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Drugs and Addictive Behaviours

Code: 102859 ECTS Credits: 3
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Medicine OT 2

Contact

Name:
Albert Fernandez Teruel
Email:
albert.fernandez.teruel@uab.cat

Teachers

Constanza Denisse Daigre Blanco

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of basic psychological processes. Understanding of English

Objectives and Contextualisation

The subject Drugs and Addictive Behaviors is taught in the second year of the Medicine degree. The general objective of the subject is to ensure that students know the dynamics of addictive behavior from a psycho- and neurobiological perspective.
The course offers a current view of the various neurobiological and psychological mechanisms involved in the initiation and maintenance of addictive behavior, with special emphasis on the most outstanding scientific findings from basic and applied perspectives. Basic concepts will be introduced to understand addictions (tolerance, dependence and withdrawal syndrome, among others).
The neurobiological and psychological mechanisms underlying drug dependence as well as the properties of the different substances considered as addictive and behaviors classified as behavioral addictions will be explained. Mention will be made of the most common diagnoses, treatments and therapeutic utilities of each of the different drug families.

Competences

  • Accept one's role in actions to prevent or protect against diseases, injuries or accidents and to maintain and promote health, on both personal and community-wide levels.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the causal agents and the risk factors that determine states of health and the progression of illnesses.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the importance and the limitations of scientific thought to the study, prevention and management of diseases.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the principles of normal human behaviour and its alterations in different contexts.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Argue for future strategies in various areas of mental health, from a scientific perspective.
  2. Discuss findings from reliable studies and argue for future strategies in various areas of mental health, from a scientific perspective.
  3. Draw up a plan to promote healthy behaviours in different types of patients and circumstances.
  4. Establish links between behaviour patterns, personality and health.
  5. Identify adaptive and non-adaptive lifestyles for physical and mental health.
  6. Identify the biological, psychological and social mechanisms of mental disorders in childhood/adolescence, adulthood and old age, and aggressive behaviour, addictive habits and anomalies in sexual behaviour.
  7. Predict individual risk variables for physical and mental health.
  8. Use scientific thought in discussions of physical and mental health.

Content

Topic 1. Basic concepts about addictions.
Topic 2. Explanatory mechanisms of drug use.
Topic 3. Animal models of drug consumption.
Topic 4. Behavioral addictions:  gambling, internet, etc.
Topic 5. Caffeine and other xanthines.
Topic 6. Nicotine and smoking.
Topic 7. Cannabinoids.
Topic 8. Alcohol and alcoholism.
Item 9. Cocaine and amphetamine.
Topic 10. Design drugs.
Topic 11. Heroin and other opiates.
Topic 12. Evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of addictive behavior.
 
 

PRACTICAL AND TUTORED CONTENTS

1. PRACTICAL Activities (Classroom):

- TALK / DEBATE "ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS"

- PRESENTATIONS OF CASES, WORKED IN GROUP, ON "EVALUATION, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF THE ADDICTIONS"


 

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
CLASSROOM PRACTICES (PAUL) 4 0.16 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
SPECIALIZED SEMINARS (SESP) 2 0.08 4, 5, 7
THEORY (TE) 20 0.8 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Type: Supervised      
SUPERVISED/TUTORED ACTIVITY 2 0.08 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Type: Autonomous      
ELABORATION OF WORK / PERSONAL STUDY / READING OF ARTICLES / REPORTS OF INTEREST 43 1.72 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The subject consists of the following training activities:
- Theoretical classes: There will be several sessions, previously scheduled, in which subjects from 1 to 12 will be taught.
- Specialized seminars: There will be a seminar on evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of addictive behavior. They will take place in a classroom with a previously scheduled schedule.
- Classroom practice: There will be a classroom practice related to topic 8 of the subject, where clinical cases will be studied.
- Virtual classes: Various self-learning resources will be provided through the Virtual Campus.
All the information related to the subject, such as the general regulations of the course, schedule of classes and practices, mechanics of review of exams, notices and notes, will be found in the Virtual Campus, which will be the official means of communication with the students.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
ASSISTANCE AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN CLASSES AND SEMINARS 20 % 1 0.04 1, 2, 3
WRITTEN EVALUATIONS THROUGH OBJECTIVE TESTING, MULTIPLE CHOICE ITEMS 80 % 3 0.12 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Requirements to pass the subject

Multiple choice tests: Minimum grade of 5.0 in each of the two parts.
Seminar and classroom practices: Attendance and minimum grade of 5.0 (APT) in the evaluation that takes place in the classroom -the day the activity is scheduled- or through works or questions that have to be answered / presented through the Campus Virtual-UAB, within the deadline set by the faculty. The joint evaluation of these activities will suppose 20% of the final grade of the subject.
 
