Contract Courses for directed research projects with our faculty. Undergraduates must be of junior standing or be a senior in order to enroll.  

Steps to enroll in a Psychiatry 199:

1. 1. Have you been invited by a faculty member to conduct research with them? If yes, procced to MyUCLA to download your Psychiatry 199 contract under the appropriate faculty mentor* and fill out the contract upon discussing your directed research project with your mentor.
   2. Obtain faculty mentor’s signature on your contract.
   3. Obtain Psychiatry Department Chair’s signature by submitting your signed contract via this google form no later than Tuesday of week 2 at 5pm. All contracts submitted after the deadline are subject to late fees and petitions that are student’s responsibility.
   4. Once submitted, it will be your responsibility as the student to check the status of enrollment via MyUCLA study list.
   5. Finally, students enrolled in Psychiatry 199 contracts are required to onboard with UCLA Health Sciences Volunteer Services. For any questions regarding this onboarding, please contact Lily Zhang, LilyZhang@mednet.ucla.edu .

*If you cannot find your faculty mentor listed in the Psychiatry department, you will not be able to enroll with that faculty. All faculty who are eligible to be mentors, are pre-populated based on appropriate departmental appointments.

Applied positive Neuroscience: Skills for Improving Productivity and Wellbeing Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Not open to students with credit for Community Health Sciences 179. Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and extrapersonal contributions to wellbeing, and how activity and chemistry of key brain regions contribute to each, e.g., influences of mindfulness on prefrontal cortex activity, or how oxytocin system is altered by social interaction. Students learn to recognize relationship between cognitive, social, and emotional competence for healthy development, and how to apply it to their own lives. Through neuroscientific context, introduction to multidisciplinary perspectives on variety of topics that are widely considered significant maturational tasks for young adults, including emotion regulation, managing social relationships, enhancing productivity, and identity development. Letter grading.

Brain and Behavioral health: Childhood and Adolescence Seminar, three hours. Limited to junior/senior psychology or neuroscience majors. Integration of problem-based learning approach to teach foundational information about application of brain and behavioral science to understanding and promotion of child and adolescent mental health. Exploration of integration of developmental psychopathology, applied treatment research, and public policy to identify and dismantle barriers to problems. Focus on set of key topics (e.g., autism, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders) during childhood and adolescence. Research of childhood and adolescent mental health and public policy literature. Guest facilitators with expertise complement study of emerging treatment advances, applications, and barriers. Letter grading.

Mindfulness Practice and Theory Seminar, five hours. Designed for beginners; prior experience with meditation not required. Introduction to mindfulness, including basic mindfulness meditation practices, both sitting and moving, ways to deepen positive emotions like gratitude, kindness, and joy, and methods for integrating more awareness and creativity into ordinary activities. Examination of varying meditative traditions as well as emerging science on beneficial effects of mindfulness practice for mental and physical health. Beneficial effects include reduced stress, improved attention, reduced emotional reactivity, and greater mind-body awareness. Learning and development of practical skills of relational mindfulness in interactions with others. Offered in summer only. P/NP or letter grading. 

Brain and Behavioral Health: Adulthood and Aging Seminar, three hours. Limited to junior/senior psychology or neuroscience majors. Integration of problem-based learning approach to teach foundational information about application of brain and behavioral science to understanding and promotion of adult and aging mental health. Exploration of integration of developmental psychopathology, applied treatment research, and public policy to identify and dismantle barriers to problems. Focus on set of key topics (e.g., schizophrenia, mood disorders, dementia) during adulthood and aging. Research of adulthood and aging mental health and public policy literature. Guest facilitators with expertise complement study of emerging treatment advances, applications, and barriers. Letter grading. 

From Pharmacology to Public Policy: Lecture, three hours. Designed for undergraduate students with biology, human biology and society, neuroscience, physiology, or psychology background and graduate students in neuroscience-related programs. Relevant for those considering career in medical, social science, or policy fields. Offers comprehensive didactic information concerning Cannabis plant and relates basic information with clinical and societal use of plant and its extracts. Analysis of pharmacology of exogenous and endogenous cannabinoids at the molecular, cellular, and behavioral levels. Study of physiological and psychological actions of phytocannabinoids (focusing on THC and CBD) and synthetic cannabinoids and evidence-based research of potential benefits and harms of different cannabinoids. Review of issues related to cannabinoid policy including legislation, FDA regulation, and health care services. Letter grading. 

Seminar, four hours. Basic overview of brain function and consideration of some management methods that exist already, and what future may hold. New methods for predicting our own futures and modeling what if scenarios that might alter risks and benefits of different courses of action, based on individual genetic background and other elements of personal history and environmental exposures. Introduction to key principles from science of behavior change, illustrating how important health-related behavioral habits are and how difficult these can be to change and why. Coverage of series of topics that center on personal enhancement of well-being through consideration of stress management, long-term goal and value identification, mapping of long-term goals onto immediate actions, reinforcement learning, meditation, neurofeedback, and time management. Critical appraisal of tools to help students distinguish scientifically validated procedures. Offered in summer only. Letter grading.