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The course deals in detail with the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the cognitive processes that underlie the normal brain functions of memory and learning and their related alterations in the course of neurodegenerative and psychiatric pathologies. Based on a careful and updated review of the scientific literature concerning preclinical and clinical research studies, the teaching of Neuroscience and Psychobiology lays the foundations for understanding the origin of cognitive and psychiatric disorders and the methods of therapeutic intervention based on transcranial magnetic stimulation. |
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The aim of the course is to allow the student to reach an in-depth level of knowledge of the basic mechanisms of brain functioning, a fundamental aspect for understanding the physiological processes activated by psychotherapy and by the most recent brain stimulation techniques for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. |
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The first part of the course focuses on the description of the different forms of synaptic plasticity and their role in the organization of neural connections in the brain. The involvement of the various mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the genesis of behavioral disorders and addictions and the role played by inflammation in influencing the emotional sphere are illustrated below. Space is also dedicated to the analysis of the physiological function of glial cells and in the course of the main neurodegenerative pathologies. Finally, the main transcranial brain stimulation techniques and their applications to psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases are widely and in detail described. |