 
Multiple choice tests (80% of the final grade) Partial eliminatory evaluation
 
There will be two partial elimination exams. The first part will include questions from topics 1 to 6 and tutored activities/lesons. The second partial will include questions from topics 7 to 12 and seminars and classroom practice. Students who participate and pass the exams (one or both) with a grade of 5.0 or higher will have passed the part of the corresponding subject.
The multiple choice questions will have five alternatives, random guesses will be deducted (correct answers - ¼ of the errors) and the note will be converted decimally. Thecorrection of the tests will be submitted to all the psychometric requirements.
If the two partial marks are equal to or greater than 5.0, the final grade will be calculated by making the average of the two partial marks. If one or two partial notes are less than 5.0, the subject will not have been passed and it will be necessary to submit to the next call (final exam, or recovery exam).
 
Recovery exam

This test will have the same format as the previous qualifying partial exams as long as there are at least 10 students who have to recover a partial. There will be an exam that will correspond to the first part of the course (first part) and another that will correspond to the second part (second part). Students will have to do a partial or both (separately) depending on the subject that has been passed (grade of 5.0 or higher) in the partial exams.

If there are less than 10 students with a partial exam pending, then the make-up exam for each partial will be in the format of 10 short open questions (to be developed in 8 lines or less).

  

About the "Not AVALUABLE" grade

Students who do NOT complete the 2 partial exams (or the RECOVERY exam) will be considered as "NOT AVALUABLE" (NA) and this grade will be placed in the official ACTS.

 

NOTE ABOUT "AI".-

In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed
in any of its phases. Any work that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or major sanctions
in serious cases.

 
 
 
This subject/course does not incorporate the option of  "single assessment".
 

Bibliography

Echeburúa, E. (1999). ¿Adicciones... sin drogas? Las nuevas adicciones: Juego, Sexo, Comida, Compras, Trabajo, Internet... Bilbao: Descleé de Brouver.

Feldman, R. S., Meyer, J. S. y Quenzer, L. F. (1997). Principles of neuropsychopharmacology. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Fernández-Teruel, A. (2008). Farmacología de la conducta. De los psicofármacos a las terapias psicológicas. Bellaterra, Barcelona: Servei de Publicacions de la UAB.

Díaz-Morán S. and FERNÁNDEZ-TERUEL A. (2013) Integration and interactions among pharmacological and psychological treatments of addictions: a review (Integración e interacciones entre los tratamientos farmacológicos y psicológicos de las adicciones: una revisión). Annals of Psychology-Anales de Psicología, 29 (1): 54-65.

Goldstein, A. (2003). Adicción: de la biología a la política de drogas. Barcelona: Ars Medica. Graña, J. L. (1994). Conductas adictivas: teoría, evaluación y tratamiento. Madrid: Debate.

 

George Koob, Michael Arends, Michel Le Moal  (2014)  Drugs, Addiction, and the Brain.   Elsevier

Lorenzo, P., Ladera, J.M., Leza, J.C. y Lizasoain, I. (2009). Drogodependencias: Farmacología. Patología. Psicología. Legislación. Madrid: Médica Panamericana.

Snyder, S.H. (1996). Drugs and the brain. New York: Scientific American Library.

Stahl S.  (2012)  Stahl's Illustrated Substance Use and Impulsve Disorders.   Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

 

 

Relevant links 

http://www.socidrogalcohol.org/ (Sociedad Científica Española de estudios sobre el alcohol, el alcoholismo y las otras toxicomanías).

Monographs: alcoholismo/alcohol, opiáceos, tabaco, cannabis, cocaína, drogas recreativas.

Clinical guides : alcoholismo, opiáceos, tabaquismo, cocaína.

Handbooks: Manual de adicciones para médicos especialistas en formación, Manualde adicciones para psicólogos especialistas en psicología clínica en formación.

http://www.nida.nih.gov/ (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Drugfacts

Infofacts Topics in brief

http://www.pnsd.msc.es/ (Plan Nacional sobre Drogas).

http://www.aspb.es/quefem/atenciodroga.htm (Agència de Salut Pública. Pla d’acció sobre drogues de Barcelona).

http://www.who.int/es/ (Organización Mundial de la Salud).

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/ (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction).

http://www.irefrea.org/ (Instituto Europeo de Estudios en Prevención).

  • NIDA (National Institute of Drug Abuse, USA)  web

Software

No specific programs (software) required.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 101 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 102 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 101 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 102 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 103 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 101 Catalan second semester morning-mixed