This assignment is an analysis of a selected neuropsychological disorder. The disorder you select this week will be used to complete the Week 1 assignment (topic selection). You will continue to use the same disorder to complete the Week 2 assignment (elaboration on pharmacological management of the same disorder), and the Week 6 assignment (comprehensive Critical Review of the same disorder and its management).

Your completed Week 1 and Week 2 assignments will be used as a foundation to help you complete your Week 6 assignment (Critical Review) on the same disorder. Thus, your work in Week 1 and in Week 2 will be used to support your work in Week 6.

Select a neuropsychological disorder  from the following list. Your selection of topic should be based on your personal or professional experience, or your own academic or personal interest in the topic. Be sure to use current terminology from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 (DSM-5) if this disorder is discussed in that resource. Please note that Substance Use Disorder (SUD) (drug abuse, substance abuse) is not the emphasis of the course. Critical Reviews focusing on SUD or drugs of addiction will not be accepted.

Please select your topic from the following list:

• Schizophrenia
• Major depressive disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Anxiety disorder
  • Choose and focus on one of the anxiety disorders (g., generalized anxiety disorder or social anxiety disorder).
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Neurodevelopmental disorder
  • Choose and focus on one of the neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorder or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)
• Personality disorder
  • Choose and focus on one of the personality disorders (e.g., borderline personality disorder).
• Neurocognitive disorder
  • Choose and focus on one of the neurocognitive disorders (e.g., one of the dementias).
• Neurological disorder
  • Choose and focus on one neurological disorder (e.g., multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, seizure disorder, Parkinson’s disease or any other movement disorder, chronic pain, traumatic brain injury or other acute brain injury, stroke, infectious brain pathology such as meningitis or encephalitis, migraine headache).
• Other neuropsychological disorder found in the DSM-5 but not on the list above
  • This option must be approved in advance by the instructor before your assignment is submitted.

In keeping with the focus of this class, the emphasis of your paper should be on the neurobiology of the disorder and the related drug treatment that is used in clinical management. Other modes of treatment are not the focus of our class.  For instance, papers that discuss psychotherapy, other than in passing, will not be given credit.  This week, please focus on the neurobiology of the disorder (in Week 2, you will continue to elaborate on the disorder from the perspective of drug treatment). In your paper, please be sure that the following aspects of your topic are discussed:

• Explain the theories of etiology (causes) with a focus on the neurobiology of the disorder (the pathology of the disorder with an emphasis on the abnormalities of nervous system structures and function, including those neurotransmitter systems involved).
• Describe the symptomatology of the disorder and its relationship with the neurotransmitters involved.
• Discuss any anatomical changes seen with this disorder, and explain the relationship between such changes and the symptoms seen in the disorder.
• Close your paper with a summary how the dysregulation of neurotransmitter(s) and any anatomical changes would explain the physical signs and behavioral symptoms displayed by the individual diagnosed with this disorder

Please research your topic and obtain a minimum three scholarly and/or peer-reviewed sources published within the last five to ten years. These sources should provide evidence-based information to help support your analysis, focusing on the aspects described above. Be sure to cite your sources in your paper and include them on your References page. You may utilize required or recommended course materials in your work, but these will not count towards the reference requirements; however, you may cite and reference the DSM-5 as one of your sources used for the grading credit.

The paper:

• Must be three to five double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center. (Links to an external site.)
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must use at least three peer-reviewed sources or scholarly sources published within the last five to ten years. You may utilize required or recommended course materials in your work, but these will not count towards the reference requirements; however, you may cite and reference the DSM-5 as one of your sources used for the grading credit.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Writing Center.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center.