MSc Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry
King's College London

Great advances have been made in the behavioural sciences during recent years with the growing evidence for the role of genes in shaping our behaviour. Behavioural genetics is a specialty that applies genetic research strategies to the study of behavioural traits and disorders using a diverse range of strategies from quantitative genetic methods (twin and family studies) to molecular genetics techniques to identify genetic variation. In addition to genetic factors, evidence is emerging for the role of environmental and developmental factors and on the interplay between these factors and our genes in the causal processes underlying the origins and development of behavioural disorders.
The module in Behavioural Genetics will be taught by the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, a department recognised as a world leader in the field of behavioural genetics research. The module is one of several taught modules on the MSc Neuroscience and will further develop the students’ knowledge of the interactions between genes and the environment gained from the compulsory modules in fundamental neuroscience, especially module A2. By focusing on current research in this area, the module will also enhance the student’s understanding of research methods and so improve their ability to undertake a successful MSc research project. It will place a strong emphasis on enabling students to critically appraise the relevant scientific literature and will introduce them to a range of disorders including cognitive disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD), anxiety and depression disorders and schizophrenia. In addition to disorder characterisation and presentation of both the genetic and environmental risk factors, the module will also focus on the molecular mechanisms and the specialised statistical analysis methods relevant to behavioural genetics. Supporting the taught lectures, the students will be able to complete two practical sessions, one covering basic statistical genetic methods and the other on basic molecular methods. The module will be compulsory for those students wishing to specialise in this subject area.
The aim is to develop the student’s ability to understand and to interpret scientific literature specific to research in behavioural genetics. Students completing this module in combination with Module C Research Project in Behavioural Genetics will be equipped to make an informed career choice, either in further postgraduate education (eg PhD) or employment related to the subject. Alternatively, students may wish to choose a research project in a different subject area leading to an understanding of research activities in two neuroscience fields.

Drug use is a wide spread phenomenon in virtually all societies. Drug addiction is a major psychiatric disease that can develop from drug use with severe impact on the individual and on society. To deliver effective treatment for addiction, a thorough understanding of its neuronal underpinnings is required. The behavioral neuroscience of addiction deals with the question of how drugs interact with the brain and induce drug addiction and with what can be done to either prevent or treat it.
In this specialized module students will learn about the pharmacological characteristics of addictive drugs and what their behavioral effects in humans are in the short and long term. The student will understand how the drugs interact with the brain at molecular and systems level and what plastic changes in the brain lead to addiction related behaviors. Students will be able to discuss animal models of addiction and their findings about how drugs interact with the reward circuitry of the brain. Genetic and environmental risk factors of drug addiction are introduced and students will be able to discuss these factors in the context of the individual’s development. Finally, strategies for prevention and addiction treatment are discussed.
Although much is known about drug effects in the brain there is still no effective treatment available which makes this research a true challenge with high clinical relevance and potential benefits for society. This specialised module is suitable for all students registered for the MSc Neuroscience, regardless of their prior experience in this area.

A1.1 Neuroanatomy and neuropathology
A1.2 Cell biology
A1.3 Neurotransmission
A1.4 Cell signalling

Understanding how the nervous system develops is one of the most fundamental and most exciting challenges in biology. As in other tissues, there is a diversity of cell types but what makes the nervous system work is the pattern of interconnections between these cell types.
This module examines how intrinsic and extrinsic cues lead to the development of functional circuits that allow the nervous system to adapt to a changing environment. A particular feature of the module is that it will expose the student to key areas of research in the field. Not only will it allow them to understand how research questions are generated and then investigated experimentally, but it will also ask what questions remain to be answered.
In the course of the module, students will learn about the specification of the nervous system that first arises in the embryo and then the progressive patterning of the embryonic brain and spinal cord. The control of neurogenesis and neuronal migration is crucial to normal development and the students will be introduced to different model systems. Central to the formation of functional circuits is the guidance of growth cones to their targets. The students will be able to discuss the diversity of guidance mechanisms and of associated signaling processes: is current research providing any generalising principles. Having reached the appropriate targets, the correct circuits have to be established. The students will be able to explore the cues driving this from the level of the synapse to the cortical column. Finally, the students will evaluate the therapeutic importance of the field from neuro-developmental disorders to the stem cell rescue of damaged circuits. The strong emphasis on current research in the field will enable the students to understand how complex problems of development and of neurobiology can be dissected into answerable questions

A2.1 Neurogenetics
A2.2 Developmental neurobiology
A2.3 Neuronal plasticity
A2.4 Neuroimmunology

