ID:
509289
Duration (hours):
48
CFU:
6
SSD:
FISIOLOGIA
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Primo Semestre (13/10/2025 - 16/01/2026)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The Physiology of Motor Activity course is concerned with understanding the processes involved in movement by breaking them down and describing them one by one.
In particular, the motor system will be studied, starting with a detailed analysis of the elementary components of a process and progressing to the study of the interactions between elementary systems. Specifically, we will study how the interaction between nerve tissue and muscle tissue determines muscle contraction, which in turn determines movement, and how movement is controlled by nerve centres.
In particular, the motor system will be studied, starting with a detailed analysis of the elementary components of a process and progressing to the study of the interactions between elementary systems. Specifically, we will study how the interaction between nerve tissue and muscle tissue determines muscle contraction, which in turn determines movement, and how movement is controlled by nerve centres.
Course Prerequisites
A good knowledge or acquisition of basic cell physiology is a prerequisite for this course.
Teaching Methods
The course is organized in lectures carried out through power point presentations.
Assessment Methods
The final assessment of learning will take the form of a written examination covering the topics of the programme taught in class. The final examination will consist of 40 multiple-choice questions and will be completed in 50 minutes. There are no penalties (deduction of marks) for incorrect answers.
Texts
Fisiologia dell'Uomo - edi-ermes
Fisilogia - Germann and Stanfield EdiSES
Fisiologia Umana elementi - edi-ermes
Fisilogia - Germann and Stanfield EdiSES
Fisiologia Umana elementi - edi-ermes
Contents
Cell physiology: membrane proteins, transport mechanisms, membrane potential, action potential.
Nervous system: cells of the nervous system, electrical signals from neurons, propagation of electrical signals
in neurons, electrical and chemical synapses, receptors and their properties.
Muscle tissue: sarcomere structure, muscle contraction mechanism,
excitation-contraction coupling. Neuromuscular junction, types of muscle contraction (isometric and isotonic),
determinants of muscle strength, types of muscle fibers and their properties, motor units and them
properties, muscle architecture, muscle plasticity (nervous mechanism and mechanism
muscle).
Motor control: types of movement (reflexes, rhythmic and voluntary), spinal cord, spinal reflexes, brain stem, cerebral cortex,
nuclei of the base, cerebellum and cerebellar circuits, control of voluntary movement, learning
motor, mirror neurons, control of muscle tone and posture, vestibular system, locomotion,
Muscle atrophy and exercise: types of muscle atrophy, properties
of disuse atrophy, changes induced by exercise on disuse atrophy, satellite cells,
muscular memory.
Neuromuscular fatigue: The conceptual framework of fatigue, central and peripheral fatigue, experimental protocols to investigate neuromuscular fatigue, age-related differences in fatigue, fatigue in health and disease
Mental fatigue: Estimation and production of exercise effort, description of rating of perceived exertion scales, examples of mental fatigue in health and disease
Nervous system: cells of the nervous system, electrical signals from neurons, propagation of electrical signals
in neurons, electrical and chemical synapses, receptors and their properties.
Muscle tissue: sarcomere structure, muscle contraction mechanism,
excitation-contraction coupling. Neuromuscular junction, types of muscle contraction (isometric and isotonic),
determinants of muscle strength, types of muscle fibers and their properties, motor units and them
properties, muscle architecture, muscle plasticity (nervous mechanism and mechanism
muscle).
Motor control: types of movement (reflexes, rhythmic and voluntary), spinal cord, spinal reflexes, brain stem, cerebral cortex,
nuclei of the base, cerebellum and cerebellar circuits, control of voluntary movement, learning
motor, mirror neurons, control of muscle tone and posture, vestibular system, locomotion,
Muscle atrophy and exercise: types of muscle atrophy, properties
of disuse atrophy, changes induced by exercise on disuse atrophy, satellite cells,
muscular memory.
Neuromuscular fatigue: The conceptual framework of fatigue, central and peripheral fatigue, experimental protocols to investigate neuromuscular fatigue, age-related differences in fatigue, fatigue in health and disease
Mental fatigue: Estimation and production of exercise effort, description of rating of perceived exertion scales, examples of mental fatigue in health and disease
Course Language
Italian
More information
The Professor can be contacted via email and receives students at his office located in the headquarters of the Department of Molecular Medicine of the University of Pavia, via Forlanini 6, 27100 Pavia. Please reserve an appointment in advance.
Degrees
Degrees
SCIENCE AND TECHNIQUE OF ADAPTED AND PREVENTIVE MOTOR ACTIVITY
Master’s Degree
2 years
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People
People (2)
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