Cellular and Molecular Biology

BEHAVIORAL NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY

BEHAVIORAL NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY

Academic year 2021/2022

Sommario del corso

• Course objectives
• Results of learning outcomes
• Course delivery
• Learning assessment methods
• Program
• Suggested textbooks and readings
• Notes
• Teaching tools

Course objectives

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ABILITY
At the end of the course the student must demonstrate that he has acquired the knowledge of the correct scientific terminology in the anatomical and endocrine field and the ability to understand the topics in specialized scientific articles.

ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING The student must have acquired the ability to carry out a critical examination of the treated neuroendocrine and behavioral processes. Knowledge of the most used experimental models in the study of behavioral neuroendocrinology, with in-depth analysis on the circuits that underlie behavior.

JUDGMENT AUTONOMY
the student must be able to comment and discuss in a critical and autonomous way the teaching issues dealt with in the scientific literature and demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the role of hormones on the modulation of nerve circuits and in the modulation of complex behaviors such as reproductive behavior or social behavior.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The student must demonstrate that he / she has acquired the ability to expose the acquired concepts in an appropriate manner and must also be able to clearly present the data shown in scientific articles related to the topics of the course.

LEARNING ABILITY
the student must be able to understand and process the concepts and data present in scientific articles related to the issues presented in the teaching.

Results of learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student should be able to demonstrate its ability to critically discuss experimental results in the field of behavioral neuroendocrinology and the ability to choose the most appropriate experimental model for the study of a certain behavior.

Course delivery

The teaching topics are developed during the 32 hours of lectures (4 CFU) using powepoint presentations and occasionally movies, with direct references to the experiments conducted.

N.B. Due to the serious health emergency underway and according with the containment measures for the spread of Coronavirus infection, in derogation from what previously reported in this sheet, the teaching will be provided according to alternative teaching methods (scenario 5 * - integrated solution) using the Moodle platform through the DBios E-Learning page and with telematic meetings on the WebEx platform. Instructions for using the platform are available and accessible on the UNITO site.

The introduced measures are applied on a temporary basis until the emergency situation linked to COVID 19 ceases

* The teaching takes the form of a learning environment in which teaching is provided entirely online and to blended teaching methods. The platform course includes: lesson materials (audio-presentations); online tutorials; in-depth teaching materials that can be discussed through a forum; materials produced by the students in the context of individual and / or collaborative study activities. The objective of the learning environment is to create continuity between the different teaching moments.

Learning assessment methods

WARNING!
From the summer session the written test returns in presence; the discussion of the article will be done remotely, online.

The student can request to take written exam on remote if he/she is in one of the following conditions:

a) fragility (*)

b) residence or domicile outside the region;

c) temporary absence from the regional territory for documentable needs.

At the time of registration for the examen and in any case before its closure, the indication to fall into one of the three conditions must be entered in the "Notes" field of the registration, without specifying which one. The University will be able to carry out any sample checks on what is self-certified.

- The exam is a written test with multiple choice questions, open questions, and descriptions of experiments explained in class, supplemented by the oral presentation of an article (see following instructions). The written exam will be held on the Moodle online platform.
The maximum score attributable to the written test is 28.

- After the written test (depending on the number of participants in the written test) those who have received at least 18 in writing must critically discuss, by using the WebEx platform, an experimental scientific article (not a review), chosen from among those proposed by the teacher (collected in the Works folder to be commented on for the exam) or chosen by the student as long as it falls within the discipline, in this case send the pdf to the teacher and wait for the approval of the article in question. Instead, for the choice of a work among those proposed by the teacher, in the work folder to be commented there are several subfolders relating to the different topics, in these subfolders are the pdf files of the experimental works. Once you have chosen the article to comment, you MUST open the file SCELTA LAVORI (name of the subfolder) which will present a menu listing the jobs still available, click on the name of the corresponding file. At this point the other options will disappear and the chosen work will no longer be visible to the other students.

The student will have to prepare a short presentation (no more than 10 minutes) of the article, above all highlighting the critical aspects of the experiment, data and / or interpretation given by the authors. The presentation (in powerpoint or pdf format) must be sent by e-mail to the teacher within the exam registration deadline. Instructions for using the platform are available and accessible on the UNITO site.

- The presentation of the article, essential for passing the exam, is worth a maximum of 3 points. If the commission judges the presentation insufficient, the final vote will not be awarded. In this case, the student can come back to the next examen session to discuss only the presentation.

The presentations should be sent to both Prof. Stefano Gotti (stefano.gotti@unito.it) and Prof. GianCarlo Panzica (giancarlo.panzica@unito.it)

(*) They have conditions of fragility: subjects in possession of the recognition of disability with connotation of gravity and who has a certification issued by the competent medical-legal bodies, certifying a risk condition deriving from immunosuppression or from outcomes from oncological pathologies or from the performance of related life-saving therapies.

Program

Neuroanatomical basis.

• Neurohistology,
• The hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system.
• The limbic system and the reward circuit.
• Control of nervous circuits:neurotransmitters,neuropeptides, hormones.

General outlines of neuroendocrinology.

• Membrane and nuclear receptors.
• Gonadal steroids' action: development, differentiation, dimorphism.
• Neurosteroids.
• Endocrine disruptors.
• Thyroid hormones and nervous system: development, differentiation, and photoperiodism.
• The olfactory Pheromones and neuroendocrine mechanisms.
• The GnRH system and the control of puberty.
• Steroid hormones, neuropeptides and stress.
• Behavior and Epigenetics.
• Aggressive behaviour.
• Feeding behaviour

An Introduction to Behavioral Endocrinology
Autore: Nelson, R.J. and Kriegsfeld, L.Edizione: 5th
Casa editrice: Sinauer Ass.
ISBN-13:978-1605353203
Url: Amazon

Companion website

Oxford University Press

It is possible to buy a digital version of the book (pdf) on this site

Vital Source - It is no clear if it is available also for Italy (German site)

Class schedule

Note

For the year 2021-2022 the course will be entirely online. The first lessons will be available on the Moodle starting from the second week of March.

It is mandatory to register to the course: in fact, being the course totally online, all the communications among the teacher and the students will be through emails.

• Teaching materials
• Exams and finals
• Go to Moodle
• Visit the forums