Content (Syllabus outline)
1.
• Introduction to psychophysiology, definiton of psychophysiology, the objective of study, main methods, a short overview of the historical development of psychophysiology.
• The nervous system and measuring its activity: macro- and microscopic anatomy of the central, peripheral, and autonomous nervous system, basics of biochemistry of the nervous system, electrophysiology of neurones, glia, and synaptic transmission, EEG, imaging methods (PET, fMRI, MEG)
• EEG and behavior (motor, sesnory, higher functions, sleep), ERP, P300
2.
• Muscles and measuring their activity: macro- and microscopic anatomy of the muscles, basics of muscle biochemistry, electrophysiology of muscle cells, EMG.
• EMG and behavior (reaction time, vigilance, fatigue, sleep, conditioning, facial expressions)
3.
• Skin and measurements on it: macro- and microscopic anatomy of the skin, basic of skin biochemistry, skin physiology, EDA.
• EDA and behavior (reaction time, higher functions and EDA, affect and EDA, conditioning)
• The eye and measurements involving it: macro- and microscopic anatomy of the eye, basics of eye biochemistry, eye physiology, pupillometry and EOG.
• Pupillometry, eye movements, blinking and behavior (affect, non-verbal communication, perception, reading, memory, psychopathology)
4.
• The cardiovascular system and measurements of its function: macro- and microscopic anatomy of the heart, vessels, kidneys, basics of CVS biochemistry, CVS physiology, measuring ECG, arterial pressure, renal function.
• Measurements of CVS activity and behavior (perception, motor activity, higher functions, affect, stress, motivation, personality, social factors, brain-CVS interaction, conditioning)
5.
• Applied psychophysiology: poligraphy, assessing vigilance/fitness for work, work demends, job satisfaction, burnout, human-machine interaction, assessing eye and hearing function, pathophysiology of the most common behavioral disorders, disorders and diseases of the nervous system, biofeedback)
• Introduction to practical work.
6.
• Practical courses to the above theoretical introductions, including measuring EMG, ECG, EEG, arterial pressure, biofeedback, and skin conductance
Readings
Andreassi JL. Psychophysiology. Human Behavior and Physiological Response. Fourth edition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey: 2007.
Cacioppo JT, Tassinary LG, Berntson GG. Handbook of Psychophysiology, Third Edition. Cambridge University Press Cambridge, Cambridge: 2007.
Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessel TM, Siegelbaum SA, Hudspeth AJ. Principles of Neural Science. Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill, New York: 2013.
Boron WF, Boulpaep EL. Medical Physiology. 2e Updated Edition. Saunders, Philadelphia: 2012.
Stožer A, Križančić-Bombek L, Dolenšek J, Skelin M. Izbrana poglavja iz fiziologije z navodili za vaje. Univerza v Mariboru, Medicinska fakulteta, Maribor: 2012.
