PSY 6465 - Biosocial Mechanisms of Stress, Development, and Health

This course takes a lifehistory and evolutionary-developmental perspective to examine how environmental information guides the developing phenotype. The course begins with an overview of basic evolutionary-developmental concepts, and then moves onto understanding the operation of the genome and how analysis of genetic and epigenetic variation contributes to our understanding of individual differences in brain development and function, from cell biology to physiology to emotional-cognitive states to behavior. To address these issues, the course will closely examine the processes of basic genetics, epigenetics, and the relationships between epigenetics and stress regulation. The class will provide a broad overview of stress, biological development, and health, including emotional resilience, social inequality, and adversity.