This elective course is offered to final year students of psychology who would like to gain a deeper knowledge of the neuroscience of how psychological disorders and psychotropic drugs affect the brain and behaviour. We will focus on chemical neurotransmission, psychopharmacological drug actions, and pharmacologic properties of psychoactive drugs that have therapeutic effects but also abuse potentials. Topics will span clinical descriptions of disorders including schizophrenia, anxiety, mood disorders and addiction, the neurotransmitter systems and brain circuits implicated in these conditions, and drug treatments currently provided in mental health settings.