The increasing lifespan of humans is resulting in a dramatic rise in the number of individuals affected by neurodegenerative diseases, the most prominent of these being Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to understand the pathogenic processes involved in order to develop effective therapies to patients. This specialised module will provide the students with advanced knowledge on current understanding of neurodegenerative mechanisms, allowing them to undertake basic or clinical research projects or to work towards the discovery and development of novel drugs to treat these debilitating conditions.
Students will gain a clinical and pathological overview of common disorders, such as dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease), Parkinson’s disease, motor neuron disease, but also less common disorders, such as prion diseases. The genetic influences and risk factors associated with the development of neurodegeneration will be reviewed. The focus of the module will then move to understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disease. Students will be introduced to model systems for investigating relevant disease processes and in which to trial prospective new drugs when they become available.
Teaching in this module is undertaken by lecturers actively involved in the research areas covered by this module and working primarily within the MRC Centre for Neurodegeneration Research at King’s College London, ensuring that students will be made aware of the most recent developments in the field. The neurodegeneration specialised module is suitable for all students registered for the MSc Neuroscience, regardless of their prior experience in this area.

A3.1 Systems neuroscience
A3.2 Addiction biology
A3.3 Neuropsychology of mental health
A3.4 Neuroimaging
A3.5 Neurodegeneration

The advent of neuroimaging over the last 40 years has revolutionized clinical practice and had a huge impact on research in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, neurology, neuroscience and beyond. Clinical neuroimaging systems are mirrored by smaller scale pre-clinical systems allowing the same techniques to be applied in both fields. Students will start the module learning about the range of neuroimaging acquisition and analysis techniques available and the basic concepts of neuroimaging, building on the neuroimaging lectures in the fundamental module, A3. The wide range of neuroimaging modalities will be covered including X-ray computerised tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPET), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Electroencephalography (EEG) and Magneto­encephalography (MEG).
Image processing and analysis has been key to the establishment of neuroimaging techniques for research and clinical purposes and students will be taught about the classical and cutting edge techniques that are used to explore and evaluate both structure and function. Finally the application of neuroimaging techniques to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric conditions will be considered using a common framework to guide the student as to both the clinical and research applications of neuroimaging within the field of neuroscience. Students participating in the module will also have tailored preparation for neuroimaging MSc projects.

One of the major challenges of modern neuroscience is to define the complex pattern of neural connections that is the substrate for cognition and behaviour. Cerebral networks have been investigated extensively in many animal species but until recently it has not been possible to verify their existence in humans or to identify tracts that might be unique to the human brain.
This module will provide an overview of a variety of imaging techniques, such as Diffusion Tensor Imaging tractography, functional MRI, and EEG to explore the anatomical and functional aspects of brain connectivity and possible behavioural correlates. The lectures will cover the functional anatomy of the networks underlying language, visuo-spatial attention, vision, memory and emotions. The students will learn how researchers are using novel imaging methods to define the functional anatomy of the connections in the living human brain and the impact of neurological and psychiatric disorders on large scale neurocognitive networks.
Many of the lectures will be given by members of the Natbrainlab who are actively involved in the field and who have pioneered some of the applications of diffusion tensor tractography to the human brain in recent years. This specialised module is suitable for all students registered for the MSc Neuroscience, regardless of their prior experience in this area.

Cognitive Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary study of cognition and behaviour. It encompasses several branches of science including cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, psychophysics, neuroimaging and genetics to provide brain-based accounts of cognitive functions such as perception, memory, language and fear-learning. For example, cognitive neuroscience helps to understand why some people are easily distracted, have difficulty in learning and remembering new information, or are unable to avoid danger.
This module is designed to reflect the vibrancy in the field. It will first provide an overview of the methods used to delineate neuroanatomy of the brain and its numerous functions in health and disease. Students will then be introduced to relevant theoretical concepts and exciting new evidence on neuroscience of various cognitive domains, cognitive development across the life span, and cognitive recovery and rehabilitation after brain damage.
Further lectures will focus on the effects of sex, drugs, genes and personality in cognition and the neural basis of these effects. The course will also cover the neuroscience of social cognition which includes our ability to recognise emotions and think about them from another person’s perspective.
Most of this module’s lectures will be given by senior academic staff members who have been actively involved in cognitive neuroscience research for many years. This specialised module is most suited to those with a background in Psychology, Psychiatry or Neurology, although it can be taken by any student registered on the course who is interested and wishes to pursue a career in this area.