Ateneo - UPO

THE NEURON
FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
THE SENSIBILITY
MOTILITY
THE SIGHT
HEARING
THE VEGETATIVE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Bossi E. et al. Fisiologia Umana - ELEMENTI. edi.ermes.

Belfiore A. et al. Fisiologia Umana - FONDAMENTI. edi.ermes.

The module aims to allow the learning of the principles that determine and regulate the functional activity of the central and peripheral nervous system and to provide an experimental knowledge that can help their study. It also aims to clarify the physiological basis of diagnostic procedures used in clinical practice and to deepen the knowledge of the theoretical and practical aspects of some experimental techniques used in basic and applied medical research.

The student must have basic knowledge in Anatomy, Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Presentations in MS-Power Point format. The images projected in class will be available on the DIR educational platform.

At the end of the course an exam simulation is carried out using quizzes similar to those used in the exam.

The exam consists of a written test with multiple choice questions. The student must demonstrate that he has assimilated the basic notions of Physiology, learned during the lessons, in an adequate way to effectively face the subsequent courses. The sufficiency is set at 50% of the correct answers and must harmonize with the other subjects of the integrated course so that the final result reaches at least 60% of the correct answers. Exceeding the threshold of 90% of correct answers is considered a result of excellence.
Students with DSA certifications or disabilities will take the exam with compensatory and dispensatory tools, which "replace or facilitate the performance required in the deficient skill", be it writing, reading or calculation, and allow the student to study and learn effectively. These tools are approved by the competent UPO office, which will notify the Teachers.

Homeostasis and internal balance

The neuron and excitable tissues.
• Cellular potentials. Distribution of ions and membrane permeability,
membrane potential, action potential, refractory period.
• Electrical models of neurons. Membrane Model: Membrane Resistance,
membrane capacity, time constant. Axonal conduction model:
membrane resistance, axial cytoplasmic resistance, space constant.
• Electrical and chemical synapses.
• Neurotransmitters and receptors. Types of neurotransmitters, neuromodulators,
major neurotransmitters.
• EPSPs and IPSPs synaptic integration,
inversion potentials, spatial summation, temporal summation.
• Structure of the muscle cell
striata, thick filaments and thin filaments, control mechanism, role of ATP.
• Striated muscle: types of contraction, length / tension curve, load / speed curve. Motor unit, types of fibers, simple jolt and muscle tetanus, force modulation. Characteristics of smooth muscle.

Sensory system.
• Organization of the sensitive system. Concept of receptor, sensory modalities,
classifications of receptors.
• Vision. Eye: functional anatomy, photoreceptors and photo-transduction, network
retinal, ganglion cells and optic nerve.
• Hearing. Ear: functional anatomy, cochlea and organ of Corti, mechanism of
transduction, mechanisms of active amplification and lateral inhibition. Ways
acoustics: tonotopic organization, ganglion connections, localization
spatial, auditory cortices.
• Vestibular receptors. Semicircular canals. Utriculus and saccule.
• Tactile sensitivity. Types of receptors and their characteristics, discrimination,
metameric organization, ascending ways, somatotopic organization.
• Proprioceptive sensitivity. Neuromuscular spindles: structure, mechanism of
transduction, innervation, role of gamma innervation. Golgi musculotendinous organs: localization, transduction mechanism. Ascending routes.
• Thermal sensitivity.
• Pain sensation. Types of pain, receptors, afferent pathways, referred pain,
hyperalgesia, ascending pathways, peripheral and central control mechanisms.
Motor system and higher functions.
• Spinal cord and reflexes. Morpho-functional characteristics, basic circuits,
concept of reflex, modulation, deep reflexes (myotatic), superficial reflexes
(flexor).
• Locomotion. Phillipson model, kinematics, central pattern generators,
integration of afferent signals, supraspinal control.
• Posture. Postural tone.
• Voluntary movement. Organization of the descending pathways, motor area
primary, premotor areas, supplementary motor areas, reaching and grasping,
neglect syndrome, mirror neurons.
• Nuclei of the base. Nuclei, basic circuitry, direct and indirect routes, disturbances
hypo and hyperkinetic, motor, oculomotor, cognitive and limbic circuits.
• Cerebellum. Typical signs of the injury, general organization, basic circuit,
simple and complex potentials, recalibration, experimental lesions.

Autonomous nervous system. Section structure, similarities and differences
sympathetic and parasympathetic neurotransmitters and receptors.

Integrated stress response. Definition of stress, phases according to Selye, arm
nervous and chemical arm. Adrenaline: biosynthesis, adrenergic receptors, effects
metabolic. Cortisol: control of secretion, metabolic effects, other effects.

The expected results consist in the students' acquisition of the mechanisms underlying the normal functioning of the organs and systems of the human body. These concepts will constitute a wealth of knowledge that will facilitate the learning of human pathologies and related therapies. In this way, the knowledge learned in this course, together with the skills acquired in subsequent courses, will shape the professionalism of the graduate.