Corso di laurea magistrale in Scienze del corpo e della mente

The course is aimed at studying the neural mechanisms and brain circuits that regulate emotional and cognitive functions. The goal is to fuel the debate in the science of emotions with particular attention to the biological perspective, compared in humans and animals. The study of the neurobiological and neuro-scientific bases of emotions will be inserted in the recent theoretical context, in compliance with the methodological and philosophical limits emerging from each context considered.

At the end of the course, the student will have acquired a global vision of how emotional states are studied and compared in different animal and human species. Furthermore, the student will understand the role of the interaction and integration of the emotional component with the cognitive components for the success of the behavioral response.

Specifically, the student will be able to

• Describe the properties of a functional view of emotions.
• Identify the critical aspects that emerge from the debate on the existence of basic emotions with a look at the literature on humans and non-human animals.
• Describe the main methods and paradigms used for the investigation of the neural basis of emotions
• Interpret the empirical data emerging from neuro-scientific research on emotions
• Critically grasp the role and relationships in the interaction between the emotional state and cognitive states
• Compare different scientific approaches or different studies to emotions
• Use the technical language of emotional neuroscience

• Introduction of a theoretical framework for the functional definition of the "emotion" construct and the cognitive processes related to them.
• Description of the neurobiological basis of emotions in animals
• Description of the neuroscientific studies of emotions in humans
• The role of the interaction between perception, cognitive-motivational processes, and emotions

The course will consist of lectures held in oral form, accompanied by slides, during which the topics described in the course program will be discussed. During the lectures, scientific articles will also be provided for the in-depth study and clarification of the methodology and results of the scientific evidence discussed.

The exam consists of two parts: a written test with multiple-choice questions and an oral test. Regardless of the outcome of the written test, the student has the opportunity to ask the professor for the oral test as well. Similarly, if the written test is sufficient, the student can ask the professor to record the grade. 

Students can e-mail the professor to schedule a meeting for clarification about the course materials or for discussing the possibility of a master thesis.

e-mail: alessia.celeghin@unito.it; Location: Department of Psychology, Via Verdi 10, fourth floor.

The main bibliographic resourses are recent and original articles that will be made available on the course website

Handbooks:

• Gazzaniga & Mangun. The Cognitive Neuroscience (5th Ed.). The MIT Press
• Pessoa, L. (2013). The cognitive-emotional brain: From interactions to integration. MIT press.

Lessons will start on 5.10.2022 and will end on 1/12/2022. Lessons will be held on Wednesday and Thursday from 14.00 to 16.00.