OVERVIEW

The course covers the neurobiological, clinical and neurofunctional bases of human movement: how the central and peripheral nervous system plans, controls and executes physical exercise and the sporting gesture, and the main pathological and traumatic conditions that may affect athletic practice.

The syllabus is organised into four thematic blocks: organisation of the nervous and motor systems; pathophysiology of movement; sports neurology; cognition and movement.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching has the specific objective of deepening the neurophysiological aspects of physical exercise and sports gesture.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course explores the neurophysiological aspects of physical exercise and of the sporting gesture. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• describe the organisation of the nervous and motor systems and interpret recruitment and execution of the athletic gesture;
• recognise muscle weakness and movement disorders and the functional limits they impose on training planning;
• assess the impact of acute and chronic neurological conditions — head injury and epilepsy in particular — applying current guidelines for safe sports participation;
• analyse the link between cognition and movement, from cognitive load on the motor gesture to exercise as a stimulus for neuroplasticity.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Knowledge and understanding: functional anatomy of the nervous and motor systems, motor control and learning, clinical pictures of weakness and movement disorders, management of concussion and epilepsy in sport.
• Applying knowledge: interpreting a sporting gesture in terms of neural control, recognising on-field red flags, adapting training planning in the presence of a known neurological condition.
• Making judgements: critically appraising guidelines and literature, and distinguishing one's own scope of practice from situations requiring medical intervention.
• Communication skills: explaining the implications of a neurological condition with correct terminology, adapting the register to the audience (athletes, families, coaching and healthcare staff).
• Learning skills: independently updating one's knowledge through primary sources and international consensus documents.

PREREQUISITES

Knowledge of human anatomy, human physiology and exercise physiology acquired in the first-cycle degree granting access to the programme (class L-22).

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures.

Students with a disability or a specific learning disorder are invited to contact the teaching staff and the inclusion delegate of the degree programme at the beginning of the semester, in order to agree on suitable teaching and assessment arrangements (https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• Organisation of the nervous and motor systems: sensory systems and proprioception, descending motor pathways, motor unit and recruitment, cerebellum and basal ganglia, postural control, motor learning and neuroplasticity.
• Pathophysiology of movement: movement semiology, central and peripheral weakness, hypo- and hyperkinetic disorders, ataxias and balance disorders, exercise as an intervention in chronic neurological disease.
• Sports neurology: sport-related concussion (on-field recognition, management and graduated return to sport), head and spinal cord injury, epilepsy and sport, fitness to play and medico-legal aspects.
• Cognition and movement: attention and executive functions in performance, dual task, motor imagery and action observation, central fatigue, exercise and cognitive function across the lifespan.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• One neuroscience textbook: Kandel E.R. et al., Principles of Neural Science, or Purves D. et al., Neuroscience, latest edition — chapters on sensory and motor systems indicated during lectures.
• Mutani R. et al., Il Bergamini di Neurologia, Edizioni Libreria Cortina Torino, latest edition — chapters indicated during lectures.
• Patricios J.S. et al. Consensus statement on concussion in sport: the 6th International Conference on Concussion in Sport — Amsterdam, October 2022. Br J Sports Med 2023;57(11):695-711. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2023-106898
• Capovilla G. et al. Epilepsy, seizures, physical exercise, and sports: a report from the ILAE Task Force on Sports and Epilepsy. Epilepsia 2016;57(1):6-12. doi:10.1111/epi.13261

Slides, the papers discussed in class and the assessment tools are available on AulaWeb and are part of the examination material.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

AMBRA BISIO (President)

LAURA BONZANO (President)

MATTEO PARDINI (President)

DANIELE SAVERINO (President and Coordinator of Integrated Course)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

2nd semester, March.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Written examination at the end of the course.