• Way Prof. Dr. Baldwin M.

Social Relationships, Stress, and Health: Neurochemical and Immune Mediators

The goal of this course will be to examine the neurochemical and immune pathways that mediate between social relationships and health. The course will principally focus on two systems and physical health related outcomes. The first part will examine how opioids influence social relationships and, conversely how social relationships influence the opioid system. The health outcome that will be the primary focus of this section is pain. This part will provide a backdrop for familiarizing the student with the principles of drug action and neurochemical measurements as well as the processes by which genetic variation can contribute to behavior and health outcomes. The second part will be on the immune system and how inflammation influences social behavior and mood as well as how social interactions (online or in-person) and their absence influence inflammation. This section will also provide students an overview of the immune system and gut microbiome. Because inflammation is a key driver of major depression and physical health outcomes like cardiovascular disease, this discussion will provide mechanistic insights into social determinants of health. Finally, a brief third section will overview recent discoveries of novel pharmacological therapies acting on the serotonin system (Ecstasy and Psychedelics) and their influences on stress and trauma. A goal of this course is to help reduce the barriers to reading the pharmacology and immunology literatures. Evaluation will be a take home exam using a short essay response format. 

Written work.

Written work.

Written work.

Written work.