Corso di laurea magistrale in Psicologia clinica

At the end of the course the students will a) demonstrate advance knowledge and understanding about the main brain stimulation techniques, the relative experimental paradigms and their application in cognitive neuroscience, also in combination with neuroimaging, for the study of normal and disrupted brain functions and as potential tools for the rehabilitation of brain disorder; b) be able to apply their knowledge and understanding to critically review the scientific literature on brain stimulation in order to analyze research and clinical topics of cognitive neuroscience, make judgments on the relationships between cognitive and neural events, understand the use of the methodologies and protocols of brain stimulation for the assessment of normal and disrupted human brain functions and their clinical use as potential treatment, understand the application of ethical and safety guidelines of brain stimulation protocols; c) be able to demonstrate: knowledge on the theoretical principles and safety guidelines of brain stimulation and  good communication skills to describe in clear and exhaustive way a theoretical topic or the results of a study in this scientific domain.

At the end of the class the student is expected to demonstrate: I) knowledge and understanding of the basic principles underlying some of the  main non-invasive brain stimulation techniques and their use for the study of cognitive processes in the healthy brain and their potential role for brain functions rehabilitation; II) conceptual and analytical ability in analyzing the topics presented during the course, making judgments on them, and establishing relationships between the cognitive and neural events; III)  knowledge and understanding on how to use the guidelines for applying the main brain stimulation techniques to experimental and clinical investigations; IV) skills in communicating in clear and exhaustive way the theoretical framework, method and findings of a scientific study and the ability of formulating in autonomy interpretations, ideas and conclusions.

Students preparation will be assessed through a written test (multiple choice format) and an interview held at the end of the course. Students can accept the grade of the written test (if superior or equal to 18/30) and be exempt from the oral examination, or refuse the grade and go through the oral test.

The exam will assess:

i.          the student’s knowledge and understanding of the principles underlying the main non- invasive brain stimulation techniques and their use for the study of cognitive processes in the healthy brain and their potential role for brain functions rehabilitation;

ii.         the student’s ability of analyzing critically the topics presented during the course, making judgments on them, and establishing relationships between the cognitive and the neural events;           

iii.        the student’s knowledge and understanding on how to use the guidelines for applying the main brain stimulation techniques to experimental and clinical investigations;

iv.        the student’s skills in communicating in clear and exhaustive way the theoretical framework, method and findings of a scientific study and the ability of formulating in autonomy their own interpretations, ideas and conclusions.

The main objective of the course will be to advance the student’s knowledge on the use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques that together with neuroimaging techniques have contributed to the recent development of cognitive neuroscience. A brief introduction about the history of brain stimulation will be followed by a description of: 1) the basic principles of the main brain stimulation techniques; 2) safety, ethical considerations and application guidelines for their use in research and clinical practice; 3) the different experimental protocols; 4) the possibilities of investigation offered by their combination with neuroimaging. Their use in cognitive neuroscience will be considered, especially in relation to the study of the neural bases of cognitive functions and in relation to some of the main topics of cognitive psychology and neuropsychology, in particular spatial attention and neglect syndromes. Finally, the use of brain stimulation as a potential tool of intervention for the treatment of brain pathologies will be presented.

- Ricci R. (2012). Metodiche di stimolazione negli studi di neuroimmagine. In Sacco K., ed., Le neuroimmagini. Nuove frontiere per lo studio del cervello umano in vivo. Napoli: Idelson Gnocchi. (p. 235-268).

- The material presented during the course (slides and scientific papers).

In case the student prefers to prepare the entire exam on English material, a series of English  papers will be provided in substitution of the Italian chapter (Ricci, 2012).