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BODY AT WORK – Year II
First semester: Block 1 – Homoeostasis and Control
The first part of the course is devoted to understanding the mechanisms of life: how the cells and
the organism gather energy from the environment and employ it to establish an “internal milieu”, to
respond to stimuli, to adapt to changes in the external environment and to actively behave.
To this aim lectures will be focussed on homoeostasis and control of cellular functions; we shall
review how these functions are achieved through the regulation of exchanges, biochemical
functions and gene expression, via the activation of receptor and signal transduction pathways,
by means of cell excitability, neuronal activity and the morpho-functional organization of the
nervous system.
Key physical, biochemical and anatomical aspects will be recalled and illustrated with reference to
their functional relevance, either in specific lectures or in joint lectures aimed at helping the student
to acquire a comprehensive, interdisciplinary perspective.
Block 1 will include 59 lectures (8 Physics, 29 Physiology, 14 Anatomy, 8 Biochemistry), nn
seminars and mm practical activities.
General aims:
Physics:
Module 1: Electricity and bioelectricity – Lectures 7, 8, 9 – Aim of the module is to introduce and
understand the basic principles of the electromagnetic theory and their relevant biophysical
implications.
Module 2: Waves and sound – Lectures 27, 29 – Aim of the module is to elaborate the classical
theory of waves and the principles of elasticity and vibrations.
Module 3: Optics and biological optics – Lectures 31, 33 – Aim of the module is the appraisal of
the principle of geometrical optics and the foundation of some principles of electromagnetic theory
of optics.
Tutorial – Slot 65
Biochemistry:
1 - Neurotransmitters: the chemical language of nervous system – Lectures 16, 17 – Aim of the
module is to understand the metabolism of neurotransmitters and the control of their biosynthetic
and catabolic pathways.
2 - Organization and dynamics of synaptic scaffolding proteins – Lecture 22 – The aim is to
understand the synaptic proteins, their dynamics and the trafficking pathways at excitatory and
inhibitory synapses.
3 – Photoelectric transduction – Lecture 36 – The aim of this lecture is to understand the
biochemical mechanisms of vision and how light is transformed in electricity by vitamin A.
4 – Neural metabolism: energetics and glia – Lecture 46 – The aim is to understand why glucose is
the best fuel for the brain, to identify the differential metabolic profiles in neurons and astrocytes
and to describe the energetic requirements of excitatory and inhibitory synapses.
5 - Motors and force generation in cells – Lecture 52 – The aim is to understand actin-myosin
dynamics in contractile and non-contractile cells, and to describe cytoskeleton features and role in
cell motility.
6 – Extracellular matrix, connective tissues and bone – Lectures 66, 67 – The aim of this module is
to describe collagens, the biochemical structures of extracellular matrix, the mechanism of calcium
deposition in the bone and the protein scaffolds of the bone.
Anatomy:
1 – Sensory systems – The aim of this module is to classify sensory modalities and fibres, describe
the general features of sensory pathways and the supra-axial sensory paths, classify the thalamic
nuclei and describe sensory cortical areas (Lectures 19, 21, 23); to describe chemoceptors and smell
and taste neuroanatomy (Lecture 25), the outer, middle and inner ear and the acoustic pathway
(Lectures 28, 30), the eye, the retina and the visual path and cortex (Lectures 34, 35, 39), the
vestibular organs and neural pathways (Lecture 42)
2 – The control of movement, cerebral cortex, cerebellum and basal nuclei, cerebral vascularization
– Lectures 45, 48, 49, 54 – The aim of this module is to describe the cortical areas and the
descending pathways for motor control; the organization of the cerebellum into distinct regions, its
input and output pathways, the basic cerebellar circuit module, and the role of cerebellum in
balance and eye movement, in body and limb movements, in interacting with the cerebral cortex for
motor programming; the structures that constitute the basal ganglia circuitry, their inputs, outputs
and intrinsic connections, the functional properties of the basal nuclei-thalamo-cortical circuitry;
the skeletomotor, oculomotor, prefrontal and limbic circuits; the organization of brain
vascularization, the circle of Willis, vascular supply to the brainstem, venous drainage of the
cerebral hemispheres and the features and function of the Cerebrospinal Fluid.
