PHYSIOLOGY AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGY OF MOTOR CONTROL
cod. 1000282

Academic year 2014/15
1° year of course - First semester
Professor responsible for the course unit
LUPPINO Giuseppe
integrated course unit
6 credits
hub:
course unit
in - - -

Course unit structured in the following modules:

Learning objectives

At the end of the course the student knows and undertstands the main short and long term modifications of the human body induced by physical activity, the neural mechanisms underlying motor control and the principles of the neuropathology of the motor system, of the methods and tachniques for neurological examination. The student will be able to apply this information for implementing programs of motor activities in healthy people and in stable patients

Prerequisites

- - -

Course unit content

The course consists of different modules aiming to provide a multidisciplinary view of the physiological mechanisms underlying short and long term adaptation to physical activity, of the neural mechanisms underlying motor control and of the main signs, symptoms, deficit and problems of motor control deriving from lesions and diseases of the nervous system (see specific forms)

Full programme

Cardiovascular system and physical activity
Respiratory system and physical activity
Skeletal muscle and physical activity
Movement planning and the control of movement execution.
Triphasic pattern of EMG
The force-time function
Muscle mechanics and theory of the equilibrium point
The isochrony principle and space-time invariants
The principle of the maximal smoothness and of the rectilinear trajectories
The visuo-motor integration
The coding of space in the motor control
The role of the visual feedback in the movement control
The Fitts's law
The theory of the optic flow
The role of the somaesthetic information in the movement control
Basic principles of motor system clinical examination; Motor syndromes; Basic principles of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Botulinum toxin and its role in motor disorders

Bibliography

see specific forms

Teaching methods

Oral lessons and practical work

Assessment methods and criteria

The examination is oral and will aim to verify the knowledge of the students on the content of the course and the capacity of applying this knowledge to physiopathological examples.

Other information

- - -