Abuse and Addiction (7.5 cr)

The work to prevent and break addiction is neverending. In Uppsala, frontline research, prevention and healthcare work together to create and implement new knowledge in the fight against the challenges of addiction. In this distance learning course, you will overview the entire path from protective factors and how a drug first affects us to current treatment methods.

Current research confirms that the paths to addiction are both long and complex. Today we know that many of our life conditions form already during fetal stage. Similarly, children exposed to serious abuse are three times more likely to develop addictions. The Lancet journal states that regular use of high-potency cannabis entails a fivefold risk of developing mental illness. At the same time, health care studies indicate that almost every third person treated for mental illness also has an addiction. Not to mention our new digital habits that often steer our lives in questionable directions.

In our course Abuse and Addiction, we approach the problem from the ground up. Starting in the brain's reward system, you will learn about how different drugs affect us from first intake. We analyze which factors provide protection and which risk pushing us into a fully developed addiction. At the end of the course, you will have knowledge of the damage that abuse can cause in both short and long term, but also pharmacological and psychosocial treatment methods that can break an addiction.

Welcome to a course where you, who are a student, a professional or simply want to learn more about a challenge that concerns us all, will gain important knowledge of great value for both the addicted, their relatives and our entire society.

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PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The course is given in Autumn term
The course is given part time, online and in Swedish

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CONTACT

Erik Nylander, Course leader
Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Erik.Nylander@uu.se