Scheda programma d'esame
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIENCE AND BRAIN PLASTICITY
ALESSANDRO SALE
Academic year2022/23
CourseNEUROSCIENCE
Code425EE
Credits3
PeriodSemester 1
LanguageEnglish

ModulesAreaTypeHoursTeacher(s)
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIENCE AND BRAIN PLASTICITYBIO/09LEZIONI24
ALESSANDRO SALE unimap
Obiettivi di apprendimento
Learning outcomes
Conoscenze

Definition of neural plasticity Structural and functional plasticity Synaptic plasticity Functional reprogramming: examples in animals models and humans Use-dependent plasticity Visual scotoma and filling-in Barrel cortex plasticity in the rat The concept of critical period Critical periods in humans Language learning, brain and bilinguism Serotoninergic system and critical period for the emergence of an anxious phenotype Synchronous and asynchronous activity in the development of visual system Hebb’s Hypothesis for Learning Retinal waves and ocular segregation Development of ocular dominance columns in primates

Ocular dominance plasticity: heterosynaptic vs. homosynaptic model Hebb’s rules and ocular dominance development The three-eyed frog experiment Critical periods for ocular dominance plasticity in animal models Development of visual acuity GABAergic interneurons in the primary visual cortex Specific GABA-A circuits for visual cortical plasticity

BDNF and critical period plasticity Inhibitory threshold for critical-period activation in primary visual cortex Extracellular matrix: structure and function tPA and visual cortex plasticity Extracellular matrix components and adult brain plasticity Anatomical traces for plasticity in the visual cortex 

Myelin and visual cortex plasticity Otx2 in visual cortex development Epigenetic control of critical period plasticity Environmental enrichment: definition and main effects Impact of enrichment on brain development Maternal care and environmental enrichment effects

Visual cortex plasticity in humans: effects of short-term monocular deprivation

Effects of maternal massage in pre-term children Environmental enrichment and epigenetic control of critical period plasticity Environmental enrichment and adult brain plasticity: role of sensory, social and motor components

Maternal deprivation and impact of maternal care on brain plasticity

Neurobiology of neurodevelopmental disorders

Modalità d'esame

Prova orale

Knowledge

Definition of neural plasticity Structural and functional plasticity Synaptic plasticity Functional reprogramming: examples in animals models and humans Use-dependent plasticity Visual scotoma and filling-in Barrel cortex plasticity in the rat The concept of critical period Critical periods in humans Language learning, brain and bilinguism Serotoninergic system and critical period for the emergence of an anxious phenotype Synchronous and asynchronous activity in the development of visual system Hebb’s Hypothesis for Learning Retinal waves and ocular segregation Development of ocular dominance columns in primates

Ocular dominance plasticity: heterosynaptic vs. homosynaptic model Hebb’s rules and ocular dominance development The three-eyed frog experiment Critical periods for ocular dominance plasticity in animal models Development of visual acuity GABAergic interneurons in the primary visual cortex Specific GABA-A circuits for visual cortical plasticity

BDNF and critical period plasticity Inhibitory threshold for critical-period activation in primary visual cortex Extracellular matrix: structure and function tPA and visual cortex plasticity Extracellular matrix components and adult brain plasticity Anatomical traces for plasticity in the visual cortex 

Myelin and visual cortex plasticity Otx2 in visual cortex development Epigenetic control of critical period plasticity Environmental enrichment: definition and main effects Impact of enrichment on brain development Maternal care and environmental enrichment effects

Visual cortex plasticity in humans: effects of short-term monocular deprivation

Effects of maternal massage in pre-term children Environmental enrichment and epigenetic control of critical period plasticity Environmental enrichment and adult brain plasticity: role of sensory, social and motor components

Maternal deprivation and impact of maternal care on brain plasticity

Neurobiology of neurodevelopmental disorders

 

Assessment criteria of knowledge

Oral examination

Updated: 12/09/2022 12:37