35461 - Cellular Physiology with Exercises

Course contents

Functional characteristics of excitable cells. Ion fluxes trough the plasma membrane of excitable cells. Bioelectrical potentials in neurons and in sensory receptors.

 

Synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. Synaptic transmission. Formation and consolidation of synapses during development. Ionic and molecular basis of learning and memory formation. Long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of glutamatergic synaptic transmission, role of ionotropic and metabotropic receptors. Pre-synaptic and post-synaptic modulatory mechanisms. LTP maintenance and long-term memory consolidation, role of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), structural modifications of synapses.

 

Techniques used to investigate cellular bioelectrical activity. Intracellular recording: current clamp and voltage clamp. Synaptic transmission. Orthodromic and antidromic stimulation of neuronal activity. Patch-clamp recording of ion currents, in "whole cell", "perforated patch", "cell-attached", "inside-out" and "outside-out" configuration. Total current and single channel current analysis. Pharmacological and biophysical characterization of ion currents. Mechanisms of ion current modulation. Multi-unit and single-unit extracellular recording. Extracellular field potential recording. Electroencephalography. Electromyography. Electrocardiography.

 

Readings/Bibliography

E. Carbone, F. Cicirata, G. Aicardi, Fisiologia: dalle molecole ai sistemi integrati, EdiSES, 2009.

E.R. Kandel, J.H.Schwartz, T.M. Jessel, Principi di neuroscienze (Casa Editrice Ambrosiana, 2003).

Assessment methods

Oral exam

Links to further information

http://www2.unibo.it/fisiologia-umana/personale/personale.asp?c=100&idx=16&lang=ita

Office hours

See the website of Giorgio Aicardi