Physiology:
1 – The general principles of life – Lectures 1-6, 10 – energy, homoeostasis, control, development,
the internal milieu, transport mechanisms, dynamic equilibrium, the rate of processes, regulation
and change, receptors and signal transduction, fine tuning of processes (set point, affinity, capacity,
velocity), differentiation and the vital cycle, cell transcriptome, proteome and post-translational
modifications (“cell memory”)
2 – Bioelectricity, neurobiology and synaptology – Lectures 11-15, 18-20 – Cellular bioelectricity:
electrochemical potentials, membrane potential, passive electric responses of the plasma membrane
(electrotonic properties), cellular excitability and the action potential (AP); AP conduction; graded
potentials, sensory transduction and receptor potentials; intercellular communication: junctions and
synapses, regulation of neurotransmitter turnover and release, post-synaptic response, facilitation,
potentiation and depression phenomena; asynchronous and evoked quantal release at the
neuromuscular junction, at sensory junctions at central synapses; neurotransmitter receptors,
bioelectric and biochemical responses; neuronal computation, neuronal plasticity, the cellular basis
of memory formation, consolidation, reconsolidation and retrieval.
3 – Sensory physiology – Lectures 24, 26, 32, 36-38, 40, 41, 43, 44 – Transduction mechanisms at
sensory receptors and central processing of sensory information: discriminative somatosensory
perception and nociception, smell and taste, proprioception, hearing and sound processing,
vestibular information, balance, posture and gaze control; sight, image processing from the retina to
the CNS: detail, contrast, colour, movement, the ventral and dorsal visual paths in the cortex,
sensory-motor parietal areas, hippocampus' role in contextualization.
4 – Motor control – Lectures 47, 50, 51 – Central pattern generators, locomotion, posture; the
cerebellum as a learning servo control that may take control, the basal nuclei as a servo-control for
initiating, conciliating, selecting movements and “switching” – The roles of cerebellum and basal
nuclei in cognition, mood and non motor behaviour.
5 – The Blood-Brain Barrier (and possible additional topics) – Lecture 53.
6 – Muscle – Lectures 55, 56, 62 – Excitation/contraction coupling in skeletal, cardiac, smooth
muscle; isometric and isotonic contraction; motor units, recruitment, cooperation and antagonism
Practical activities – Lectures 61, 63, 64, 70, 71, 74 – Group work on electrophysiological
recordings (Computer room)
Introduction to Neurology:
“Bases of the neurological Exam” (group training) – Lectures 57-60, 68-69, 72-73 – Group work.
LIFE – HOMOEOSTASIS AND CONTROL
1 Life: energy, homoeostasis, control, development
Identify the essential features, requirements and tasks of a living system.
Recognise the energy requirement of the living system to maintain
homoeostasis.
Acquire the general concepts of energy, steady state, equilibrium,
homoeostasis, interaction.
Grasp the principles of feed-back and feed-forward control, turnover and
“dynamic equilibrium”.
Understand the relations between the internal and external environment.
Explain the role of cell components and compartments in cellular
homoeostasis.
Understand the general paradigm of control: stability / change, feed-back /
feed-forward, survive / develop, persist / adapt, react / behave
Understand the general principles that determine the rate of physiological
processes and the steady state values of physiological parameters
Clinical Link
Hormone levels in endocrine tumours
2 The internal milieu: transport, metabolism, dynamic equilibrium
Understand the mechanisms of ion and substrate transfer across cell
membranes.
Examine passive movement across membranes: diffusion, facilitated and
regulated transport.
Explain the mechanisms of active transport: pumps and secondary active
carriers.
