Good Brain, Bad Brain: Drug Origins

This course is designed for anyone who has ever wondered how the drugs in their medicine cabinet were found in the first place and how they ended up as pills in a bottle. Where do drugs come from? We’ll start by reflecting on the nature of medicines and look at the history of some everyday drugs that have been taken by humans for centuries. This will show us that many commonly used drugs were found somewhat accidentally - and often without any understanding of the science behind how they worked. Over time, this apparently random process has been refined and improved, so we’ll go on to consider recent advances in identifying potential drugs. How do drugs go from laboratory to medicine? Finding a molecule that has the potential to act as a drug is not the end of the process. The critical questions then are: how do we get the drug into the body? how much needs to be taken? and will it be safe enough as well as effective? What’s your experience? The course will take an interactive approach, allowing you to both share your own experiences of medicines, and learn from experts in pharmacology and neuroscience. All jargon will be explained, so that you can join in without any specialist knowledge. You can read more about the course in Alison Cooper’s blog post: “Have you ever wondered how drugs end up in a bottle in your medicine cabinet?” The Good Brain, Bad Brain series This course is one of three in the Good Brain, Bad Brain series. If you are looking to find out the fundamentals of how the brain works or how Parkinson’s disease affects it, you can join: Good Brain, Bad Brain: Basics Good Brain, Bad Brain: Parkinson’s Disease

• Alison Cooper