72599 - Cognitive Disorders and Psychological Distress

Academic Year 2015/2016

  • Docente: Gianni Brighetti
  • Credits: 8
  • SSD: M-PSI/01
  • Language: Italian
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Cesena
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Applied cognitive psychology (cod. 0991)

Learning outcomes

At the end of course the student:

-knows a model of the mind which refers to the affective neuroscience

- knows the normal and pathological behaviors including the neural substrates and cognitive processes

- knows the ways of functioning of the mind useful in developing research and clinical applications in the “neuropsychotherapy” using measurement techniques of cognitive behavioral expressions and emotional

- is able to collect and analyze data on cognitive function and behavioral aspects.

Course contents

The course , starting from recent evidence on the role of epigenetics on the development of normal and pathological behavior, develop the themes of the study of environmental and socialization effects on  behavioral disorders and mental illness.
Will be explained the effects of disorders of cognition and described the experimental techniques for their study.
Will be examined  the latest research concerning the mechanisms of visual perception and memory in neurocognitive terms comparing  subjects with different types of pathological behavior



The course will take place during the first semester (from October to December 2015) at the Department of Psychology in Bologna Viale Berti Pichat 5



Readings/Bibliography

Beeney JE , Levy KN , Gatzke-Kopp LM , Hallquist MN . (2014) EEG asymmetry in borderline personality disorder and depression following rejection.Personality Disorders Apr; 5(2) . 178-185

 

Labrie V , Pai S , Petronis A . (2012)

Epigenetics of major psychosis: progress, problems and perspectives.

Trends in genetics   Sep;28(9):427-35

 

Kofink D , Boks MP , Timmers HT , Kas MJ . (2013)

Epigenetic dynamics in psychiatric disorders: environmental programming of neurodevelopmental processes.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. Jun; 37(5) 831-845

 

Mak, A. D., & Lam, L. C. (2013). Neurocognitive profiles of people with borderline personality disorder. Current opinion in psychiatry26(1), 90-96.

 

Millan, M. J., Agid, Y., Brüne, M., Bullmore, E. T., Carter, C. S., Clayton, N. S., ….Young, L. J. (2012). Cognitive dysfunction in psychiatric disorders: characteristics, causes and the quest for improved therapy. Nature reviews Drug discovery11(2), 141-168.

 

Pierce, K., Marinero, S., Hazin, R., McKenna, B., Barnes, C. C., & Malige, A. (2015). Eye Tracking Reveals Abnormal Visual Preference for Geometric Images as an Early Biomarker of an Autism Spectrum Disorder Subtype Associated with Increased Symptom Severity. Biological psychiatry.

 

Pjetri E , Schmidt U , Kas MJ , Campbell IC . (2012)

Epigenetics and eating disorders.

Current Opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care  Jul;15(4) 330-335

 

Wimber M , Alink A , Charest I , Kriegeskorte N , Anderson MC . (2015)

Retrieval induces adaptive forgetting of competing memories via cortical pattern suppression. Nature Neuroscience Apr; 18(4) 582-589

 

Zlomuzica, A., Dere, D., Machulska, A., Adolph, D., Dere, E., & Margraf, J. (2014). Episodic memories in anxiety disorders: clinical implications. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience8.

Teaching methods

Lectures and lab sessions

Assessment methods

Oral examination and papers on specific issues

Teaching tools

Slides projector and some instruments for psychophysiologial measurement

Office hours

See the website of Gianni Brighetti