Classify ionic channels and understand their roles.
Recall the basics of protein synthesis, trafficking and localization.
Define the general rules that determine protein, substrate and electrolyte
concentrations.
Review the energy requirements of the cell and basal metabolism.
Clinical Link
How to rehydrate a child with gastroenteritis in an African village?
3 Control: regulation and change, internal mechanisms and receptors
Define the concepts of receptor and signal transduction.
Review the localization, structure and mode of activation of cellular
receptors
Explain how external signals can interfere with intracellular functions.
Review the principles of cellular differentiation and functional
specialization.
Understand the relations between functional regulation and cellular
organization and structure.
Clinical Link
How does cholera toxin produce its effects on the intestine?
4 Regulation: mechanisms, signal transduction and time scales
Understand the regulation of processes by (a) rapidly reversible weak
interactions, (b) actively reversible post-translational modifications, (c)
long-term changes in gene expression
Analyse the main signal transduction pathways and the role of second
messengers: bioelectric transduction by ion channels, indirect effector
control by G-protein coupled receptors, receptors with direct enzymatic
action, receptors with DNA-binding capacity and transcriptional activity.
Analyse how such processes can interfere: understand the mechanisms of
receptor cross-talk.
Clinical Link
Why clonidine for opiate withdrawal syndrome?
5 Fine tuning: set point, affinity, capacity, velocity - the case of Ca2+
Review the differential contributions of affinity, set-point, capacity and
velocity to the regulation of cellular processes.
Understand the relevance and the modes of the fine and dynamic regulation
of intracellular Ca2+ concentration by transport systems, feedback and feed-
forward controls.
Understand how intracellular calcium ion concentration can differentially
and simultaneously regulate many important cellular processes.
Clinical Link
Neuronal death in neurodegenerative pathologies
6 The organism: distribution, differentiation, vital cycle
Review the additional tasks of the organism: distribution of substrates,
effectors, metabolites and signals across the organism; movement; the vital
cycle and the regulation of development.
Analyse the cell cycle: rest, proliferation, growth, differentiation
Understand structural and functional differentiation and specialisation:
transcriptome, proteome and “cell memory”.
Understand the mechanisms of de-localized response and inter-cellular
communication.
Recognize the general scheme of homoeostatic control: input arch –
integration system – effector arch.
Clinical Link
Stem cells and induced pluripotent cells as therapeutic tools
10 Response, adaptation, change The control systems: endocrine vs. neural
Describe the two main monitoring, response and adaptation systems:
neural and endocrine.
Highlight the main properties and differences between the two systems.
Examine the evolution of the nervous system from the mere task of
relocating a signal to the capability of processing information.
BIOELECTRICITY AND CELL EXCITABILITY
7-9 Electricity (I)
8 Electricity (II)
9 Electricity (III)
Discuss and understand the concept of electric force and electrical field
Familiarize with and understand the concepts of electric energy and
potential and the principles of energy conservation
Understand the mechanisms of flow of charges in theory and in the
physiological arena
Familiarize with and understand the elementary principles of magnetism
and electromagnetic theory
Review and further clarify the basic principles by means of numerical and
conceptual tutorials
Acquire familiarity with the following concepts:During the course the
following subjects will be developed.
o Introduction, electric charge and Coulomb’s law
o the electric field
o electric energy and potential
o conservation of energy
o distribution of charges (dipole and others)
o basics of electromagnetic theory
o nerves and electricity from a physics perspective.
11 Cellular bioelectricity: electrochemical potentials, resting potential
Understand the rules of ion partition: chemical, electric and
electrochemical potential.
Analyse ion movements across the plasma membrane: ion channels, Nernst
equation.
Compute the resting membrane potential. Goldman's equation.
Understand the contribution of each ion species and of the Na+/K+ ATP
transport in establishing and maintaining the resting membrane potential.
Understand how the electrochemical imbalance influences ion and water
partitioning.
