Main investigation techniques of the nervous system.
Electrical and chemical communication: neurotransmitters and hormones.
Psychopharmacology and effects of drugs.
Physiology and neurobiology of depression and schizophrenia.
Sensory systems and perception.
Motor systems and major motor deficits.
Control of homeostasis and behavior.
Circadian rhythms and sleep.
Psychobiology of learning and memory.
Language: role, evolution and disorders.
-Rosenzweig et al. Psicologia Biologica Casa Editrice Ambrosiana
-Kandel et al. Principi di Neuroscienze Casa Editrice Ambrosiana (for investigation techniques and sensory systems)
Learning Objectives
Physiological, neurobiological, chemical mechanisms and neural networks underlying main human behaviours (such as perception, motor control, homeostatic behaviors, sleep, memory, learning and language) and their deficits.
Prerequisites
none
Teaching Methods
lectures
Further information
none
Type of Assessment
Written and oral test
Course program
Main investigation and diagnostic techniques of the nervous system.
Electrical and chemical communication in the nervous system: signal transmission, synapses, neural networks, neurotransmitters and hormones.
Physiology and neurobiology of depression and schizophrenia.
Psychopharmacology and effects of most common drugs.
Principles of sensory perception: representation of sensory information (neural codes, neural maps, stimulus adaptation) , stimulus detection (thresholds) and localization ( receptive fields, lateral inhibition).
Somatosensory, visual, auditory, vestibular, olfactory and gustative systems and relative perceptions.
Motor systems and major motor deficits
Mechanisms underlying homeostatic behaviors: homeostasis of temperature, weight, fluids and salt.
Electrophysiology, neurophysiology and adaptive role of circadian rhythms and sleep.
Psychobiology and physiology of learning and memory. Different types of memory and relative deficits.
Role, evolutionary aspects and disorders of language.