78450 - Neurophysiology

Learning outcomes

Biophysical principles of neuronal cells. Physiology of sensory receptors (in particular auditory and vestibular receptors)

Course contents

ACOUSTICS, PSYCHOACOUSTICS AND AUDIOMETRY. Acoustic communication. The physics sound waves. Psychoacoustics: psychological characteristics of sound (pitch, intensity, timbre): examples and considerations. Auditory perception: concept of absolute and differential threshold. Weber and Fechner laws. Hearing thresholds and audiogram. Weber and Rinne tests. Concept of transmission, sensorineural and mixed hearing loss: examples.

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE SENSORY SYSTEM. Receptors and mechanisms of receptor transduction. Receptor potentials. Organization of sensory pathways

PHYSIOLOGY OF AUDITORY SYSTEM. Organization of the central pathways of somatic sensitivity. Physiological organization of the somatic cortex. The perception of sounds. Organization and physiological role of the external and middle ear. Physiology of the cochlea. Tonotopy in the coclea and auditory pathways. The auditory nerve and the central auditory pathways. Nervous mechanisms involved in the localization of sounds. Physiological organization of the auditory cortex and outline of its projection towards the multimodal associative areas.

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VESTIBULAR SYSTEM. Structure and functions of the labyrinth. Vestibular receptors of the semicircular canals (ampullary crests) and of Utriculus and Sacculus (macules). Sensory transduction. Vestibular pathways and transmission of information to the nerve centers.

COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS. Neurophysiological bases of consciousness and attention. Neuroimaging studies. Learning and memory. Language; language areas. Aphasia

Readings/Bibliography

Kandel. Principi di neuroscienze. CEA, 2014

Carbone. Fisiologia : dalle molecole ai sistemi integrati. Edises 2018

Battaglia. Fisiologia umana. Casa Editrice Mc Graw Hill. 2013

Teaching methods

Classroom lessons

Assessment methods

The final exam is an oral exam in which the student will be asked to discuss two topics from the program (one will be a student's choice). During the interview, questions will verify the degree of in-depth knowledge of the proposed topics, and the critical ability to connect different knowledges covered in class will be evaluated.

The achievement by the student of a complete knowledge of the course contents, along with the use of the specific technical language, are assessed with marks of excellence. The mnemonic knowledge of the topics, with limited synthesis and analysis capabilities leads to discrete evaluations. Learning gaps and / or inappropriate language justify negative assessments or low marks.

Teaching tools

lesson pdf

Office hours

See the website of Daniela Platano