Explain the passive responses of the plasma membrane: local responses
and electrotonic conduction.
Clinical Link
SUR subunits in K-channels and KCO vasodilators
12 Cellular excitability: the action potential
Analyse the active response of the plasma membrane in excitable cells: the
action potential (AP).
Illustrate AP time course, the underlying ion fluxes, its regeneration and
conduction along the axon.
Identify the parameters that influence robustness, safety and velocity of AP
conduction in nerve fibres.
Examine the origin of depolarizing and hyperpolarizing currents: graded
potentials.
Clinical Link
Demyelinating neuropathies
13 Receptor cells: sensory transduction and receptor potential
Describe the sensory transduction mechanisms: receptor potential; tonic
and phasic receptor cells.
Analyse the main factors in sensory transduction:
adequate stimulus, threshold, current to frequency coding, scale
compression.
Review the main mechanisms of sensory transduction.
Tell the difference between neuronal and epithelial receptors.
Neurocognitive Link
Synaesthesia
14 Intercellular communication: junctions and synapses; the neuromuscular
junction
Examine the electric synapse: gap junctions, ion currents, synaptic
modulation and bi-directionality.
Describe the chemical synapse and junction
Analyse the mechanisms and regulation of neurotransmitter turnover and
release.
Explain the post synaptic response and the temporal aspects of
neurotransmitter-receptor interaction
Understand the cellular responses of final effectors
Analyse the functioning of the neuromuscular junction; quantal release,
Miniaturised and evoked EPPs.
Analyse facilitation, potentiation and depression phenomena.
Explain the functioning of sensory junctions. Asynchronous quantal release
and mEPSPs.
Analyse the functioning of the central synapses. Miniaturised and evoked
EPSPs and IPSPs.
Clinical Link
Myasthenia gravis and Lambert Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome
15 Neurotransmitter receptors: bioelectric and biochemical responses
Identify the signal transduction mechanisms of the various neural
receptors.
Clarify how transduction paths may target the bioelectric and/or the
biochemical properties and activities at the post-synaptic neuron.
Describe the structure, biophysical properties and functional roles of the
main neurotransmitter “ionotropic” receptors.
Understand the mechanism of receptor channel inactivation and
desensitization.
Illustrate and explain the specific behaviour of high-affinity glutamate
receptors.
Understand the interconnection between bioelectric and biochemical
processes.
Clinical Link
Ion channels in a metabolic framework: oral antidiabetic drugs.
16 Neurotransmitters: the chemical language of nervous system
Describe the control of biosynthetic and catabolic pathways of
neurotransmitters .
Recognize the key role of amino acids in neurotransmitter synthesis
Describe the key steps of neurotransmitter metabolism
17 Neurotransmitters: the chemical language of nervous system - II
Illustrate the regulatory mechanisms of neurotransmitter metabolism
Share clinical suggestions: the serotonergic system and its role in
depression
22 Organization and dynamics of synaptic scaffolding proteins
Describe the synaptic proteins and their dynamics
Analyse the trafficking pathways at excitatory and inhibitory synapses
Illustrate the structural features of synaptic membrane
Illustrate the role of structural synaptic proteins in neuronal plasticity
Illustrate the role of structural synaptic proteins in synapse formation with
appropriate targets
18 Neuronal computation: spatial/temporal summation, nonlinear aspects
Understand synaptic spatial and temporal integration and the properties of
the spike encoder.
Explain how the electrical activity of neurons performs information
processing in real time.
Examine the linear and nonlinear aspects of neuronal integration.
Explain frequency coding and synaptic gain modulation.
Consider the pre- and postsynaptic targets of synaptic efficiency
modulation.
Clinical Link
Amine neurotransmitter turnover and depression
20 Neuronal plasticity: cellular mechanisms, properties, functions
Understand synaptic plasticity and its dependence on dynamic and
associative aspects of neural activity.
