semmelweis university 2 0 1 2 / 2 0 1 3

SEMMELWEIS UNIVERSITY / FACULTY OF PHARMACY
442
Week
Lecture (5 hours per week)
8 Principles of sensory systems. Sensory receptors. Electrical and ionic events in receptors.
“Coding” of sensory information. Somatosensory functions. Cutaneous, deep and visceral
sensation; pathways. Pain. Arousal mechanisms, sleep and the electrical activity of the
brain. The reticular formation and the reticular activating system. The thalamus and the
cerebral cortex. Evoked cortical potentials and the EEG. Physiologic basis of consciousness
and sleep.
9 Spinal organization of motor tunction. Monosynaptic reflexes. Polysynaptic reflexes. Spinal
reflexes. Ascending and descending pathways. Spinal and supraspinal control of muscular
tone. Effects of lesions. Spinal shock.
10 Control of posture and movement. The vestibular system. Basal ganglia. Cerebellum.
Lateral and medial descending pathways involved in motor control (spinal integration,
medullary, midbrain and cortical components).
11 The visual system. The image-forming mechanism. The photoreceptor mechanism:
Genesis of action potentials.
Responses in the visual pathways and cortex. Color vision. Eye movements
12 The auditory system. Chemical senses. Olfactory receptors and pathways. Physiology of
olfaction. Taste receptor organs and pathways. Physiology of taste.
13 The autonomic nervous system and its central control. Anatomic organization and
chemical transmission. Adrenal medulla. Control of autonomic functions.
14 Neural basis of instinctual behavior. The integrative role of the hypothalamus. Limbic
functions. Sexual, maternal and feeding behavior. Fear and rage. Motivation. Emotion.
”Higher functions of the nervous system”. Conditioned reflexes, learning and related
phenomena. Learning and memory. Functions of the neocortex.
Practice and consultation (2 hours biweekly)
Indirect measurement of arterial pressure and recording heart sounds
Kidney function
Determination of parameters of acid/base equilibrium
Endocrinology lab
Electroencephalogram (EEG) experiment