University of Padua

This course examines the biological, psychological, and environmental bases of human pathological behavior and the main methods for psychiatric assessment. The course reviews psychiatric diseases in adulthood and adolescence, as described in recognized diagnostic systems, such as DSM and ICD. Course topics also include diagnostic methods; diagnostic instruments including neuroimaging techniques (TAC, RMN, SPET E PET), neuroendocrinology, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology; treatments, including drugs, psychotherapy, remediation techniques, prevention, and interventions; psychopharmacology; differential diagnosis; and neuropsychological and structural/functional neuroimaging correlates of psychiatric diseases. The course explores the etiopathogenesis, clinical and prognostic features, epidemiology, prevention, pathophysiology and neuropsychological, and neuroimaging correlates, biological, and psychotherapic treatments of the main psychiatric diseases: delirium and dementia, alcohol and substance abuse/dependence and correlated diseases, schizophrenia and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, dissociative disorders, somatoform disorders, suicidal behavior, and eating disorders: anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, personality disorders.

This course examines how genetics translate into normal and pathological behaviors. The course discusses topics including basic concepts of genetics and heritability; how the interplay between genes and environment can influence behavior; behavioral implications of some of the main genetic and chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and fragile X; and genetical underpinnings of some behavioral traits in the normal and pathological field. Students are required to have knowledge concerning the basics of biology and genetics as a prerequisite.

This course studies individual differences in personality, intelligence, and cognitive functioning, and differences between nomothetic and idiographic approaches. The course discusses topics including personality, intelligence, limits of intelligence as a construct and theories of hot intelligence (e.g., emotional intelligence), nature/nurture interaction, individual characteristics and their impact in everyday life, individual specificities in cognitive functioning, graphical representations of individual performance, and lifelong impact of age and education on cognition. This course requires knowledge of basics concepts of psychology as a prerequisite.

This course aims discusses the main theories on learning and memory from a cultural differences perspective (for example, learning and cognitive styles in Western vs Eastern cultures), of intelligence, personality, and personality disorders from an individual differences perspective. The course examines theories on mood, emotion, and motivation. At the end of the course, students should be able to exhibit knowledge on theories and methods used to study personality, intelligence, learning, memory, emotion, and motivation from an individual and cultural differences perspective. This course requires students to have completed a general Psychology course as a prerequisite.

The course introduces a range of both theoretical and practical issues encountered by researchers when planning and carrying out studies involving atypical populations. The course attempts to integrate diverse research topics and explanatory models within a broader framework of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in order to demonstrate how challenging might be an effective end-to-end research process. The introductory sessions present the theoretical background and seek to highlight different methodological aspects (from participants recruitment to ethical issues in practice) driving the research in this field. The second part of the course focuses on critical discussions of current research works in the field, with particular attention to cognitive and emotional aspects in educational settings. The course discusses topics including research on atypical child development in educational settings; an overview of main approaches and explanatory models of atypical development; research methods in atypical development: from participant recruitments to ethical issues in practice and practical (clinical/educational) implications of results; critical evaluation of different research techniques according to studies aims and settings; individual and environmental risk vs. protective factors in atypical development; and cognitive and emotional research topics in atypical populations (specific learning disorders, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorders). The course requires students to have basic knowledge of typical developmental psychology and research methods as a prerequisite.

This course discusses the biological bases of principal cognitive processes, emotions, and human behavior. The course discusses topics including an introduction of psychobiology; psychopharmacology; genetics and evolution of the brain; movement; emotions, reward, and stress; and psychological disorders. The course recommends students have completed courses in general psychology and psychophysiology as prerequisites.

The course presents the major areas of Clinical Psychology. The course explores the main theoretical perspectives in Clinical Psychology including how to define the field of Clinical Psychology, and being able to identify the differences from neighboring disciplines; evaluating how the concept of mental disorder changed over the course of time; and the main theoretical perspectives in Clinical Psychology, and being able to identify the fundamental features that differentiate perspectives from one another. The course discusses multidimensional assessment including the main instruments and procedures used in clinical assessment, and the reasons for their use; and the reasons for, and the importance of, integrating different dimensions/indices during assessment. The course reviews research methods in clinical psychology including the main research methods used in Clinical Psychology, and their contexts of use; interpreting the results of correlational and experimental research, and of single-subject designs; and the basic characteristics and the usefulness of meta-analytic procedures in Clinical Psychology. Lastly, the course discusses psychopathology including identifying the clinical features of some main mental disorders, and evaluating the etiopathogenetic models of the mental disorders described during the course.