NURS 751 Neurobiology and Differential Diagnosis of Mental Disorders Sample Papers, Week by Week

Liberty University · DNP · Nursing · Updated

NURS 751 opens the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner sequence of Liberty's DNP with the neurobiology behind mental disorders and the differential diagnosis that follows from it. The samples below cover a neuro workshop paper on anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, symptom analysis evaluations of cyclothymic disorder and late-life alcohol use disorder, five-slide presentations on delirium superimposed on dementia and on conduct disorder with callous-unemotional traits, and a review of one eating-disorder trial.

CourseNURS 751 Neurobiology and Differential Diagnosis of Mental Disorders (NURS751)
Credit hours3
ProgramDNP
Length8 Module/Weeks, online
Weeks with written work6 of 8
Samples on this site6 week sample papers
SourcesLiberty's 2026-2027 catalog and the published NURS 751 course guide
UpdatedOctober 2026

What NURS 751 covers

The course reads the DSM-5, Carlat's The Psychiatric Interview, Kilgus and colleagues' Essential Psychopathology and Its Treatment, the Kaplan and Sadock Synopsis of Psychiatry and Yearwood and colleagues' Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health. A proctored midterm in Module/Week 5 and a final in Module/Week 8 carry 300 points, so those weeks have no written paper.

The neuro workshop paper runs six to eight pages with four to five peer-reviewed sources from the past five years; each symptom analysis evaluation uses at least five references; each WebEx presentation is five slides for a ten-minute group discussion with at least two references; and the article review runs two to three pages.

Liberty's 2026-2027 catalog describes NURS 751 Neurobiology and Differential Diagnosis of Mental Disorders this way:
This foundational course focuses on mental disorders across the lifespan. Based on anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology, this course examines underlying causality including injury, trauma, developmental, genetic, infection and disease including degeneration. The relationship to support homeostasis between the body and brain, and within the brain will be explored. This course also integrates the use of case-based learning to approach differential psychiatric diagnoses. Students will gain skills in interviewing, observation, and the use of and interpretation of screening, tools, behavioral assessments and diagnostic tests. Case studies will be based on the most current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM 5) and other appropriate diagnostic tools and methods.

NURS 751 week by week, with the sample for each

WeekWritten work in the course guidePointsSample
Week 1Neuro Workshop Paper, 6 to 8 pages100Read the Week 1 sample
Week 2Symptom Analysis Evaluation 1100Read the Week 2 sample
Week 3WebEx Class Presentation 1: neurocognitive and developmental disorders, 5 slides100Read the Week 3 sample
Week 4Symptom Analysis Evaluation 2 (WebEx Class Presentation 2 also due)100Read the Week 4 sample
Week 5Midterm examination only; no paper dueNo written paper this week
Week 6Evidence-Based Article Review, 2 to 3 pages100Read the Week 6 sample
Week 7WebEx Class Presentation 3: externalizing disorders of childhood and youth, 5 slides100Read the Week 7 sample
Week 8Final examination only; no paper dueNo written paper this week

Where NURS 751 papers lose points

Work in NURS 751 loses points when neurobiology is described in textbook generalities rather than tied to the symptoms a patient shows, when a diagnosis is reached without ruling out medical and substance causes, when a treatment plan lists medications with no reasoning or monitoring, and when an article review summarizes the abstract without judging the study.

Using a NURS 751 sample well

Read each sample for how reasoning moves from brain to symptom to diagnosis to plan. Your own assigned cases and topics will differ; what carries over is the order of the reasoning, the kind of evidence used and how far each assignment goes.

NURS 751 questions, answered

What textbooks does NURS 751 use?

The DSM-5, Carlat's The Psychiatric Interview, Kilgus and colleagues' Essential Psychopathology and Its Treatment, the Kaplan and Sadock Synopsis of Psychiatry and Yearwood and colleagues on child and adolescent behavioral health.

What is the NURS 751 Symptom Analysis Evaluation?

A written evaluation of an assigned case focused on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment plan for a chronic mental health symptom, due in Module/Weeks 2 and 4 with at least five references each.

How long is the NURS 751 Neuro Workshop Paper?

Six to eight pages of content in current APA, on the neurobiology of a neurological disorder chosen from a list, with four to five peer-reviewed sources from the past five years.

Ask for a custom NURS 751 sample

Send the Module/Week, the instructions and the rubric from your Canvas course, and a writer in your field drafts a sample to them in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.

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