The course aims to convey the concepts required to understand the neurophysiological basis of the human ability to control the body and plan the movements. The basic notions will regard the dyad body schema – body image (the Sense of Self, the Sense of Bodily Ownership, the Peripersonal Space), and the role of action representations in motor cognition (including action planning, motor imagery, and action understanding during social interaction). These basic principles will be crucial to explore the role of the plasticity of body and motor representations in neurological and neuropsychological disorders.

1. Taxonomy of body representations.

1.1. Body Schema. 1.2. Body Image. 1.3. The multisensory nature of body representations and the Bodily Self. 1.4 Personal and Peripersonal Space. 1.5. Sense of Ownership and Sense of Agency.

2. Disorders of body representations.

2.1 Peripheral deafferentation. 2.2. Phantom Limbs and Mirror Therapy. 2.3. Autotopoagnosia and Digital Agnosia. 2.4. Neglect, Somatoparaphrenia and Anosognosia for hemiplegia. 2.5. Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID). 2.6. Body representations and eating disorders.

3. Motor representations.

3.1. Predictions in motor control. 3.2. The visuo-motor neural networks. 3.3. The common coding theory (motor imagery, motor planning and action observation). 3.4. Hierarchy in motor representations and social interactions. 3.5. The impact of experience on motor representations (along the life-span, in athletes and in the case of peripheral limitation).

4. Disorders of motor planning.

4.1. Apraxia. 4.2. Basal ganglia and Hypokinetic Disorders (Parkinsonism). 4.3. Hyperkinetic Disorders (Dystonia, Huntington disease, Tourette syndrome). 4.4. Cerebellar Dysfunctions. 4.5. Prefrontal regions and motor control.

5. Rehabilitation and Biofeedback

5.5. Rehabilitation and neural plasticity. 5.2. Motor Imagery in rehabilitation. 5.3. Action observation therapy along the life-span.

None. This course yet requires a basic understanding of the concepts discussed in the course of Neurophysiology.

Knowledge and understanding: The student must demonstrate to have acquired the necessary knowledge about the neurophysiological basis of the body representations, the motor planning and, of the primary motor hypo- and hyperkinetic disorders.

Applying knowledge and understanding: The student must demonstrate possession of the ability to use neurophysiological knowledge to describe the body representations for the sake of motor planning.

Making judgments: The student will have acquired the essential ability to judge the need for the neuropsychological assessment of specific motor disorders discussed during the course.

Communication skills: The student must acquire the ability to use specific terminology in the field of neurophysiology in his/her communication.

Learning Skills: The student will have acquired the essential ability to read reports and descriptions of the neuroscientific aspects of the dyadic interaction between body schema and body image, as well as, of the motor planning and, of the primary motor hypo- and hyperkinetic disorders.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Additional material will be uploaded on the course page.

Teaching

Frontal lessons.

Course books

• E.R. Kandel, J.H. Schwartz, T.M. Jessell, S.A. Siegelbaum, A.J. Hudspeth, Principi di neuroscienze, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana, Milano, IV edizione italiana, 2014;
• Vallar G. & Papagno C. (a cura di, 2018). Manuale di neuropsicologia. Clinica ed elementi di riabilitazione. 3a edizione. Il Mulino, Bologna; Capitolo 9 " I disturbi della programmazione motoria: le aprassie" di Rumiati R., Capitolo 11 "I disturbi della rappresentazione del corpo", di Maravita A.
• Ferrari P.F. & Rizzolatti G. (a cura di, 2015). New Frontiers in Mirror Neurons Research, Oxford University Press; Capitolo 6 "Neural underpinnings of anticipatory action simulation and perception in expert brains", di Sacheli L.M., Aglioti S.M., Candidi M.