Dissect the mechanisms of short, medium and long-term plasticity.
Understand the network aspects of synaptic and neuronal plasticity and
their role in memory.
Understand the cellular basis of memory formation, consolidation,
reconsolidation and retrieval.
Historical Link
Pavlov and classical conditioning
SENSORY SYSTEMS – Smell, taste, touch, pain
19 Sensory receptors and sensory modalities
Describe the general features of afferent (sensory) pathways.
Classify sensory modalities.
Classify sensory fibres.
Illustrate the structure and location of sensory receptors in relation to the
transduction of different forms of energy.
Illustrate the location of sensory ganglia and describe primary sensory
neurons.
Describe the medial division and the lateral division of the dorsal root as
the origin of ascending pathways in the spinal cord: the conscious and non
conscious pathways.
Clinical Link
The axon reflex and neurogenic inflammation
21 Ascending pathways
Describe the pathways of the anterolateral system: pain, touch and
temperature.
Describe the dorsal column pathway: conscious proprioception and
discriminative touch.
Describe the trigeminal pathway: information from the head.
Describe the pathways to the cerebellum: the non conscious pathways of
somatosensory information.
Describe the routes of visceral information.
Clinical Link
Sensory loss
23 Supra-axial sensory paths
Classify the thalamic nuclei in relation to their target.
Localize primary and secondary somatosensory areas.
Describe the structure of the somatosensory cortex.
Clinical Link
Central pain syndrome
24 Touch and pain, discriminative somatosensory perception and nociception
Define the sense of touch.
Analyse receptive field and functional and adaptation properties of
mechanoreceptors in the skin.
Understand how the various touch receptors let us perceive the nature and
texture of objects.
Understand the principles of nociception.
Analyse the functional properties of thermal receptors and of specific,
polymodal and silent nociceptors.
Describe how pain, sensitization, hyperalgesia, allodynia arise.
Describe the functional role of descending paths that control pain
Clinical Link
Missing limb syndrome
25 Chemoceptors, smell and taste
Neuroanatomy of taste and olfaction.
Explain how chemical stimuli are perceived and transformed.
Describe olfactory receptors and associated signalling mechanisms.
Describe molecular mechanisms for detection and transduction of taste and
connections between taste cells and gustatory fibres.
Describe regulatory mechanisms of taste information at peripheral taste
organs
Describe the processing of afferent information form taste and olfactory
receptors in the central olfactory and taste pathways
Describe the functional interaction between taste and olfactory pathway in
perception.
Insular lobe: a multisensory cortex.
26 Chemoceptors, smell and taste
Understand how olfactory receptors can tell what is around.
Describe the sensory transduction mechanism in smell.
See how the combinatorial analysis needed to tell what's around generates
the first requirement of some information processing system.
Describe the sensory transduction mechanisms in taste.
Clinical Link
Hyposmia in Parkinson's Disease
SENSORY SYSTEMS – Hearing
27, 29 Acoustics – Elasticity and waves
Discuss and understand the elasticity mechanisms, Hooke’s law and the
vibration phenomena.
Discuss and develop the theory of classical waves and the principal
phenomena and effects.
Discuss and familiarize with the application of wave theory to sound
propagation
Familiarize with the biophysical models of the ear and the hearing
mechanisms.
Review and further clarify the basic principles by means of numerical and
conceptual tutorials
During the course the following themes will be developed:
o Elasticity, deformations, vibrations, Hooke’s law
o Basics of waves and harmonic motion
o Propagation of waves and effects (reflection, refraction,
interference)
o Doppler effect
o Elastic waves and sound
o The physics of waves and the human body. Hearing.
o Instrumentation and exams: ultrasounds and Doppler effect in
medicine
28 The structure of the ear
Give and overview of the three compartments of the ear: external, middle
and inner. Describe the component of the middle ear relevant to sound
transduction.
