PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY 1

Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: MARINELLA COCO

Expected Learning Outcomes

The course provides for the acquisition of knowledge related to physiological psychology. The main purpose of the course is to provide the student with the knowledge necessary to be able to understand the psycho-physiological phenomena underlying mental processes.

Course Structure

Frontal lessons

Required Prerequisites

Nobody

Attendance of Lessons

The frequency is optional. However, a constant and careful frequency of the course is highly recommended, given the specificity of the discipline and the objective difficulty in preparing independently in an adequate way.

Detailed Course Content

- Neurons and associated cells

- Rest and action potentials: nervous conduction

- Sinapsi and Neurotransmitters

- Functional anatomy of the nervous system

- Extrapiramidal system

- Cerebral plasticity

- hypothalamus

- Autonomous nervous system

- brain circuits of emotions

- hemispherical specialization and neurobiology of language

- Neurobiology of memory

- Sleep

- Attention

- Notes on mirror neurons

- From the book "The man who exchanged his wife for a hat" by Oliver Sacks, the cases:

• the lost sailor,

• the discharged,

• The man who fell from the bed,

• Be careful!

• The President's speech,

• yes, father-sorella,

• the encyclopedic melomaniac.

- Gratitude of Oliver Sacks

Textbook Information

- Fondamenti anatomo-fisiologici e neuroscienze del comportamento. A cura di Angelo Maravita e Nadia Bolognini. Poletto Editore

- Fair play in “campo”! Approccio psico-fisiologico per un dialogo possibile tra genitore e allenatore. A cura di Marinella Coco, Andrea Buscemi, Lino Gurrisi, Francesca Vitali, Donatella Di Corrado. Franco Angeli.

- Gratitudine di Oliver Sacks. Adelphi.

- L’uomo che scambio sua moglie per un cappello di O. Sacks. Adelphi.

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

During the oral exam it is allowed to use conceptual and/or mental maps made by the student, anatomical-physiological designs made by the student.

For the purposes of the evaluation, the teacher will take into account:

Knowledge and understanding ability: knowledge of the foundations of human physiological psychology, on the anatomical-physiological foundations of the nervous, cognitive, sensory, food behavior.

Knowledge and understanding skills applied: acquisition of knowledge of psycho-physiological mechanisms and possible changes.

Autonomy of judgment: students will have to acquire the ability to critically present and discuss the basic notions of the discipline.

Communicative skills: the student will have to demonstrate that he knows how to clarify the knowledge learned during the course, and his conclusions in relation to the critical issues of the discipline with clarity. He will also have to demonstrate that he has appropriate terminology.

The ability to learn: the student will have to demonstrate that he has acquired the technical lexicon and the theoretical-knowledge knowledge addressed during the course, so that he can criticize the main discoveries of psychobiology in a critical and scientific rigor. It will also have to demonstrate the ability to understand, analyze and process the contents and knowledge acquired by the study and deepening of scientific texts and by the consultation of scientific publications in the sector, in order to be able to undertake subsequent insights autonomously.

Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises

- Psychophysiological aspects of brain plasticity.

- The neuron: structure and function.

- The main neurotransmitters.

- Difference between electric and chemical synapses.

- Psychophysiological aspects of hemispherical and neurobiology of language specialization

- Psychophysiological aspects of memory neurobiology

- Psychophysiological aspects of consciousness

- Psychophysiological aspects of sleep

- Psychophysiological aspects of attention

- etc.

Degree Course in

Psychological Sciences and Techniques