• The program also includes the following papers:
  1. Buccino, G. (2014). Action observation treatment: a novel tool in neurorehabilitation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369(1644), 20130185.
  2. Caligiore, D., Mustile, M., Spalletta, G., & Baldassarre, G. (2017). Action observation and motor imagery for rehabilitation in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and an integrative hypothesis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 72, 210-222.
  3. Costello, M. C., & Bloesch, E. K. (2017). Are older adults less embodied? A review of age effects through the lens of embodied cognition. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 267.

Assessment

The assessment will take place through an oral interview. During the interview, one or more topics will be explored. The evaluation will be based on the following elements: (i) knowledge of the topic; (ii) the ability to organize a speech using appropriate, discipline-specific vocabulary; (iii) the background knowledge regarding the neuroanatomy; (iv) the ability to use the knowledge acquired to discuss complex problems regarding motor planning, and the application pf rehabilitation strategies.

Disabilità e DSA

Le studentesse e gli studenti che hanno registrato la certificazione di disabilità o la certificazione di DSA presso l'Ufficio Inclusione e diritto allo studio, possono chiedere di utilizzare le mappe concettuali (per parole chiave) durante la prova di esame.

A tal fine, è necessario inviare le mappe, due settimane prima dell’appello di esame, alla o al docente del corso, che ne verificherà la coerenza con le indicazioni delle linee guida di ateneo e potrà chiederne la modifica.

Course books

• E.R. Kandel, J.H. Schwartz, T.M. Jessell, S.A. Siegelbaum, A.J. Hudspeth, Principi di neuroscienze, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana, Milano, IV edizione italiana, 2014;
• Vallar G. & Papagno C. (a cura di, 2018). Manuale di neuropsicologia. Clinica ed elementi di riabilitazione. 3a edizione. Il Mulino, Bologna; Capitolo 9 " I disturbi della programmazione motoria: le aprassie" di Rumiati R., Capitolo 11 "I disturbi della rappresentazione del corpo", di Maravita A.
• Ferrari P.F. & Rizzolatti G. (a cura di, 2015). New Frontiers in Mirror Neurons Research, Oxford University Press; Capitolo 6 "Neural underpinnings of anticipatory action simulation and perception in expert brains", di Sacheli L.M., Aglioti S.M., Candidi M.

• The program also includes the following papers:
  1. Buccino, G. (2014). Action observation treatment: a novel tool in neurorehabilitation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369(1644), 20130185.
  2. Caligiore, D., Mustile, M., Spalletta, G., & Baldassarre, G. (2017). Action observation and motor imagery for rehabilitation in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and an integrative hypothesis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 72, 210-222.
  3. Costello, M. C., & Bloesch, E. K. (2017). Are older adults less embodied? A review of age effects through the lens of embodied cognition. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 267.

The students who do not attend the lessons should also study the following chapters: Denes G., Pizzamiglio L. et al (a cura di, 2019) Manuale di Neuropsicologia. Normalità e patologia dei processi cognitivi, Bologna: Zanichelli; Capitolo 23 "Le aprassie" di Rumiati R., et al, Capitolo 28 "Disturbi della cognizione corporea", Pizzamiglio L., et al., Capitolo 29 "Consapevolezza corporea: normalità e patologia", Berti A.M., et al.

Assessment

The assessment will take place through an oral interview. During the interview, one or more topics will be explored. The evaluation will be based on the following elements: (i) knowledge of the topic; (ii) the ability to organize a speech using appropriate, discipline-specific vocabulary; (iii) the background knowledge regarding the neuroanatomy; (iv) the ability to use the knowledge acquired to discuss complex problems regarding motor planning, and the application pf rehabilitation strategies.

Disabilità e DSA

Le studentesse e gli studenti che hanno registrato la certificazione di disabilità o la certificazione di DSA presso l'Ufficio Inclusione e diritto allo studio, possono chiedere di utilizzare le mappe concettuali (per parole chiave) durante la prova di esame.

A tal fine, è necessario inviare le mappe, due settimane prima dell’appello di esame, alla o al docente del corso, che ne verificherà la coerenza con le indicazioni delle linee guida di ateneo e potrà chiederne la modifica.