Physiology of the Nervous System

Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites.

Course objectives: Acquiring basic knowledge about the structure and function of the nervous system, electrical and chemical processes that mediate the functions of the nervous system and the manner in which the nervous system controls of other physiological processes in the organism.

Course description: Brain and Behaviour - neurobiological basis of psychological processes; Overview of the structure of the nervous system; Types of cells in the nervous system: nerve and glial cells. Receptor-effector system; Ionic basis of bioelectrical potentials – resting potential and action potential; Chemical signalling in the nervous system – synaptic transmission, neurotransmitters and receptors; Sensory cells and receptor transduction; Central and peripheral nervous system; Development and plasticity of the nervous system.

Learning Outcomes: Acquiring basic knowledge about the structure of the nervous system and the function of the nerve cells as its elementary structure unit, as well as the basis for describing the role of the nervous system in various forms of human behaviour.

Literature/Reading:

• Biological Psychology. Rosenzweig MR, Breedlove SM, Leiman AL, Sinauer Ass. 2002.
• Fiziologija nervnog sistema. Mira Pašić, Društvo pishologa Srbije.