GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY AND PSYCHOBIOLOGY
cod. 1004924

Academic year 2024/25
1° year of course - Second semester
Professor responsible for the course unit
Leonardo FOGASSI
integrated course unit
9 credits
hub:
course unit
in ITALIAN

Learning objectives

Hygiene:
Provide the student with the basic tools and methodology to enable him/her to understand the concepts and contexts for the application of the prevention of infectious and chronic degenerative diseases as well as the fundamentals of the applied epidemiology.
Human Physiology:
Learning of Basic concepts on the elaboration of some sensory systems.
Psychobiology and Psychology I:
provide students with theoretical knowledges about psychobiological aspects underlying the development of the human brain and of infant's sensorimotor and cofnitive skills.
Psychobiology and Psychology II:
providing the main elements for theunderstanding of the neurophysiological and neuropsychological aspects of some high order brain functions

Prerequisites

Psychobiology and Psychology I:
Basic knowledges of biology and general psychology

Course unit content

Hygiene: Hygiene, Public Health Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine.
Human Physiology: Somatosensory and Auditory system.
Psychology and Psychobiology I: pre-, peri- and post-natal development of the nervous system in a psychobiological perspective.
Psychology and Psychobiology II: Description of the neurophysiological and neuropsychologicalmechanisms underlying some high order brain functions

Full programme

Hygiene:
General epidemiology of communicable diseases: Reservoir and Source of the infection, Modes of transmission. The levels of prevention (Primary, Secondary and Tertiary). General Prevention of communicable diseases: Notification, Diagnostic assessment, Isolation and quarantine, Disinfection/sterilization, Active immunization, Passive immunization.
General Prevention of non-communicable diseases. Determinants of health and disease. The methodology of screening, sensibility, specificity and predictive value. Methods in epidemiology and elements of demography. Health indicators. Risk rate (Incidence and Prevalence), Causal Inference (Relative risk, Attributable risk and odds ratio). Classification of the epidemiological studies and some aspects of experimental studies (randomized controlled studies – RCTs).
Human Physiology:
Anatomy of the spinal cord. Receptors and afferent fibres. Somatosensorypathways. Thalamus and cerebral cortex (areas SI and SII). Anatomy ofthe inner ear. Acoustic receptors and transduction. Central acoustic pathways. Primary auditory cortex. Anatomo-functional bases of phonation.
Psychobiology and Psychology I:
development of the central nervous system (CNS), focusing on the role of organism-environment interactions during induction, modeling and organization of CNS structures and their functions. Lessons will follow the chain of events characterizig pre-, peri- and post-natal development in a psychobiological perspective.
Psychobiology and Psychology II:
Neurophysiological and neuropsychological mechanisms of praxis,learning and memory, phylogenetic, ontogentic and neuropsychological aspects of Language and emotions.

Bibliography

Hygiene:
Signorelli C. Igiene e Sanità Pubblica (Secrets, VIII EDIZIONE). SEU, Roma, 2019.
Igiene, Medicina Preventiva, Sanita' Pubblica Autore: Barbuti,Fara, Giammanco, Baldo, Borella, AAVV , Editore: Edises , Edizione: 2014.
Signorelli Elementi di Metodologia Epidemiologica. Società Editrice Universo. 2011 (VII Edizione)
Human Physiology:
Capitoli su sistema somatosensoriale e acustico da "Kandel et al. Principi di Neuroscienze. Ed. Ambrosiana"
Psychobiology and Psychology I:
Teaching material wil be constituted by papers and readings directly suggested by the teacher.
Psychobiology and Psychology II:
Pinel. Psicobiologia. Ed. Il MulinoLadavas E. e Berti A.E. Neuropsicologia. Ed.Il Mulino

Teaching methods

Hygiene:
The course will be held through lectures to Students in the classroom (“in presenza”), supported by slide presentations, which will be available to students on the Elly platform (https://elly.medicina.unipr.it).
The teaching will be carried out with interactive teaching, with presentation of case studies that will give students the opportunity to confront themselves with real data and situations and to understand how the public health tools are transversal to the different clinical areas.
Human Physiology, Psychobiology and Psychology I and II:
Frontal lectures.

Assessment methods and criteria

Hygiene:
The method of evaluation consists of an oral exam.
The exam will be used to verify the connection, learning and critical analysis skills acquired by the students at the end of the course.
Human Physiology, Psychobiology and Psychology I and II:
Oral examination.

Other information

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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development

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