This course will provide curious students with an overview of the field of nervous system injury and possibilities for repair. We will focus on the cellular pathobiology but have a translational outlook and integrate the clinical perspective. The student will after the course know the basic concepts and recognise relevant research questions in the field. Hence, the student have aquired up to date information and understanding of the problems and possibilities for repairing an injured central or peripheral nervous system. 

This course has the main general purpose of connecting two topics, or disease types, which are generally known by the scientific community to be completely distant from each other, such as Infections of the Central Nervous System (Neuro-Infections) and neurodegenerative diseases/dementia.  

Students should gain knowledge on the common neuroinflammatory processes and molecular mechanisms of neuronal damage that are common between neurodegenerative diseases and Central Nervous System infections. These learning outcomes reflect the purpose of the course, which is of shedding light into the interplay between dementia/neurodegenerative disease and infections and try to understand the molecular biology that connects these two types of brain disease. 

We will investigate mainly fish brains, but also some invertebrate model systems to get on overview of the major differences in neuronal organization between them. Sensory and motor pathways will be compared and pathways will be traced from primary sensory centres through higher integrative centres to motor command areas.

Topic 1: Pharmacologically relevant signalling pathways
Topic 2: Drugs for the treatment of pain: local anaesthetics, opioids
Topic 3: Drugs influencing vigilance: hypnotics, general anaesthetics
Topic 4: Treatment of psychiatric diseases: antipsychotics, antidepressants
Topic 5: Drugs of abuse: opioids, cannabinoids
Topic 6: Neurodegenerative disorders
Methods 1: Drug mechanisms and signalling in neurons
Methods 2: Modulation of neurotransmitter release in brain slices
Methods 3: Standard behavioural tests in drug development - pharmaceutical industry
Methods 4: Development of innovative drugs – gene and cell therapies
Methods 5: Regulatory Affairs

Methodology and Theory of Cognitive Neuroscience:

• Psychology: what makes it a science?
• Experimental strategies: psychophysiology, neuropsychology
• Philosophical implications of cognitive neurosciences

Cognitive Neuroscience: main findings on brain-function relationships

Clinical Neurophysiology and Imaging:

• Electroencephalography (EEG) as a neurodiagnostic tool
• Advanced methods of EEG analysis: coherence, fast Fourier, non-linear and other analysis
• Structural and functional brain imaging as neurodiagnostic tools

Experimental Psychophysiology:

• Electrophysiology: event-related potentials, non-invasive and invasive
• Magnetic resonance tomography: functional neuroimaging (fMRI)

Clinical Neuropsychology:

• Neuropsychological assessment
• Cortical electrostimulation
• WADA test

6. Experimental Neuropsychology

• Animal models of behavioural deficits in epilepsy