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

71 Esercitazioni

7273 WORK GROUPS (D,C)

74 Esercitazioni