Describe the acoustic labyrinth; the cochlea
Clinical Link
Conductive hearing loss
30 The inner ear Describe the organ of Corti
Describe the acoustic pathway.
32 Hearing and sound processing
Explain the functional role of the middle ear: amplification of sound and
muscular reflexes.
Explain the functional role of the inner ear: 1) Detecting sound waves. 2)
The ear as a spectrum analyser. 3) Auditory response
Understand cochlear & vestibular mechano-electrical transduction.
Analyse scale compression and neural processing of auditory input.
Discuss the memory for sounds.
Neurocognitive Link
The “cocktail party” effect
SENSORY SYSTEMS – Vision
31,33 Optics
Understand and familiarize with the theory of geometric optics and the
fundamental phenomena
Introduce and understand the principles of electromagnetic optics and the
interpretation of the relevant phenomena
Understand the model of the eye and the principles of vision
Review and further clarify the basic principles by means of numerical and
conceptual tutorials
During the course the following areas will be covered in detail:
o Light and the basic aspects of electromagnetic waves
o Geometrical optics and the macroscopic effects. Reflection and
refraction
o Lenses
o The eye and the vision function
o Optics in biomedicine
o Instrumentation and exams
34 The eye, structure and function
Describe the organization of the eyeball: layers, chambers, dioptric devices
Give the basic details on extra-ocular muscles.
Describe the organization of the retina: a piece of brain in the periphery.
35 Vision
Describe the lens of the eye, accommodation and common vision disorders.
Describe the different types of photoreceptors and their biophysical
properties.
Describe the effects of the wave nature of light on vision: diffraction and
aberrations
Clinical Link
Vision disorders
36 Photoelectric transduction (Biochemistry)
Understand how light is transformed in electricity by vitamin A
Describe the different types of photoreceptors and their biochemical
properties
Describe the role and metabolism of vitamin A in vision.
Describe the molecular mechanism of vision and differences between rods
and cones.
Describe mechanisms underlying dark and light adaptation
37 Photoelectrical transduction (Physiology)
Describe the effects of the particle nature of light on vision: counting single
photons
Understand the differences between rods and cones
Define the role of rods and cones in foveal and peripheral retina.
Explain the eye as the “perfect” performance-limited detector : the retina
and its “pixels”
Clinical Link
Daltonism
38 Retina: circuits and image processing
Analyse the neural circuits in the retina and understand their contribution
to image processing
Analyse the “computational” differences between the foveal and the
peripheral vision
Realise how different kinds of information are generated at the retina and
travel to the CNS
Neurocognitive Link
Profile detection algorithms and wallpaper colour
39 Anatomy of the visual paths and cortex
Describe the course of the optic nerve.
Describe the optic chiasm and its surrounding.
Describe the medial and lateral component of the optic tract.
Describe the pathway of the lateral optic tract to the visual cortex: lateral
geniculate body and optic radiation.
Describe the visual cortex.
Clinical Link
In a long travel many things can go wrong
40 Image processing from the retina to the brain: detail, contrast, colour,
movement
Understand the neural processing of visual inputs: functional models in
primary visual cortex.
Illustrate the mechanisms underlying the colour vision.
Identify the circuits for movement detection
Understand the contribution of oculomotor and proprioceptive information
in the analysis of the visual image
Neurocognitive Link
Akinetopsia; conscious colour/motion perception in blind patients
41 What is it? / Where is it? the ventral and dorsal visual paths in the cortex
Examine the occipital-temporal path for visual shape and object
recognition (the what pathway).
Analyse specialised temporal areas for recognition of inanimate objects,
tools, animals, words, faces.
Understand the differential competences of the two hemispheres in object
recognition: structural vs. pictorial, analytic vs. holistic processing.
Understand the organization and role of the superior colliculus for the
localization of the sources of multi-modal sensory inputs in the external
space.
Examine the occipital-parietal path for processing spatial information (the
where pathway).
Discuss how the brain creates and manipulates multiple spatial reference
frames.
