issue.

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe. Click here to learn more about CIVIS BIPs.

GDPR Consent

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The instructors of the course are:

  • Dr. Javier Gilabert and Dr. Lucía Prensa - Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,
  • Dr. Maria Mernea - University of Bucharest,
  • Dr. Laura Maggi and Silvia Di Angelantonio - Sapienza Università di Roma. 

The lessons will also include the expertise of professors from different european countries specialized in neurobiology, psychiatry, pharmacology, psychology etc. 

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