Introduce the sensory-motor function of the parietal cortex (visuomotor
transformation)
Introduce the role of canonical and mirror neurons.
Introduce the role of hippocampus in contextualization.
Neurocognitive Link
Object agnosia and Hemispatial neglect
SENSORY SYSTEMS – Balance and proprioception
42 Vestibular organs and neural pathways
Describe the vestibular labyrinth.
Describe the vestibular pathways.
Describe the medial longitudinal fasciculus.
Clinical Link
Vertigo
43 Proprioceptive systems, muscle spindles, joint and tendon receptors
Define proprioception: limb position sense and kinaesthesia.
Describe functional and adaptation properties of joint receptors: central
coding of angular excursion.
Describe Muscle spindles: structure, afferent / efferent innervations;
functional /adaptation properties.
Describe Golgi tendon organs: functional and adaptation properties,
afferent innervation.
Define the role of the skin receptors as proprioreceptors.
Define the functional processing of proprioceptive information and the
body schema representation in parietal cortex.
Describe the properties of the mechanoreceptors and chemosensory
receptors innervating viscera and the modalities of visceral perception.
Neurocognitive link
The rubber hand illusion
44 Vestibular information, balance, posture and gaze control
Understand the functional properties of mechano-receptors in the
vestibular labyrinth.
Analyse movements eliciting complex pattern of vestibular stimulation
Examine the neural processing of vestibular inputs feeding the body
schema
Define the two main mechanisms of gaze control: the mechanisms for gaze
stabilization and the mechanisms for gaze shifting.
Examine the gaze stabilization and shifting mechanisms, understand
vergence movements
Clinical Link
Meniere's syndrome
Neurocognitive Link
Functional motion blindness
BRAIN METABOLISM
46 Neural metabolism: energetics and glia
Describe the molecular composition of the nervous system: the grey and
white matter.
Outline the energy requirements and fuels of the nervous system.
Explain why glucose is the obligatory energy substrate for the nervous
system.
Describe how local brain energy metabolism can be studied in humans.
Describe the metabolic and functional cross-talk between astrocytes and
neurons
Describe the role of amino acid metabolism in neuronal properties.
Explain ammonia neurotoxicity.
Outline the role and metabolism of cholesterol in the nervous system.
THE CONTROL OF MOVEMENT
45 Movement control: descending pathways
Give a general overview of the descending pathways: the medial and
lateral system.
Describe the reticulo-spinal, vestibulo-spinal and rubro-spinal tracts.
Describe the origin and course of the pyramidal tract.
Describe the location of the primary and secondary motor areas.
Describe the structural features of the motor cortex.
Describe the pathways from the reticular formation, red nucleus, tectum
and vestibular nuclei.
Clinic link
Absence of movement (Paralisysis)
47 The hierarchical motor system CPGs, locomotion, posture
Illustrate the hierarchical organization of the motor system.
Define the reflex arc components: somatic and visceral reflexes in the
spinal cord/brain stem.
Examine the main spinal reflexes in adults and in neonates.
Illustrate spinal automatism: general neural network underlying automatic
functions.
Understand complex reflexes and innate behaviours: the Central Pattern
Generators
Illustrate the principles of axial control of locomotion and posture.
Clinical Link
Neonatal reflexes
48 Cerebellum
Describe the organization of the cerebellum into distinct regions.
Describe sensory inputs to the cerebellum from several regions of the brain
and spinal cord.
Describe cerebellar output pathways and the microcircuitry of the
cerebellar cortex.
Clinical Link
Lack of order: Ataxia
49 Basal ganglia
Describe the structures belonging to basal ganglia circuitry.
Describe the inputs to the basal ganglia.
Describe the outputs from the basal ganglia.
Describe the intrinsic connections.
Give a general outline of the four parallel paths passing through the basal
ganglia.
Clinical Link
Too much or too little movement
50 The cerebellum as a learning servo control that may take control
Examine the functional role of the cerebellum in correcting movements.
Understand the mechanisms of cerebellar learning
Analyse the role of cerebellum in classical conditioning and its timing
capability.
Understand the role of the cerebellum in cognition, mood and non motor
behaviour.
Clinical Link
The old alcohol test
51 The basal ganglia as a brain servo-control
Understand the problems of higher motor control, movement integration
and coordination.
Explain the role of basal ganglia in initiating, conciliating, selecting
movements and in “switching”.
Understand the role of dopamine in learning by the basal ganglia,
Analyse the role of the basal ganglia in cognition, mood and non motor
behaviour.
Clinical Link
Parkinson's Disease
53 The Blood-Brain Barrier (and additional topics)
Describe the structural and functional relationships between the
intracranial compartments and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-
CSF barrier
Discuss the functional properties of the BBB
Discuss the passiva and active penetration of substances across the BBB
Discuss further aspects related to preceding lessons
54 Brain vascularization
Describe the circle of Willis: anterior and posterior circulation.
Describe the three main cerebral arteries and revise the main functional
areas of the cerebral cortex.
Describe the most important penetrating vessels and their territory of
supply.
Describe the vascular supply to the brainstem and revise its internal
structure.
Describe the superficial and deep venous drainage of the cerebral
hemispheres.
Clinical Link
The heart attack of the brain (TIA and Stroke)
MUSCLES, BONES, TENDONS AND CARTILAGES
52 Motors and force generation in cells
Describe actin-myosin dynamics in contractile and non-contractile cells.
Understand the dynamics between actin, myosin and energy
Describe the features of the cytoskeleton
Describe the role of GTPases in cytoskeleton dynamics
Describe the interaction cell-extracellular matrix during cell motility
55 Excitation/contraction coupling in skeletal, cardiac, smooth muscle
Analyse the structural and functional organization, and the different
patterns of contraction, in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle.
Understand excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle: build up of
tension during tetanus.
Understand excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac muscle and the role
of intracellular Ca2+.
Understand the various mechanisms that control smooth muscle tension.
Focus on the locus of control of muscle contraction.
Clinical Link
Malignant hyperthermia
56 Isometric and isotonic contraction
Describe the experimental approach to set up a biomechanical model of the
skeletal muscle
Illustrate the functional behaviour of the muscle during in isometric
condition.
Illustrate the functional behaviour of the skeletal muscle in dynamic
conditions.
Understand the principle of neural regulation of muscle contractility.
Explain the skeletal muscle as a motor and as a brake.
Clinical Link
Clostridial toxins
57
58
WORK GROUPS (A,B)
59
60
WORK GROUPS (C,D)
61 Esercitazioni
62 Motor units, recruitment, cooperation/antagonism
Define the Motor Unit: innervation ratio in different muscles.
Discern the three types of motor units based on the functional properties of
different muscular fibres.
Analyse the properties of motor neurones: synaptic currents to frequency
coding.
Understand the neural mechanisms controlling muscle force: motor unit
recruitment and size principle.
Outline the role of agonist and antagonist muscles at joint level, their
coordinated and joint stiffness.
Clinical Link
Myoclonus and cramps
63 Esercitazioni
64 Esercitazioni
65 Tutorial Physics I
66 Extracellular matrix and connective tissues
Describe Collagens; the biochemical structure of extracellular matrix
Understand the structure of collagen
Illustrate the physical-chemical features of extracellular matrix
Describe how mechanical cues influence the cell activities
Clinical suggestions: diseases of connective tissue
67 Bone
Describe the mechanism of calcium deposition in the bone.
Illustrate the protein scaffolds of the bone
Describe the metabolism of Vitamin D and its functions
Describe the metabolism of parathormone and its functions
Describe the metabolism of calcitonin
Clinical suggestions: defects of bone ossification
6869 WORK GROUPS (B,A)
70 Esercitazioni
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